Kirkstall Art Trail: 40 Leeds businesses unite to host 130 artists as trail returns after 3-year hiatus
A free art trial involving forty venues in Leeds is set to return to the city.
Kirkstall Art Trail will be returning for another year, in a celebration of painting, sculpture, stone cutting, textiles, pottery and fashion on the weekend of July 20 and 21.
A range of businesses are getting involved to host more than 130 artists, workshops and events this year.
This includes Solar Frame in Kirkstall Bridge Retail Park, pub West End House in Abbey Road, and bakery Chunk Cookies in Burley Road.
Homes and community venues such as Kirkstall Abbey, Kirkstall Educational Cricket Club, and Headingley Station West Allotments will also be opening their doors to art lovers.
In an effort to include poetry into the trail, there will also be a workshop by poet Jack Collins in Burley Rugby Club, in Abbey Road, on Sunday, July 21 from 2pm with poet Cherie Battiste and later, an open mic.
There will also be a trail of 24 poems by writers from across west Leeds to be found across Kirkstall.
Putting together the poetry trail has been a joy for organiser Jim Corah, who said it has “demonstrated the creative voice of the west Leeds community, discussing everything from lockdowns, Burley beach, the romance found in Leeds, and the wildlife”.
Established in 2015, the trail is returning this year after a hiatus in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The free event is funded by Leeds City Council’s Inner West Leeds Community Committee, as well as sponsorship from Kirkstall Forge developer Ceg.