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40 artists. 20 venues. There’s only one Kirkstall Art Trail!

The first Kirkstall Art Trail takes place on Saturday, 18 July. Organiser Amy Thompson tells us about its beginnings around a bonfire in 2014 and what’s in store when the art trail opens its many doors:

More than 40 artists are exhibiting their talents across 22 venues in central Kirkstall.

The art will be varied to suit most tastes, from painting, sketching, printing, photography, sculpture, textiles, craft and more; and there will be workshops for all ages to learn new creative skills and take away their own original art on the day (mono-printing and weaving).

Costs to take part in these workshops will be just £1!

As it is during the school summer holidays there will be plenty for children and families to do for free. Kids activities will be arranged at the Kirkstall Abbey visitors centre and the Abbey House Museum.

There will also be free access to the museum itself and a Kirkstall wide owl hunt; once an owl is found the finder will need to find something on the trail that matches the owl in colour, take a picture and upload it on social media.

Plenty of spots will have refreshments (including a cheeky tipple for the grown-ups), but at St Stephen’s Community Garden there will be a giant picnic! Here you will be able to grab a cup of tea, a slice of cake and collect your map for the day. The garden is just off Station Parade, behind St Stephen’s Church (LS5 3HG).

The venues include; Kirkstall Abbey and visitors centre, the Abbey House Museum, WorkPlace Leeds, Kirkstall Bridge Inn, Hollybush Conservation Centre, St Stephen’s Church and Church Hall, Kirkstall Educational Cricket Club and an array of private residences.

The idea for the trail began at St Stephen’s Community Garden. Just a few years ago this garden was a wasteland that was over-grown, full of rubbish and generally invisible to residents.Some local volunteers reclaimed this space and, through hard work, generosity and resourceful thinking, they made the space into something incredible for everyone to enjoy.In November 2014 the volunteers and neighbours of the garden lit the BBQ for the first time and around that fire came the idea for the first Kirkstall Art Trail.

We don’t believe this art trail will be an isolated event, it feels like we are building a community by connecting local people and organisations who share a passion for the arts. The quality of art work being created right on our doorsteps is astounding and we cannot wait to share this with the public on the 18th July.

Kirkstall Art Trail is open at various venues from 10am – 5pm on Saturday, 18 July. For more updates follow Kirkstall Art Trail on Twitter @KirkstallArt.

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