By Noah Roberts
Artists are inviting West Leeds residents to come and explore the heritage of Grade II Listed Bramley Baths.
Artist Benjamin Mills will deliver a series of 12 creative guided workshops, as part of the Baths’ Heritage Lottery funded project, #morethanapool.
There is a taster session where you can find out more this evening (Tuesday, 7 July) from 6.30pm-8.30pm, and again on Tuesday, 21 July.
Ben said because Bramley Baths is community owned “it is important that the community feels a sense of ownership over their historic building.”
For this reason the workshops are open to everyone. People can drop-in and take part in one session or all of them.
Ben said: “People don’t have to have any art skills to take part, I’ve designed them to be fun for people. I will be using innovative ways to bring their stories to the surface.
“The workshops will draw on the rich heritage and history of the Baths. I plan to use some source materials from the archives that are held at the bath such as all photographs, pieces of writing objects and we will use the architecture of the building too as inspiration during the sessions.”
People taking part can expect fun and innovative creative practices, with each week having a unique theme.
“I want to take participants on a journey where we can embed their personal stories into the art process, so that their creations will become part of the Baths,” Ben added.
“I know the Baths have been used for generations and will be used for generations to come. People who have been coming to the baths since they were kids and they’re now taking the grandkids. I want to use these workshops to uncover and excavate all those brilliant stores from local people.”
Some of the things people can take part in includes:
- Designing swimming badges relating to myths of the pool.
- Discovering architecture through soap sculpting.
- An opportunity to co-design ceramic tiles, a new stained glassed window and a mural all which will be installed into the baths for everyone to see.
Bramley Bath,s on Broad Lane, is the last remaining Edwardian bathhouse in Leeds, making it one of the most important surviving community buildings.
An exciting part of the project will be the co-created community mural which will be applied to a wall in the Baths’ car park. The mural is expected to become a very distinct feature to the baths, as it will be visible from Broad Lane.
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