By Jim Corah
In the 11 years since the first event in 2015, Kirkstall Art Trail has expanded in a number of ways.
The second year saw the event take place over a weekend, and in later years developments like the Photography Competition and Sustainable Fashion Show continue to develop.
Painting with words has a special place as part of Kirkstall Art Trail. In 2024 the Poetry Trail was launched with poetry workshops and a spoken word event, which KAT expanded on in 2025 and 2026. There have been an number of poetry contributors to the art trail itself, including my own exhibition of poems celebrating the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.
2026 has seen the launch of the inaugural Kirkstall Art Trail Poetry Competition. Spilt between two awards, one local and one national, there have been some eighty-odd entries.
The adjudicator has been whittling the entries down to the final ten, with a full announcement to be made in early July. The final ten will be available as a hardcopy chapbook.
During the Kirkstall Art Trail weekend there will be a spoken word event held in the Cardigans Arms, Kirkstall, on Saturday 18/06/2026. Details will be released on the Kirkstall Art Trail website and social channels nearer the date.
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