Member Article

A blaze of colour at ex-Emmerdale mill

The transformation of one of the most famous family-owned mills in Yorkshire is being celebrated in a blaze of colour.

Sunny Bank Mills, the iconic mill complex in Farsley, near Leeds, where YTV’s Heartbeat and Emmerdale were filmed, is currently undergoing a multi-million pound regeneration programme which will create thousands of jobs.

The Weaving Shed, which lies at the heart of Sunny Bank Mills, has lain empty since the last woollen looms were switched off in 2008. It is set to be demolished next year as part of the regeneration programme.

But a group of graffiti artists from across the North of England the shed does not go away quietly, by using explosions of colour to create an interactive street art installation.

The Arts Council-funded Throw Up! project saw more than 40 artists transform the 14,000 sq ft space in just three weeks, before it opens to the public this week as part of the Mill’s Colour and Community summer programme.

Budding street artists will be able to add their own pieces to the walls of the shed, and there are even plans to hold workshop where ramps will be built to turn the space into a skate park for one last hoorah.

Project curator Ryan Smith, a Leeds College of Art graduate and intern at Sunny Bank Mills Gallery, said it would give people a chance to see that the city’s thriving art scene expanding beyond the galleries of the city centre.

“This is about putting Sunny Bank Mills on the map for art,” he said. “There are so many creative people around this area, and there’s a lot more to the art scene in Leeds than just the art gallery in the city centre and Henry Moore.”

Mr Smith drafted in artists from the city and across the north, who volunteered their time and materials.

Some of those involved include graphics specialist Jay Pee; Leeds installation artist Pogger; abstract colourist Nicolas Dixon – who recently exhibited in New York – and members of the Assembly House Artists Collective in Armley.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .