Member Article

New partnership launches creative pop-up in Leeds City Centre

Leeds-based arts organisation, East Street Arts has teamed up with LJ Real Estate as part of an exciting collaboration bringing a new immersive pop-up art space to Leeds.

Opening on Saturday 28 April, 34 Boar Lane will be a making, showing and social space for artists and the public, located on the iconic city centre street for a six month period. It will host digital and audiovisual (AV) artists, designers, and socially engaged artists, with a key focus on food and art and be based in and around a series of specially designed wooden studio pods.

The space will house a wide range of workshops, exhibitions and events, including Digital Natives as part of Leeds International Festival and Mr Arkwright’s Food Emporium, a collaboration between artist Helen Russell-Brown, The Real Junk Food Project and creative chef, Andy Castle from Ox Club as part of Leeds Indie Food Festival.

The Digital Natives photography exhibition features the work of Portuguese artist ngela Ferreira, the NGO Thydêwá team, as well as that of some of the indigenous people from Northeastern Brazil who have participated in projects with the NGO over the years.

Mr Arkwright’s Food Emporium will bring the waste food revolution into popular dining with a series of creative waste food dining experiences. The creative space will also incorporate Poor Image Projects (PIP), a new artist-led initiative which supports both artists and non-artists to experiment with audio visual tools.

LJ Real Estate has worked with the young, collaborative architectural practice Studio Bark to develop five sustainably produced, wooden pods to operate as art studios and workshops in the space. Using an innovative ‘u-build’ system, the artists who will take up residency of the space will be able to build their own studios.

Ella Cronk, Temporary Spaces: Artists Coordinator, from East Street Arts said: “We’re extremely excited about this project. 34 Boar Lane will be home to some fantastic collaborations and work that is new to the space and the city. It will be a place for Leeds-based creatives to meet and expand ideas, from initial thoughts through to fabrication and presentation. We can’t wait to open the doors, to both artists and the public alike, at the end of April.”

Sam Lawson Johnston, co-founder of LJ Real Estate added: “We are passionate about transforming buildings into creative spaces and we can’t wait to host this project and fill the building with artists and creators, providing well-needed art studio space in the city centre “

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by F Mall .