The Art Schools of Yorkshire

Exhibition Preview: 25 February 2026 5:00pm-7:00pm

Location: Blenheim Walk Gallery, Leeds Arts University, Blenheim Walk, Leeds LS2 9AQ

Click here to book your place for the exhibition preview

Blenheim Walk Gallery presents 'The Art Schools of Yorkshire', the latest iteration of John Beck’s and Matthew Cornford’s ambitious 'Art School Project' to locate and document the nation’s art school buildings or the sites upon which they once stood. The project combines photography, text, and archival materials to explore the histories and legacies of Britain’s art schools, and examine the vital role art schools have played, and continue to play, in the cultural and economic life of our towns and cities.

Some of the earliest art schools to be established in Britain were in Yorkshire, such as York (1842), Sheffield (1843), and Leeds (1846). Leeds College of Art (now Leeds Arts University), in particular, also played a significant role in the development of the Bauhaus-inspired Basic Design approach to art and design education during the postwar period (1950s–1970s). Featuring new photographs of more than twenty Yorkshire art schools, the exhibition explores the rich and varied history of art education in the county.

Emerging out of Victorian industrial ambition and commitment to public education, the British art school system developed, by the end of the nineteenth century, into a complex network of institutions providing training and exposure to the arts for thousands of workers and students across the country.

By the mid-1960s there were still over 150 art schools in the UK, by which time ‘art school’ had become shorthand for creative innovation across the arts, design, music and advertising. Yet at the peak of their influence on British cultural life, art schools in many towns and cities were already being amalgamated, reorganised and rebranded as part of a drive to reshape education in the arts. Most art schools have long since been absorbed into larger institutions, many of the buildings repurposed or demolished.

Alongside Beck and Cornford’s photographic survey, the exhibition presents a curated selection of records from Leeds Arts University’s Archive spanning across the Blenheim Walk Gallery and University Library—offering an intimate, material insight into the evolution of art education in Leeds. These include interior photographs and architectural drawings from our historic Vernon Street building; photographs of student work from the Basic Design era; and documents tracing the institution’s expansion, as Jacob Kramer College, to the Blenheim Walk site, such as staff reports, space-planning forms, and prospectuses. Together, these archives illuminate pedagogical, architectural, and cultural shifts that shaped art education in the region.

The archival displays within the University Library must be viewed by appointment. To ensure access to this part of the exhibition, please arrange your visit with as much notice as possible by emailing aoife.larkin@leeds-art.ac.uk.

The exhibition aims to celebrate the histories and legacies of the British art school and also to create a space for dialogue and debate, raising questions about the role of the arts and art education today in relation to community, history, and identity. It is curated by Assoc. Prof. Marianna Tsionki, Ruth Viccars and Aoife Larkin and will be accompanied by a public programme of events and workshops focused on the role of arts education in the region.

Batley School of Art & Design engagement activities: 25 February – 18 April 2026

The public engagement activity in Batley will focus on the experiences and memories people have of the School of Art. It will explore the place it held and continues to hold in the rich and multi-layered Batley Community. This will be done by sharing stories and hopefully sketchbooks and work made at the art school. Where possible connections will be made with the Art School exhibition at Leeds Arts University.

Anyone who studied at Batley School of Art (Batley Technical and Art School) and wishes to be involved should contact Prof. Sam Broadhead at sam.broadhead@leeds-art.ac.uk

Location: Batley School of Art & Design, Dewsbury WF13 4HH

City Histories Walking Tour: 21 March 2026 11:00pm-12:30am

Artist James Thompson will lead a 90-minute walking tour exploring traces of over 200 years of artistic practice in Leeds city centre. Beginning at Leeds Arts University’s Blenheim Walk Gallery and finishing in the city centre, the tour will follow a multi-temporal route, uncovering key sites in the development of formal arts education in the city alongside lost gallery spaces, studios, and artist-led initiatives that shaped critical pedagogical encounters through practice.

Participants are encouraged to arrive at the Blenheim Walk Gallery at 10.30am or earlier so they have an opportunity to view the Art School Project exhibition before the walk begins.

The tour is free and open to the public, but booking is essential as places are limited. Please email curatorial@leeds-art.ac.uk.

Basic Design Workshop: 11 March 2026, 11am – 1pm

Basic Design was the historical precursor to today’s Art Foundation diplomas. Pioneered at Leeds Arts University (then Leeds College of Art), in the same studios where students are taught today, it represented a radical moment of change in British art education. At this workshop, Aoife Larkin (Collections Librarian) will share some of the history and philosophy of Basic Design using Leeds Arts University’s Archive and then Susanna Moore (Foundation Pathway Leader for Fashion and Textiles) and Suzi Tibbetts (Foundation Pathway Leader for 3D Design) will guide you through a playful and practical workshop exploring Basic Design’s fundamental principles of point, line and plane to produce your own moving image.

The workshop is free and open to the public, but booking is essential as places are limited. Please email aoife.larkin@leeds-art.ac.uk.

John Beck and Matthew Cornford began researching the history and legacies of British art schools when they noticed that Great Yarmouth College of Art and Design, where they both studied in the early 1980s, was disused and for sale (it is now social housing). Emerging out of a series of talks and papers, the Art School Project currently takes the form of regionally oriented exhibitions that respond to the particularities of place. In the North West, they have shown in Liverpool, Bury and Rochdale, while their work on the West and East Midlands was the focus of exhibitions in Walsall, Nottingham, Loughborough and Leicester. John Beck teaches literature and visual culture at the University of Westminster (incorporating what was once Harrow School of Art), and Matthew Cornford teaches fine art the University of Brighton (formerly Brighton School of Art).

The project is documented on Instagram