RECENT COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Assembly House is an independent art gallery located in Armley, Leeds. We are passionate about promoting local artists, creating a platform for them to showcase their work, and helping to build an artistic community. Our gallery has been open for ten years now and we have worked hard to create a great atmosphere in our area. We are proud to have hosted a range of successful exhibitions, talks, and workshops. If you're looking to get involved in the creative scene, or just want to come and explore our gallery, we'd love to hear from you
Cultural Bridge Partnership with E-WERK Luckenwalde
Throughout 2024, Assembly House has been exploring sustainability of artist-led spaces in how they are instigated, developed, funded, governed, used and created by artists in collaboration with E-WERK Luckenwalde. This project has been made possible through Cultural Bridge funding.
Assembly House Lecture Programme
In Summer 2024, Assembly House organised a series of lecture programs for the public. These programs included talks from a group of well-known local artists as well as workshops on selling artwork being a freelance artist in today's climate.
Women In Sculpture
Freelance Talk
Commercial Art Discussion
Armely Action Team Mural In Collaboration with We Belong Here
We Recently Had the pleasure of helping Armely Action team on their new mural 'Gelder Rose' We hosted the we belong here team as well as a number of children in our project space to work on ideas for this mural, it was an honour to work with such great people and you can check out the mural now!
Armley Festival
Over the last 3 years we have contributed a number of activities to Armely Festival, We love being apart of this fantastic community event and will continue to support it for many years to come. Our events have always been themed around creating a community event.
We have worked on giant communal murals, sculpture gardens and created a pose and draw set for people to come and have their hand at dressing up or drawing the model. We believe that community projects like Armley Festival are essential for creating a vibrant and inclusive neighborhood. We are proud to have been part of this initiative and look forward to contributing to many more in the future.
Un-Labelled Exhibition
In 2024 we worked with our studio holder Kevin Devonport to support a project exhibiting a body of work created by those involved in the criminal justice system in Yorkshire. Exploring and overcoming negative stereotypes and creating new perspectives.
Summer Street Party For Armley Residents
On June 1st 2024 Assembly House opened its doors and invited the whole neighbourhood in for a summer street party. Our studio holders created a fabulous space with live music a BBQ and lots of tours of their studios, luckily we had fabulous weather and many games and activities were provided for everyone.
Assembly House Clothes swap
Here at Assembly House were all pretty thrifty, and thanks to our studio holder Lizzie Kaya-Morgan, we hosted a clothes swap to support concern worldwide. The day was an absolute success and we raised over £150 for the charity. As well as everyone leaving with a brand new wardrobe.
Armley Social History Exhibition
Our studio holder Rosaleen Williams presented her research and original artworks in response to the social history of Armley.
Armley is our home and we have loved working with local residents and organisation to make beautiful art that celebrates the place we all share.
Armley Sculpture Trail
Assembly House had the pleasure of presenting 3 newly-created temporary Sculptures that audiences followed right through Armley’s heart.
Our artists Teamed up with local community groups to create these sculptures. Through a series of workshops they came up with ideas and inspiration for the final sculptures. Armley has a rich history of making and we want to continue that cultural legacy and amplify Armley’s wonderfully creative and diverse community; championing the local people who are building an exciting future for the area.
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Paul Millhouse-Smith & West Leeds Mens Network - I Can See Your Outline
The West Leeds Men's Network is a project designed to help combat isolation amongst men in the Armley & Bramley area's of the city. The Network takes the form of social groups, where members meet to share conversation over a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Through a series of workshops, the group has collaborated to explore creativity and expression through collective making and discussion. In the second workshop, the motif of a hand emerged. Used in gestures of greeting and friendship the hand is a symbol of generosity, hospitality and stability; it came to embody the group’s ideals. In this sculpture the open palm also suggests truth, honesty, and openness. This reflects the group's practice of communication and the sharing of truths in order to offer support to each other in times of need.
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Rosie Vhora & New Wortley Community Centre Women's Group - A Strong Cabinet
The New Wortley Community Centre Women's Group offers a safe space for women to chat, have a brew and make friends. The group love anything creative and are always eager to get stuck into a new activity or project. The women also like to share their own creative skills with one another.
A Strong Cabinet is a steel drawing that includes mosaics made by New Wortley Community Centre Women’s Group. It references a drawing made by one of the members, who considered the group to represent a strong cabinet; a piece of furniture that can display and keep safe an array of collected treasures. The walls of this cabinet are open and include the park in its contents. The precious object, knitted together by the group's work, is hung on display for all to see and enjoy.
Amelia Frances Wood & Armley Helping Hands - Coffee And A Teacake
Armley Helping Hands support older people living in Armley & Wortley district of leeds 12 The charities aim is to provide facilities for the advancement of education, recreation and leisure time activities with a view to improving quality of life
Coffee and a Teacake is a sculpture made in collaboration with Armley Helping Hands. Artist Amelia Frances Wood engaged with AHH’s reminiscence group through the cathartic nature of clay, speaking about memories and eating teacakes and the sculpture soon became about bringing people together to communicate and find connection. In each ceramic tile, a different member of the group has carved, painted and sculpted a memory. The sculpture represents a table hoping to encourage people to gather around and engage in conversation.
Local Skills Workshops
In 2022 Assembly house ran a plethora of skills workshops aimed at bringing together the local community in Armley as well as offering a safe space to explore new skills, meet likeminded people and learn something new!
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Growing Plants With Amelia Wood
Power Tools With Paul & Newt
Arts Funding With
Matt Rogers
The Armley Horses
In 2021 Assembly House teamed up with Leeds 2023 to bring Armley a new public sculpture display.
Artists Rosie Vhora and Amelia wood worked alongside local community group Hookers & clickers to build these 10ft Horses.
This collaboration between artists and crochet group was displayed in Gotts park, bringing people from Armley together celebrating the rich artistic and historic culture that is here.
Unseen Histories- Celebrating Black Heritage In Leeds
The final culmination of our month-long festival, Ran throughout September 2021, culminating artworks and events exploring Black British history in Leeds. The festival is curated by Black artists in and around the city, with support from Heritage Corner, pioneers of the Leeds Black History Walk and Assembly House, an artist studios and project space in Armley, Leeds.
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The industrial revolution included contributions of peoples from different parts of the world, many of whom are represented in Leeds today - how can we celebrate inclusion in the telling of these narratives?
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Many communities are excluded from the knowledge about the richness and success of Black history and culture in Leeds, the festival aims to give access to this history in unconventional and artistic ways, hoping to engage with the wider community.
Armley Mural Neighbourhood Project
In September 2019 Assembly House commissioned 4 artists to do murals around Armley.
These artists worked alongside the community to bring 4 amazing new murals into the local area, all drawing inspiration from the local people and history of Armley
To celebrate the unveiling of our new murals. Specially commissioned to showcase emerging mural artists and in response to our local area, we invited the local community for walking tours of the brand new public works of art, we held an opens studio to explore our artist studios, meet the mural artists and enjoy some free food and drinks.
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