Everyone is welcome and we’d love to see as many people as possible, so please help us to spread the word!
Date: Monday 15 April
Time: 8pm
Location: The Cardigan Arms, 364 Kirkstall Road, Burley, LS4 2HQ
Cost: Pay as you feel on the door
This is a fundraising event for Pyramid, and all money raised will go towards improving access and inclusion in the arts for people with learning disabilities.
A massive thanks to @brews_and_chats and @thecardiganarms for hosting.
We have been busy spring cleaning our stores and we thought it would be fun to invite everyone to the studio for a rummage!
Expect to find beautiful artworks from our archives, pre-loved art materials and tools, bucket loads of fabric and a selection of artist stalls!
There will also be refreshments available and a drop in scrap workshop ✂️
Date: Saturday 13 April
Time: 11am-3pm
Location: Pyramid Studio, Unit 3, 18 Croydon Street, LS11 9RT
Everyone is welcome and we’d love to see as many people as possible, so please help us to spread the word!
This is a fundraising event for Pyramid, and all money raised will go towards improving access and inclusion in the arts for people with autism, a learning disability, or both.
Studio access:
The accessible entrance to the studio is on Croydon Street. It has wide doors. The space is entirely on the ground floor and the surface is level.
There is an all-genders accessible toliet. The space is manoeuvrable with a wheelchair.
There is lots of free parking in the two car parks on Croydon Street.
There is a bus stop close by. From Leeds City Centre:
Arriva Buses to Spence Lane: 229, 254, 255
First buses to Domestic Street: 55, 65, 75
See our access page for more information: https://pyramid.org.uk/access/
RB: I explore surrealism and realism within my art practice. I enjoy sketching designs that have a 3D quality and a sense of perspective. I like playing with the balance of reality and fantasy when creating my landscapes.
I like creating interactive pieces such as including easter eggs which is a term used in gaming for hidden symbols or objects that are placed within my pictures. The easter eggs I use remind me of where’s wally, this adds a playful element to my work.
Rock Jaw
Within my ocean scene I have played with lighting effects using watercolour to create an ethereal underwater landscape. This landscape is the home of Rock Jaw a giant armoured merboy, who is a character I have designed myself. I am particularly proud of this piece of work.
Gold Heart
Another character I have created is Gold Heart a character who is based on myself. He is the main character within my fantasy stories who is heroic, brave, intelligent, and caring.
Malta
Within my current sketches I have drawn inspiration from my trip to Malta, looking at the historic landmarks within the country such as the fortresses built in World War 2, the grand cathedrals, and their ornate architecture. I have used my photography skills to use as reference images for my drawings including images I took of the megalithic temples.
work in progress:
The Hand of Time, more often referred to as ‘the Big Hand’ was created by Pyramid in 2012 as part of Cultural Olympiad celebration of the London Olympics.
The hand holds a clock and it was designed to organically deteriorate, change & evolve over time. It was created with a steel frame but otherwise with organic materials designed to change throughout the years. It was originally displayed at Thwaite Mills and at Millennium Square for Light Night. It has been on display at Barkston House, very near the Pyramid Studio, since 2015.
Pyramid periodically reimagines and redecorates The Big Hand with different artists, contributing additions and changes.
2023 additions to the hand were created by Pyramid’s Legends & Ribblehead groups.
The Legends group created a sustainable textiles clockface and bug hotels for the hands base, made from a recycled drum kit.
The Ribblehead group created mosaic work which is displayed around the hand.
Photos by Mindy Goose
Pyramid artists work on projects with people in three Aspire Fulfilling Lives Centres; Bramley, Potternewton, and Rothwell.
Lots of people take part, and projects include sensory exploration and movement, music, and many types of visual art.
Pyramid has partnered with Leeds Employment Hub, People Matters and United Response to deliver a project for autistic adults and adults with a learning disability who are interested in learning more about getting a job. It is called Developing You: Exploring Wellbeing and Work.
There is a video below that tells you more about it.
It is a free, 9 week course (3 hours per week).
Our next course will start on 07 May 2024 and run for 9 weeks.
As well as thinking about employment, the course looks at ways to maintain and improve your personal health and wellbeing.
The course is open to people in the Leeds area aged 18+. Attending will not affect any entitlement to benefits that you may have. We can help with travel costs if needed.
Please click here to contact us if you’d like to find out more or register for the course.
Our latest exhibition has been installed at Archive in Kirkstall, and will run from 28 February – 12 March 2024. The exhibition features work by two Pyramid artists, William Stapleton, and Ria.
Join the artists and guests for a relaxed celebration at Archive on
Tuesday 05 March, 11am – 2pm. All welcome.
William is inspired by mystical characters and make-believe worlds. He loves experimenting with different materials and incorporating sensory elements into his art. He has been working on ‘Mickey’s World’ for the past two years. The story and artwork were designed with particular consideration to accessibility for people with autism.
Ria’s art celebrates colour, shape and surface pattern. It explores identity, breaks boundaries and celebrates the small joys that can be found in everyday life. Ria’s pieces in this exhibition were made in 2018-2019. This is the first time they have been exhibited to the public. “These pieces represent the frustrations, including some direct quotes, from my life at the time” – Ria
Venue: Archive, 94 Kirkstall Road, LS3 1HD
Dates: 28 February – 12 March
Opening hours: see archiveleeds.co.uk
Access: See https://pyramid.org.uk/Archive-access-information-easy-read
Long-time Pyramid artist Ria recently exhibited her work ‘Integrated Society’ at Leeds Industrial Museum, as part of the ‘Any work That Wanted Doing’ exhibition. She was recently interviewed by the exhibition’s curator Gill Crawshaw, and you can read the interview here: https://anywork.org.uk/ria-talks-about-her-art
Today the Ribblehead group visited the amazing Contested Bodies exhibition at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery at the University of Leeds. The exhibition examines the performativity of gender as a social construct.
The group had a tour of the gallery and spent time sketching and taking photos of their favourite pieces. We are excited to see what work they will make in response to the exhibition back at the Pyramid Studio!
Many thanks to the team at the gallery for making the group feel so welcome.
The Big Hand was created by Pyramid in 2012 as part of Cultural Olympiad celebration of the London Olympics.
The hand holds a clock and was created with a steel frame but otherwise with organic materials, designed to change throughout the years. It was originally exhibited at Thwaite Mills and at Millennium Square for Light Night. Since 2015 it has been situated on site at Pyramid HQ in Holbeck.
Pyramid members periodically reimagine and redecorate The Big Hand, with different artists contributing additions and changes. This year’s additions have been created by Pyramid’s Legends and Ribblehead groups.
The Legends group created a sustainable textiles clock face and bug hotels for the hand’s base, made from a recycled drum kit. The Ribblehead group created mosaic work which is displayed around the hand.
Photos by Mindy Goose.
Pyramid would like to say a massive thank you to everyone (guests, stall holders and volunteers) that joined us at the studio last week for our Festive Art Market! We had a brilliant time and we hope you did too. Through donations on the day we raised an amazing £400!
This money will help Pyramid to continue providing opportunities for people with learning disabilities to get involved in creative projects, and support them to develop their creative practice.
Photos by Mindy Goose
Today Pyramid hosted a drop-in creative workshop at the International Day of Disabled People Marketplace event, organised by Forum Central. Lots of people joined us in Leeds City Museum’s Broderick Hall to make their very own Pyramite, which was included in a short stop motion animation.
Join us at the Pyramid Studio for a special evening with renowned Leeds storyteller Matthew Bellwood as he weaves together a trilogy of original magical folk stories, told from a queer perspective. Featuring a child made of slate, a resurrected dragon, a cloistered princess and a rainbow witch, A Perfect World turns fairy tales upside down, and offers up a set of rather different happy endings.
Date: Wednesday 24 January 2024
Time: 6pm – 8.30pm
Venue: Pyramid, 18 Croydon Street, Leeds LS11 9RT
Access: See pyramid.org.uk/access for venue and travel information
Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/pyramid-of-arts/t-jzqorvo
Light refreshments provided.
This event is a fundraiser for Pyramid, and all proceeds will be invested in the support of artists with learning disabilities.
Ross Bolland 2023
Today the Irregular Art Schools research team visited the Making Space artists at the Royal Academy of Arts. They had a great time meeting other artists, making art together and exploring the gallery.
Making Space is an inclusive artist development programme for a group of learning-disabled and neuro-divergent artists. The artists meet monthly at the Royal Academy of Arts for learning and mentorship.
We had a great weekend at Thought Bubble, sharing work by Pyramid artists and associates. We used our stall to promote Pyramid and raise funds – thank you to everyone who visited our stall, and to Thought Bubble for inviting us.
Thought Bubble is a Yorkshire Comic Art Festival that promotes the power of comics.
Come and browse the beautiful, festive art work being sold by local makers and enjoy a hot chocolate and some sweet treats. There will also be a drop-in zine-making workshop.
More details to follow.
Time: 11am – 3pm
Date: Saturday 25 November 2023
Location: Pyramid Studio, 18 Croydon Street, Leeds LS11 9RT
Access: Please see pyramid.org.uk/access for full information
Share: Click here to download a shareable event flyer by Pyramid D-Team D2HK.
Congratulations to Pyramid’s Why Don’t We? group, who were recognised at Bradford’s Celebrate as One awards in the arts, culture and wellbeing category.
Pyramid artist Ria’s work, ‘Integrated Society’, features in a new exhibition at Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills.
‘Any Work That Wanted Doing’ is an exhibition that brings disabled people’s voices from the past and present together, highlighting their contributions to heritage and contemporary culture, with disabled artists responding to hidden histories of disabled mill workers.
The exhibition opens on Friday 08 September 2023, at Leeds Industrial Museum and will continue to early 2024.
Part of Leeds 2023 Year of Culture.
Photos by Jonathan Turner, 2023.
On 30 August the Irregular Art School research team took a trip to Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham to present at the ArtWorks Together 2023 launch.
ArtWorks together is an international art exhibition which showcases award-winning artwork created by artists with learning disabilities and autism.
https://www.artworkstogether.co.uk/
Pyramid would like to say a massive thank you to everyone that joined us on Monday 04 September for our Pyramid Artists Short Films at Hyde Park Picture House, as part of the Scalarama Leeds 2023 programme.
We had a brilliant time watching films by and about our artists on the big screen, and we hope you did too.
Through tickets and kind donations on the day we raised over £300.
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