Alfie and his team of support artists worked alongside a number of Leeds SILC Schools and a Pyramid’s Eden Group to make hundreds of monoprinted circles, which were sewn together to make up four larger-than-life Access Cloaks.
The finished Access Cloaks were hung from four important cultural venues in Leeds: Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills; Leeds City Museum; The Carriageworks Theatre; and Hyde Park Picture House.
Access Cloaks is about disabled people having access to art and artistic spaces. Alfie hopes that his cloaks will encourage the people of Leeds to think about access and inclusion.
BEYOND Chaos at Swarthmore
We’re thrilled that BEYOND Chaos, a joint exhibition of work by Ella Schofield and Adam Cox will be reprised at Swarthmore Education Centre in September.
Ella and Adam completed the year-long BEYOND Artist Development Scheme in 2022/23 and the exhibition showcases some of the work they produced.
When: 11 September – 09 October
Opening times: 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday (Please get in touch with Swarthmore for evening and weekend access: 0113 243 2110 / info@swarthmore.org.uk)
Where: Swarthmore Education Centre, 2-7 Woodhouse Square, LS3 1AD
Cost: Free
The exhibition includes some of the models Adam used to make his short film, Butch, which you can watch online, here:
Butch by Adam Cox, 2023
Event: Film Screening 04/09/23
Pyramid presents a series of short films, animations and music videos by and about our members.
Expect to see animations featuring magical builders, ghoulish creatures and music videos from our in-house band, Ultimate Thunder, alongside artist profiles and empowering personal stories.
We’re delighted to be showing our films at the newly refurbished Hyde Park Picture House, and we’ll be using the brand new Screen 2. It’s a boutique cinema with only 51 seats so tickets are limited – book early to avoid disappointment!
We will also have a ‘make your own movie poster’ art activity, and a stall selling artwork donated by Pyramid artists and supporters.
This screening is part of the Scalarama Leeds 2023 Film Festival, a DIY and cooperative season of films – for listings and info please see https://www.instagram.com/scalaramaleeds/
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.
AGM 2022-23
Saturday 14 October 2023 at 11am
Pyramid Studio Unit 3, 18 Croydon Street Leeds LS11 9RT
Josh works in many different art styles, including tie-dye, drawing, patchwork and digital art. In Josh’s very first project with Pyramid, he made his own set of pogs/milk caps.
Josh recently hosted a solo exhibition at Bramley Baths in Leeds, featuring a water polo diorama and a series of portraits. His exhibition was called Treading Water.
Josh expresses his feelings through his art with bright colours which makes him feel like people can connect to him more, as it creates a happy atmosphere. He likes working with fashion concepts, including making bandanas, t-shirt designs and costumes.
Since joining a Development Team, Josh says, “I’ve learnt a lot and I’ve met people who make me feel really welcome to Pyramid.”
BEYOND Chaos
Thursday 29 June – Thursday 13 July at Archive in Kirkstall, Leeds.
Adam Cox and Ella Schofield showcase the amazing artwork they have been working on during their time with the BEYOND Artist Development Scheme.
Join us on Wednesday 12 July for a celebration event, where we will be screening Adam’s film and hearing about Ella’s colouring book.
With funding awarded to Pyramid by Inclusion International, a team of people with learning disabilities have created a film to educate employers on how they can make their workplaces more inclusive.
The film explores good practice already happening in Leeds, how organisations can remove barriers, and how workplaces can benefit from having people with learning disabilities as part of their team.
Leigh Bowser – Pottery
I think everyone has felt the pull of the pottery wheel since The Great Pottery Throwdown began. Sunken Studio is a well-known and amazing space on the edge of Leeds City Centre, who offer tutored taster sessions in both throwing and hand building. Using the 16% for artists financial support, I was able to book myself onto one of these courses to learn the basics of handling clay that spins around.
I studied ceramics for half a year during my university exchange programme to Finland, 10 years ago. I’m not sure if that counts as experience – I wasn’t very good at it then, and so I didn’t hold out too much hope for myself now. However, the tutor was excellent and without the language barrier, I was able to fully understand exactly what my hands should be doing throughout each stage of the build.
After learning to centre the clay (coning and flattening the clay three times), I was proud to realise it wasn’t as daunting as I had previously remembered.
We were guided on creating the perfect bottom, ensuring both a sturdy thickness and a smooth even base.
The next task was to pull the clay up from the bottom to form the walls of the pot. A task so nerve racking, I forgot to take any photographs. This one took the most practice, but after a 2.5 hour class, I had made three pots (and one blob of wet clay).
As you can see, my first attempt was the most accurate. The last was when I started to get too confident, and the clay put me back in my place.
The chosen pot will now be allowed the become leather hard before it is trimmed. It will then be allowed to fully dry before it’s first bisque firing. A clear glaze will be applied after, and it will be fired for a second time. If the Kiln God’s are kind, I’ll be able to collect it in around 4 weeks’ time!
The taster session has helped me feel more confident in my understanding and handling of clay, which we often use in the Pyramid studio (even if it doesn’t always require firing), and despite some initial nerves, I had fun – the most important part of any creative activity.
Leigh’s finished pot
High Rise Bramley
High Rise Bramley Celebration Day at Bramley Community Centre.
Irregular Art School
The Irregular Art School is a project partnership with the University of Leeds, which is trialling new methods to support the development of learning disabled artists, and addressing barriers to inclusion and access.
Apron or Hairdryer? A Matthew Watson Experience is a film by Ben G Brown about Pyramid member Matthew Watson. It was shortlisted in the Yorkshire Short Film Competition, part of Leeds International Film Festival 2022.
Matthew is a visual artist and lead singer of Leeds prog-rock band Ultimate Thunder. The film follows Matthew as he works on his art project, The Matthew Watson Experience, and records Ultimate Thunder’s debut album.
Come and see a display of maps celebrating our favourite things about Bradford, and add your own artwork to our collaborative installation.
RSVP: wdw@pyramid.org.uk
If you can’t make it to the launch, the exhibition will be on from 11 May – 23 June. Please check with Kala Sangam for opening times before travelling.
Ultimate Thunder – album
Ultimate Thunder released their debut self-titled album in July 2022.
Louder Than War “A collection of crashing, groovy and snarling noise rock.”
Soundsphere “A captivating blast of industrial electronics, surreal stream of consciousness lyrics and krautrock-adjacent beats.”
Tim Curtis – Glyndvillr Lava Flows
I used a holiday in Iceland to rekindle my interest in digital photography with an incredible natural subject on hand every day. The series here is about the Lava flow of a volcano that erupted in August last year.
Irregular Art School @ Explorers Event
Pyramid artists involved with the Irregular Art School presented and facilitated a workshop for the Project Art Works Explorers Event at Tate Liverpool in November 2022.
The Irregular Art School’s ‘Not Another Bloody Assessment’ presentation opened up a space for people to explore and share different experiences of assessment. The conversations at the presentation focused specifically on the questions, how does assessment happen and how does it feel?
The Explorers Event was produced by Project Art Works. The intention was to ‘bring together national conversations about how cultural institutions can evolve into more caring and inclusive spaces, [embracing] agency into art, systems of care and different artist development practices’.
Projection artist Lauren Harrison collaborated with the Ribblehead group on a process focused project in the Pyramid Studio, exploring play and projection.
Together the group had fun experimenting with inks viewed through magnifying devices, creating their own individual dark spaces and illustrative neon installations.
High Rise Music – La Traviata
The High Rise Music Group worked in collaboration with Opera North for this project, with professional opera singers visiting the group to deliver an intimate performance of La Traviata. The group then produced their own piece in response and interpretation, showcasing the talents and imaginations of group members. The project culminated with a performance at the Howard Assembly Room to a packed audience, as part of the Encore Festive Show.
Next Step Pyramid – I am an Artist
Next Step Pyramid explored and developed their own creative practice, alongside artists Penny Lewis and Anna-Marie Garbutt, as part of a self-directed project called ‘I AM AN ARTIST’.
At the end of the project, the group hosted a sharing of work for family and friends in the Pyramid studio.
It was amazing to see such a variety of work on display, including digital mark making, weaving, illustrative story boards and conceptual installations!
Work from this project will be exhibited at Swarthmore next year.
YoYos – Hygee
As the winter months drew in, the YoYos got to work on a visual arts project inspired by all things Hygee with artists Alice Burford and Cassy Oliphant.
Hygee is a Danish word, meaning a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being. It is regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture.
The group started off the project exploring winter landscapes by creating atmospheric shadow puppetry and ended the project by co-producing a dream cosy café where they could enjoy a slice of cake and a hot chocolate.
Alien Baby Goes to Blackpool
A short stop-motion film, made by the Why Don’t We? Group.
The Search for the Lost Keys
The Legends worked with storyteller Matthew Bellwood, to devise and perform The Search for the Lost Keys. The group visited Chapel FM in Seacroft to learn about radio production, and to record their story, which you can listen to, here:
