A wealth of creative talent on show in Ones to Watch exhibition at Sunny Bank Mills

“This is the ninth year we have run it and among all the shows we do it is probably the exhibition we are most proud of,” says Jane Kay, arts director at Sunny Bank Mills. “It is for artists who either studied in or are from Yorkshire, up to a year post-graduation. We have 33 artists involved this year and a whole range of work on display. There are some really interesting pieces.”

The exhibition features a number of different disciplines and media including painting and sculpture, film, photography and installation, ceramics, textiles and design. Kay and her team, plus external judges Damon Jackson-Waldock, programme director at The Art House in Wakefield, Jenny West, artist and lecturer in fine art at Leeds Arts University and academic Dr Gill Park of the University of Leeds, selected the exhibiting artists from an open call for submissions.

“We get over a hundred applications every year and the standard is always very high, so it is quite hard to make the final choices,” says Kay. “We also offer two cash prizes – the Judges’ Prize for the best piece of work in the show and the Visitors’ Prize which is for the work which has been most popular with visitors.”

In addition, they offer free studio space for the runners-up with one-month residencies to enable them to continue to create work at a crucial point in their creative development.

“We usually offer around five or six residencies a year. Studio space is quite hard to come by so it is great to be supporting early career artists in this way. ” Kay has overseen the gallery at Sunny Bank Mills for nearly ten years and in that time she has developed it from a pop-up space with occasional shows to a fully curated programme with six exhibitions a year. “I’m not from a conventional gallery background but I know how to display art – it’s been a bit of a journey,” says Kay, laughing. “I was a lawyer in one of the big firms in Leeds and when I had children I decided to spend a bit more time at home. I did an access course at Leeds College of Art and then went on to do a degree in textiles.”

On a visit to Sunny Bank Mills, she was impressed by what she saw. “I thought this would make a great gallery – and I thought: you have got one opportunity.” She approached the mill owners William and John Gaunt with her idea.”They were thinking along the same lines so they let me have a go. They have been so positive all along the way. We have supported more than 600 artists and makers over the years. ”

As well as the Ones to Watch exhibition which runs until May, this weekend the gallery will also be hosting a new event Printed Bound celebrating the art of contemporary printmaking.

“It is specifically for printmakers and people who make handmade artists books,” says Kay. “It is the first time we have done this and we are really excited about it. We have over thirty artists and makers exhibiting over the weekend and there will be workshops and taster sessions around the mill site for people to have a go themselves.”

Ones to Watch, Sunny Bank Mills, Tuesday-Sunday, until May 8. Printed Bound, Artists Book and Print Fair, April 2-3. sunnybankmills.co.uk