Leeds visual arts organisation The Tetley becomes Yorkshire Contemporary
In September last year The Tetley, the innovative and impressive contemporary art gallery based in the former brewery headquarters in Leeds, announced that after ten years it would be leaving the building at the end of 2023 as its lease came to an end.
It was an announcement that was met with dismay by many, myself included. Over the decade since it opened in 2013, The Tetley had presented exciting, cutting-edge exhibitions featuring the work of local, national and international artists in a unique art space. Its high-ceilinged central atrium, filled with natural light, challenged and inspired artists to respond in diverse and interesting ways, as did the smaller oak-paneled side galleries, the former offices and board rooms of Tetley HQ. Alongside world-class free exhibitions, The Tetley also offered an extensive outreach programme, working closely with local communities and offering a range of creative opportunities for families and children.
Two weeks ago, the organisation announced its new name – Yorkshire Contemporary, which reflects the different locations the arts charity’s team will work in across the region and beyond to showcase contemporary art, as they continue their search for a new, permanent home.
“At the beginning of 2023 the new owners of the Tetley told us we were no longer part of their long-term plans for the building so we started work on finding alternative premises,” says Bryony Bond, director Yorkshire Contemporary. “We had a couple of potential venues in the pipeline and thought we had a new home lined up but then at the beginning of this year that didn’t come to fruition. Obviously leaving the Tetley building, we had to rethink our name. We will continue working in Leeds and across the region, supporting artists throughout Yorkshire, as we have always done, and working in partnership to realise a range of different projects.”
Artists, partners and the public were all invited to contribute their ideas to the renaming and rebranding process. “We have had so much positive feedback about the name,” says Bond. “It conveys the hope, positivity and ambition we are bringing into the year ahead.” The organisation is already working on a number of projects including a major one in Beeston. “It has three strands to it and is all focused around play,” Bond explains. “Looking at a whole environment through the eyes of children and creating more opportunities for them to be creative and play.”
The work they are doing with the community in Beeston centres on the area near and around Cross Flatts Park. The team have partnered with Rowland Road Working Men’s Club to convert an area at the back of the club which used to be a bowling green. “We are in the process of identifying an artist who will design a green play space working with the community to ensure it meets their needs,” says Bond. “We are also working in collaboration with the Hamara Centre to deliver an artist-led creative play session for parents, carers and under-fives. Local artist Beatrice Lee Knowles will be creating an interactive session using household items.” They are also organising artist-led play sessions to run over the summer holidays and collaborating with Park View Primary School and other local schools gathering their thoughts on play and how Yorkshire Contemporary can help improve provision in the area.
Their artist development programme will continue, supporting early career artists, nurturing their practice and giving them a platform. They are working in partnership with a range of venues to stage exhibitions – one in Huddersfield showcasing the work of one of their former associate artists Benaiah Matheson is slated for early 2025 – as well as commissioning public art. It is very much the same mission as always, just delivered in a different way.
The organisation’s time at The Tetley was hugely successful in so many ways. That ten-year period saw more than a million visitors coming through the door, 56 exhibitions were staged, including Yorkshire’s only Turner Prize-winning show from 2019 prize winner Tai Shani, and the creative team worked with more than 1,200 artists. A major achievement was launching Tiny Tetley Studio, an under-fives creative play space which welcomed 10,000 children, parents and carers. “I am incredibly proud of everything we did at The Tetley, but one of the things I am most pleased about is the response from visitors,” says Bond. “They said how accessible and friendly it felt. We showed some pretty uncompromising contemporary art and we managed to make that feel welcoming and fun.”
Looking to the future, Bond is cautiously optimistic. “It is a hard time for the cultural sector, with so many facing similar challenges to us,” says Bond. “We fulfil a vital role and it’s more important than ever for us to keep driving forward our mission and making contemporary art happen.”
For details about Yorkshire Contemporary visit yorkshirecontemporary.org