'Why I turned this Victorian terrace house garden into an outdoor exhibition space'

But there’s something unique about one of the properties that can be found on Argie Terrace, in the inner-city suburb of Burley – for its garden has been transformed into an outdoor exhibition space, specifically for sculpture.

Threshold was founded by artist and curator Dr Julia McKinlay, as the UK emerged from its final Covid lockdown in 2021.

Its four exhibitions that year drew as much attention and intrigue from local residents as they did from art lovers across Yorkshire and beyond. And now, after a four-year hiatus, Threshold is back with another programme of work.

“The really nice thing about the project is that you can come into the space to see the exhibitions, but you can also view from the street as you’re walking past,” says Dr McKinlay, a lecturer in fine art at the University of Leeds.

“So the audience really ranges from art professionals coming specifically to see the shows but also our most regular viewers are people taking their recycling out, dog walkers, people going to school...”

As an open-air exhibition space, that is free to access by walking through the neighbourhood, Threshold was “perfect” for a very recent post-pandemic cultural landscape.

Its foundation, however, was mostly in reaction to the practical challenges that Dr McKinlay had experienced as a sculptor when trying to find a reliable venue to situate work in the region.

The lack of available spaces for artist-led projects, especially alternatives to more traditional galleries, is still a problem in the field, she says.

She speaks of difficulties back in 2019, when she was involved in both the Yorkshire Sculpture International and Index art festivals.

“We had loads of trouble,” the 38-year-old recalls. “The spaces we secured fell through with very short notice and it really put the exhibitions at risk, when we had funding lined up. We were fortunate we were able to secure spaces and all the exhibitions were really successful but for many of us, it was a close call.”

And so the wheels were set in motion for Threshold. The space is in an area largely characterised by red brick back-to-back Victorian terraces, that once housed mill and industrial workers in the 19th century.

Dr McKinlay takes into account the heritage and the residential nature of the space when selecting exhibitors, encouraging artists and visitors to explore and consider that context and what it means to be on the threshold between public and private, exposed and intimate.

As an artist interested in sculpture since her childhood in York, she knows it can be a challenging practice to sustain, both in terms of funding and when it comes to finding exhibition space to test ideas spatially with an audience.

She chooses those she believes would embrace the challenge of exhibiting outside in an urban public space, benefitting from the opportunity to experiment in their sculpture practice.

“As an artist, I was very much thinking about how I could participate in and provide something to the community I’m working within,” she says.

“I wanted for the artists invited to have an opportunity to share their work with a different audience and try stuff out…I was very much thinking about the professional development of the artists invited.

"We have a decent number of galleries in the city centre but not as much going on outside in the residential areas so I was also thinking it was quite good to fill that gap a little bit.

"We’ve got this huge community of creative people and people that love the arts in Leeds and I wanted to do something that would be adding to that."

The 2021 programme was supported by various funders including Arts Council England and featured exhibitions by Alice Chandler, Victoria Lucas, Jacob Farrell and Dr McKinlay, and Emii Alrai. Running alongside was Threshold Editions.

Artists were invited to make small limited-edition sculptures connected to their exhibition as well as publications and prints.

Money from the sales went to the artists involved, and also to Threshold – and has been used to fund this year’s programme.

“Editions are intentionally pitched at a more affordable level, in and around the £100 mark,” Dr McKinlay explains. “They’re tied to the (show) so it’s also about bringing the exhibition into your own home and the idea of crossing the threshold from outside to inside.”

Threshold is now hosting its fifth exhibition, and the first of this year. Swirling, Swirling is on until April 20, featuring the work of artists Hang Zhang and Jun Rui Lo.

The pair first met in the common room of the School of Fine Art at the University of Leeds where they both studied, and connected over a shared love of 1990s Cantopop music.

A song about painful love has been the inspiration for the exhibition, which brings together their work for the first time, featuring sculptures that capture the tension and euphoria of falling in love.

They have also collaborated on a new neon sculpture that will illuminate the exhibition and be available as a limited edition through Threshold Editions.

The next exhibition is set to be by Hannah Platt, a photographer who is starting to work sculpturally. Then in autumn, there is plans for a group show on the theme of metal.

“I’m always a bit worried there’ll be some negative reaction just because it’s slightly out of the ordinary,” Dr McKinlay says.

“But we had people coming from all over the country to see (the last) shows. We were really hitting the art community as well as people nearby, the Leeds residents, which was brilliant. Hopefully that grows again this year.”