With the success of our first PLAYGROUND throughout lockdown, we here at Graft are excited to announce we are expanding the project further! Leeds Inspired have awarded us a grant of £1,200 to develop a website for all things Armley, a hub where you can explore local heritage, stories and opportunities to connect with our amazing community! We are partnering up with Assembly House, who will be supporting us throughout this next stage, and with Armley-based creative Charlotte Cullen, who will be exploring Armley’s common land and our rights to it as residents.
Charlotte Cullen is an artist, curator and lecturer in Fine Art at York St. John’s Universtiy, currently researching the history and geography of the local area, exploring mark-making with natural materials. They will be working towards creating an online and downloadable map blending their research and art together. This will provide a highly creative and unique opportunity for residents to engage with public green spaces across the area, celebrating our community assests and wealth of heritage, nature and spirit.
This map will be accessible through a new online PLAYGROUND: Exploring Armley space, a website for anyone and everyone to discover more about this incredible part of Leeds. There will be a range of content including interviews with Armleyians, a timeline of our growth and changes, and information about local groups, businesses and events. Our hope is create a permanent digital archive celebrating the history of Armley and it’s many amazing individuals, whilst looking towards the future of our community, and how we can come together to overcome some of the important social issues we face.
There will be lots of opporunities for you to join us and get stuck in, so keep an eye out on social media for our community callouts looking for your stories, memories and input. Once the website is launched, we will be changing the sign currently installed in the Rose Garden, Gott’s Park, with a new QR code to link you online; we will also be hiding QR codes around the area, so their will be lots to discover with a few surprises along the way!
This will be part of many creative projects coming to Armley thanks to the incredible team at Assembly House, so be sure to check them out and follow them on Facebook or Instgram to keep up to date!
Leeds Inspired is part of the city’s cultural programme that celebrates arts events and projects throughout the year, supporting high quality, accessible cultural experiences for Leeds’ residents and visitors. Founded in 2012, Leeds Inspired supports culture in the city through grants schemes, commissions and a ‘What’s On’ events website. Leeds Inspired is part of Leeds City Council.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, and if you’d like to get involved in this project or have your own creative idea that will help your community, get in contact with us on social media or from the page above!
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