FREE craft workshops are being organised by our team as part of a major new arts project, Rombald’s Rocks: Keighley Sculpture Trail, which will see 10 unique creations on display across the town.
Behind the initiative is artist, illustrator and sculptor Leonie Briggs, who is working on the venture with arts charity Keighley Creative.
Inspiration for the theme was derived from the story of Rombald the Giant, whose statue stands in the Airedale Shopping Centre. According to legend, Rombald and his wife threw stones, which broke up and created the Cow & Calf Rocks on Ilkley Moor.
The first workshop is being staged in the Airedale Shopping Centre on Saturday (26th April 2025). More follow at Keighley Market on Saturday May 3 and on May 17, and in the shopping centre on May 10. Sessions, which take place between 10.30am and 3pm, are open to all ages.
They are being led by artists and creatives Amy Hall and Jane Sedgwick and will include clay modelling and mark-marking all based around the theme of “Rombald’s Rocks”.
The workshops are family-friend and inclusive, welcoming all ages and abilities.
Participants will have the chance to make rock-themed artworks.
Cat Murray, our Events Manager, says: “Many people might not know who Rombald is, but will be familiar with the big statue that sits in the Airedale Shopping Centre.
Cat Murray, Events Manager
“The workshops and sculpture trail aim to carry on the story of Rombald the Giant and his wife, who smashed stones on Ilkley Moor and created the Cow and Calf. What if the other bits of rock sprouted arms and legs and ended up in Keighley? What adventures might they have had? We’d love Keighley people to come together to create works of art that tell their stories.
A sculpture of Rombald the Giant already sits in the Airedale Shopping Centre
“Different crafting experiences will be on offer, so participants can experiment using various media.
“There is no charge, no tickets are required and there’s no need to book.”
“We want as many local people as possible to feel included in the project; the trail is not just for artists, it’s for everyone.”
Creations will feature in pop-up exhibitions, which will sit alongside the sculptures – made by Leonie – across the town centre.
Leonie Briggs sculpting one of the Rombald’s Rocks for the Keighley Sculpture Trail
The sculpture trail is being launched on Saturday, May 24.
In addition to the unveiling of the sculptures, there will be free activities, including storytelling and music.
Keighley Creative are pleased to announced that 5 artists have been specially selected by a panel of local people to design sculptures for a new arts trail launching this May.
Local artist, illustrator, sculptor and studio holder, Leonie Briggs is the founder of the sculpture and is working with the KC team to bring this new project to life.
Leonie explained:
“As an artist based in the heart of Keighley I wanted to design a project that demonstrated the creativity of the local community, brought something positive to the town, and highlighted the area’s rich folklore. After painting a sculpture for the Snooks Sculpture Trail in York and speaking to local young people about what they would like to see in the town, I thought it would be amazing if we could have our own sculpture trail.”
For the project’s theme Leonie has been inspired by local legend, Rombald the Giant, whose statue sits in the Airedale Shopping Centre. The story goes that Rombald and his wife threw stones that broke and created the Cow and Calf Rocks on Ilkley Moor. But Leonie wondered where the other little rocks might have ended up?! And the idea for the Rombald’s Rocks themed trail was born.
The Keighley Sculpture Trail is being supported by the Bradford 2025 Creative Communities Fund and Keighley BID, as its aims are to encourage creativity and increase footfall for businesses within the district. Therefore the team wanted to involve people from Keighley as much as possible so have been proactively looking for those who would like to get involved. Opportunities we have recruited for include workshop facilitators, graphic designers, selection panel members and artists.
Ten “Rombald’s Rocks” sculptures are being made by Leonie. Five of them will be decorated by groups representing different communities of Keighley, namely Highfield Community Association, The Good Shepherd Centre, One in a Million group at Sue Belcher Centre, Wednesday Leisure and Hainworth Wood Community Centre. The other five will be decorated by selected individual artists that have been chosen by a community panel made up of local volunteers.
Catherine ForteySven ShawNicola StorrDripsy. Photo: Bob Smith PhotographyJon Britten. Photo: Bob Smith Photography
The chosen artists are:
Catherine Fortey – a Shipley-based author, illustrator, printmaker and potter;
Dripsy – a Keighley-raised street artist;
Jon Britten – a self-taught creative artist based in Keighley;
Nicola Storr – an illustrator, art teacher, and workshop facilitator based in Bingley; and
Sven Shaw – an illustrator and painter based in Baildon.
The launch of “Rombald’s Rocks” will be on Saturday 24th May 2025 when the ten sculptures will be unveiled in different locations around Keighley, encouraging people to explore the town centre and highlighting some local landmarks. The trail is also supported by Keighley BID and local businesses as they recognise how such events are key for promoting shopping on the high street.
Prior to the launch weekend, the team will be encouraging more people to get involved so they are running free, family-friendly arts and crafts workshops.
“Rombald’s Rocks themed arts and crafts workshops will soon be coming to Keighley. Photo: Bob Smith Photography
“The trail is not just for artists, it’s for everyone. We want as many local people as possible to get involved so we are running workshops around town from the end of April, where local people can come along and make their own Rombald’s Rocks themed artworks. Also we’d love people to take an active role in the launch weekend if possible so we have volunteer roles available. Watch this space for more information on these upcoming opportunities.”
For more information on Keighley Sculpture Trail, workshops and volunteer opportunities, follow us on social media @keighleycreative or look out for the flyers including a trail map which will be available at key locations in the town centre.
GiveBradford is an independent grant maker and is the place for giving in Bradford and they’re building a movement. Working collaboratively with leaders, community organisations and donors, they’re strengthening the future of local communities, building a fairer Bradford for everyone.
Pears Foundation is a family foundation driven by a desire to demonstrate the good that philanthropy can achieve in the world. The Pears family has given more than £450m to charity since the Foundation was established.
Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture (Bradford 2025) runs from January 2025 to December 2025 and is a celebration of Bradford city and district, taking place across its city, towns, villages and greenspaces. It will showcase the rich history of the area and spotlight its dynamic contemporary culture in all forms; dance and theatre, music and film, visual arts and crafts, food and sport. The City of Culture designation has already brought significant investment to the region and been a catalyst for development. It is set to have a lifelong impact through its reshaping of the local curriculum, skills and training programmes, investment in existing and new creative spaces, and opening up opportunities for cultural participation.
On Wednesday 16th October 2024, we opened our new exhibition “Nature and Imagination” but, following lots of interest, we are pleased to announce that the exhibition will continue for a month until Wednesday 13th November 2024.
Arts for Brain Health is one of Keighley Creative’s core programmes offers workshops to people that may benefit from a weekly group providing creative opportunities. The Wednesday group, runs drop-in sessions every week, from 10.30am till 12.30pm. It welcomes those that may be affected by loneliness or social isolation and offers a safe and welcoming space to anyone who may like to come along.
The project facilitators, Ailsa and Carine, recognised quickly that the work being produced by attendees showcased a range of skills and talents and that the artwork produced was worthy of its own exhibition so they asked attendees to shares their ideas on the themes of imagined outdoor spaces and personal maps and journeys. Many attendees of the Wednesday group submitted work illustrating what nature means to them and the “Nature and Imagination” exhibition was born.
The exhibition also features artwork made in Keighley Creative’s sessions at the Airedale Centre for Mental Health.
Artwork created by people from the Airedale Centre for Mental Health
The opening event welcomed lots of different people from around the Keighley and Bradford district and the exhibition has now been extended to open on:
Mondays from 10am till 12.30pm Wednesdays from 10am till 4pm Until Wednesday 13th November 2024
There is no cost to attend and no booking required.
This event has been made possible by Bradford Council Mental Wellbeing Fund.
Come along and enjoy this varied and thought-provoking exhibition and find out more about Keighley Creative’s Arts for Brain Health programme.
For more information please email ailsa@keighleycreative.org or call/text Ailsa on 07423 154855.
Keighley Creative are delighted to be continuing our relationship with Leeds International Film Festival and this Easter they have asked us to host the Leeds Young Film Festival (LYFF). This will involve 6 film screenings at the Stockroom Cinema within Keighley Creative across two dates. It’s a great opportunity to take the kids out and enjoy a family film for just £4 per person.
Information as follows and tickets available via Eventbrite.
Date: Friday 5th April 2024 (Good Friday)
Moomins on the Riviera (2014) @ 11am / Age rating: U
Fantastic Mr Fox (2009) @ 1.30pm / Age rating: PG
Holes (2003) @ 4pm / Age rating: PG
Date: Saturday 13th April 2024
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales (2017) @ 11am / Age rating: U
Marcel the Shell (2021) @ 1.30pm / Age rating: PG
Labyrinth (1986) @ 4pm / Age rating: U
Stockroom Cinema is Keighley’s very own secret cinema and performance space. Co-hosted by Keighley Creative and The Unit, in partnership with Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF).
On Tuesday 16th January, Keighley Creative will be hosting the latest Visual Arts Social, organised by Bradford Producing Hub. This regular event welcomes artists from across Bradford and Keighley and this time is being held in our Cooke Street premises.
Each social includes an activity led by a professional artist and this time sees the turn of our studio holder, Carole Griffiths, with her workshop ‘Rip and Tear – Smudge and Draw’.
Carole is a practicing sculptor and has been an art educator for 25 years. She studied sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art and received her MA through Leeds Metropolitan University.
Her art has been shown at a number of locations in the United Kingdom, including Canterbury, London, Bradford, Halifax, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, and York. She is a member of the Yorkshire Sculptors Group, which promotes work through exhibitions addressing contemporary themes. Carole has a Ph.D in the Visual Arts at Coventry University, on Sculptural Reconfigurations of the Kitchen Utensil: A Poetic Chaos of Domesticity. Her work depicts an open dialogue of object displacement and its uses, which feeds autobiographical depictions of her own domestic circumstances and echoes through narratives and introspective descriptions of production. The observed domestic object sculptures emphasise the pleasures of making through a poetic reflection of both the method and the content, allowing the observer to perceive and depict the peculiar and intricate relationship between things, subjects, and words.
For more information or to book a place at the Visual Arts Social, please visit the Bradford Producing Hub website:
With the Keighley Creative Presents… project now in full swing and a number of successful events under our belt, new year brings us a chance to review and make plans for 2024.
We already have upcoming events planned such as the I Am Brill disco and Kailey live theatre performance alongside our regular Arts for Brain Health workshops and Artists Get Togethers, but plans are afoot!
Our team already has so many ideas but we are always keen to hear more. So is there anything you would like to see coming to Keighley Creative in 2024? Please do let us know your ideas, no matter how crazy!
To hear about what’s happening at Keighley Creative in 2024 or make your own suggestions, please email admin@keighleycreative.org or visit our social media accounts.
Our team are pleased to offer two free, family-friendly festive craft workshops this December.
Hosted by Keighley Market, the workshops welcome anyone, whatever your age or ability, to pop in and join in with some creative activities.
On Saturday 9th December, 11-3, we are making festive framed pictures and on Saturday 16th December, 11-3, we are making Scandinavian style Christmas tree decorations.
No need to book, just turn up.
Children must be accompanied by an adult, thank you.
Jane Fielder, Naseem Darbey, Jon Britten, Anji Timlin, Leonie Briggs and Sean Jukes will host open studio sessions, during which visitors can chat with the artists and see what they are creating from their base at Keighley Creative.
Local creative businesses taking part in the Makers Faire include Miss Hue Designs, selling polymer clay jewellery. Also on offer will be miniature wildlife paintings and cards by Anna Gouws Artworks; fragranced bath, body and home products by Magnificents and Soaps; illustration and print design by Olivia Brearley; cyanotype prints and photographs by Keighley Photo Hub; glass and craft work by Twiggy Curley Creations; alternative eclectic and unusual hand-crafted home decor and art by Kindred Bizarre; laser-cut earrings and stickers by Curiously Colourful; and handmade natural crystal and gemstone jewellery by LaLa Designs.
Since we moved into our new home next to the Airedale Shopping Centre at the end of last year, there has been a lot of interest from people in what goes on at our base.
We have some amazingly talented artists in our studios, so this event will give the people of Keighley the chance to see their work and how they create it.
We also support local creatives, and the Makers Faire will bring several together under one roof where visitors can browse and buy some interesting and original pieces, while at the same time helping independent businesses.
Some of the Keighley Creative team at the K-Town Shopper event. Photo: Bob Smith Photography
Keighley Creative is on the look out for a new Chairperson, and new Trustees to join our charitable board in September 2023.
For an informal discussion about the roles and to learn more about this exciting opportunity please see the document attached, or come along for a chat at Keighley Creative. We’re hosting two drop-in sessions for you to meet some of our Trustees, find out more about us, and discuss what skills, experience, and energy you want to bring to our charitable work:
WHERE? 3-7 Cooke Lane, Keighley, BD21 3PF (next to Farmfoods and Airedale Shopping Centre)
WHEN?
Thursday, 6th July, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Saturday, 8th July, 10:30am-11:30am
Applications by CV with a supporting statement: Please let us know why you are applying, and the skills and experience you will bring to the role.
Over at Keighley Creative we’re helping to support Keighley Association Women and Children’s Centre (KAWACC) with their new grant-giving project called Fusion, funded by The Leap.
What is it about?
Keighley residents and community organisations can access grants of up to £1000 to realise their creative, community-led ideas. These grants will prioritise people and organisations that have been unfunded, or under-funded in the past- and that highlight new creative outlooks in Keighley. To find out more, please email Irum at iram@kawacc.org.uk
