Category: Family fun

What a year 2024 has been!

Post author By KeighleyCreative
Post date December 30, 2024
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Keighley Creative I Am Brill Disco. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

Well what a year! The last 12 months at Keighley Creative have been amazing and our team is proud that they have been able to bring so many arts and culture projects to town in 2024.

We started the year carrying on our I Am Brill project celebrating our hometown and the talents of Keighley people. The project included a series of craft workshops, a fabulous disco and a unique artwork created by local artist, Letty McHugh.

The Stockroom was built and opened at the end of 2023 to provide a cosy cinema and performance space. In 2024 it has taken off and has hosted a range of events including screenings as part of Leeds Film Festival and the comedy-drama play, Kailey written by Kerry Wright.

Bradford Visual Arts Social at KEighley Creative — Credit: Ant Robling

KAILEY play Stockroom Keighley — Credit: Ant Robling

In early spring we were part of the WoW Girls Festival who brought their big bus to town. Keighley Creative hosted the event and put on a series of activities including tattoo drawing, DJing, dried flower crafts, live performances, sound engineering, henna art and much more.

DJ workshop at Keighley Creative with KIya Major

The Drawing Box project is led by Naseem Darbey and continued to develop this year following last year’s hugely successful Mega Drawing Box event. This time things went mini rather than mega with “the bog in a drawing box”, which was designed to be portable and taken onto the moor enabling walkers to get up close with nature through art.

Otley Walking Festival - Bog in A Drawing Box group on Denton moor

Bradford Arts Centre, Kala Sangam, and Keighley Creative joined forces this year with a focus on celebrating arts and heritage. They employed Arts and Heritage Officer, Lauren Kelly, who took the “K-Town Cart” to communities around Keighley and helped local people celebrate their heritage through art.

Lauren is not our only new team member as this year has also seen us welcome new Executive Director, Riaz Meer, Creative Director, Paula Clark and Event Producer, Tracy Uren.

Riaz Meer, Executive Director at Keighley Creative. Photo credit: Bob Smith Photography — Riaz Meer. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

Paula Clark Keighley Creative — Riaz Meer. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

And in 2024, more relationships has been built between Keighley Creative and potential supporters and funders. This year we have been happy to announce that we are working with more organisations than ever including businesses such as Timothy Taylor’s and Craftscale, charities such as Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and National Lottery and government organisations such as Keighley Town Council, Bradford Metropolitan District Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

The local community’s concerns for the welfare of local residents and the cost-of-living crisis led to the “Open Door” project. The aim was to make a well-designed Keighley-centric newspaper that directs people to help locally. It brought together lots of of local organisations and includes lots of useful information and 01535 phone numbers for support on a range of issues including managing debt, mental health, food and wellbeing.

Open Door newspaper being given away from Asda Keighley — Photo: Bob Smith Photography

September brought the walking festival organised by Keighley Town Council and we were keen to get involved so designed the “Light Up the Night” walk. Local people including adults and children got together to create unique illuminated flower torches and held an evening parade through town.

Pledges to the Landscape was a collaborative project between Keighley Creative and Yorkshire Peat Partnership. It was designed to educate local school children on the importance of protecting our environment, landscapes and wildlife through drawing. The artwork was then added to a special “leaky dam” installed on a local moorland to help preserve the drawings and the land for the future.

Throughout 2024, Keighley Creative has continued to support local artists in a number of ways such as providing artist studios for hire, regular get togethers, maker fairs and exhibitions, all with the aim of supporting those developing careers in the creative industries.

Leonie Briggs with puppet — Photo: Bob Smith Photography

Keighley Creative’s popular community arts and craft workshops will continue in 2025 thanks to their success in 2024. This year they have brought free family fun and creative opportunities to venues around town including the market hall, Airedale Shopping Centre, Town Hall Square, Cliffe Castle and various community centres. This year’s workshops included celebrations of Easter, Hallowe’en, Eid, Christmas, St. George’s Day and recognising 100 years of the Keighley Cenotaph.

Our Arts for Brain Health project providing weekly workshops to Keighley people continues to go from strength-to-strength. The workshops not only give creative opportunities but also the chance to develop skills and meet new people. Thanks to some new National Lottery funding, in 2025 we will grow the programme further.

2025 is set to be a big year for the city as a whole with a host of big arts and culture projects with various special projects coming to Keighley as part of Bradford 2025.

To find out more about what’s Keighley Creative are up to in 2025, please sign up to our mailing list or follow us on our social media channels @keighleycreative.

Tags 2024, art, bradford 2025, creative, culture, keighley, keighley creative

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Making Keighley’s streets feel safer

Post author By KeighleyCreative
Post date September 23, 2024
No Comments on Making Keighley’s streets feel safer

Walkers prepare to Light up the Night in the event organised by Keighley Town Council and Keighley Creative. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

This was the aim of a recent community walk organised by Keighley Town Council and Keighley Creative. The walk was organised as a part of Keighley Walking Festival and the theme was “Light Up The Night”.

The walk welcomed anyone who would like to come along and together we walked 2 miles round town.

Walkers prepare to Light up the Night in the event organised by Keighley Town Council and Keighley Creative. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

The walk followed a craft workshop the previous Sunday where attendees were invited to make their own light-up flower torch using recycled materials.

Some of the illuminated flower torches made by participants in the Light Up The Night workshop.

The walk welcomed people from all ages and backgrounds to join the campaign and help make Keighley’s streets feel safer.

Thank you to Louise Soothill from Keighley Town Council for leading the walk and to all those who came along.

And thank you to Bob Smith Photography for the photographs.

Tags Bradford, children, craft, keighley, keighley creative, light up the night, safer streets, walk, walking, women, workshop

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Exploring Engineering Through Art

Post author By KeighleyCreative
Post date August 28, 2024
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On Saturday 24th August 2024, local engineer and STEM ambassador, Alisha Bell, ran a special event at Keighley Creative.

The event was titled Engineering and Arts Exploration and Alisha and the team welcomed local families to come along and join in the fun activities exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths through arts and crafts.

A highlight of the event was a visit by Toylab, encouraging children to create their own unique creations from reusing old and broken toys.

There were also various other activities and experiments for local children to get involved in, illustrating how fun and exciting science and engineering can be!

The event also exhibited the work of local artists who had created special pieces to showcase the engineering heritage of Keighley, with paintings from Leonie Briggs, Jane Fielder, Nicola Smith, Andrea Shevloff, Andy, Anne Marie, Serena Redferne, Judy Sale and Nicola Storr.

The Engineering and Arts Exploration exhibition is on display in our gallery area and will up for the next few weeks. Feel free to pop in to our premises on Cooke Lane to have a look.

The Engineering and Arts Exploration project was funded by The Leap, partnered with the Arts Council England, Creative People and Places and Bradford Council and hosted and supported by Keighley Creative.

Alisha Bell in her welding mask!

Tags art, engineering, keighley creative, stem

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Keighley children celebrate their Pledges to the Landscape

Post author By KeighleyCreative
Post date August 20, 2024
No Comments on Keighley children celebrate their Pledges to the Landscape

Pippa Vellacott, four, shows off the wind chime she made at the creative nature event at Cliffe Castle organised by Keighley Creative Photo: Bob Smith Photography

On Saturday 17th August 2024, 100s of Keighley people came along to Cliffe Castle park and joined in some fun, creative sessions run by Keighley Creative that focused on learning about the environment.

Families who attended were given the opportunity to join in with all sorts of activities and everyone was welcomed to get stuck in, no matter what their age or ability.

Approximately 350 visitors took part in various activities using and celebrating nature including making journals, sharing stories, making wind chimes, taking a story stick for a walk and adding their self-made pom-poms to the “Blanket Bog Blanket”.

Some of the comments from families that attended included:

“My kids really, really loved it all. It was so nice to see so many people getting involved.”

“Pom-pom making is so satisfying and calming.”

“I made a journal and I’m going to record in here every day of the summer holidays.”

“Making wind chimes was a very therapeutic activity.”

The creative nature event at Cliffe Castle organised by Keighley Creative Photo: Bob Smith Photography

Local artist, educator and project lead, Naseem Darbey, was thrilled that the event was such a success and said:

“It was a family celebration enjoyed by all and we got so much positive feedback evidencing how much the workshops were loved. People left with their nature gift bags stuffed full of all their own fabulous handmade goods including journals, wind chimes, pom-poms and recipes, and even stories to share. Cliffe Castle park was buzzing and it was fab to see so many smiles.”

The Pledges to the Landscape event was a celebration of a ongoing project run by the charity alongside Yorkshire Peat Partnership (YPP), and funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Community Climate Grants. Local school children from Year 5 at Eastwood, Victoria, Riddlesden St. Mary’s, Worth Valley, Holycroft and Merlin Top primaries were involved as classes were given their own “micro-peatbogs” to look after and then took part in interactive art workshops in the classroom.

The aim of the Pledges to the Landscape project and the event was not only to get creative but to help educate participants about the environment around them and particularly the importance of Yorkshire’s peat bogs, their plants and wildlife.

Lucy Lee from Yorkshire Peat Partnership with the “Blanket Bog Blanket”. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

Spokesperson from YPP, Lucy Lee, said: “Our unique landscapes, peatlands and their plants are truly beautiful but they are also critical to the preservation of our natural environment. It’s important that we all learn about how important bogs are so we are keen to get children involved from as young an age as possible.”

The workshops have been designed and delivered by Naseem, who visited the schools and helped children study their own classroom “micro-bog”. She encouraged pupils to be inspired by the plants that were growing in the bog and to study them using hand-lenses and identification cards. They then used their senses to observe and their drawing skills to record what they had discovered.

Naseem said: “The children that have been involved in the classroom project learnt about the importance of the plants and landscapes around them and how their preservation is essential. We looked at the past, present and future of these environments to help the children understand how they work and they documented the peatbogs using drawing materials. They tried different drawing techniques which helped the children really engage with the bog and they created some beautiful art in the process.”

Showing off the Worth Valley Primary School bog at the creative nature event at Cliffe Castle are, from left, Naseem Darbey, Victoria Townson and Lucy Lee. Photo: Bob Smith Photography

As Naseem continued: “The sessions provided by YPP and I were designed to engage the children by having fun, being creative and sometimes getting messy! This hands-on approach really helped the children understand their local environment and has hopefully inspired the next generation to contribute to the conservation of our peatlands.”

The project has been funded by Bradford Council, the Mayor of West Yorkshire and West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Community Climate Grants.

Newly appointed Creative Director, Paula Clark finished by saying: “As a newcomer to Keighley Creative I am so excited by the energy and enthusiasm of the people of Keighley to get involved in this creative and collaborative community project. It’s also fantastic to see the commitment of the talented Keighley Creative team and Yorkshire Peat Partnership to make meaningful projects like this happen. I’m looking forward to everything that is to come next!”

For more information on your local peatlands, please contact Yorkshire Peat Partnership. For more information on arts and crafts workshop offerings from Keighley Creative and Naseem Darbey, please email admin@keighleycreative.org

Tags cliffe castle, eco, environment, family, keighley, keighley creative, kids, peat, peatland

Community workshops Family fun Previous

Arts and Crafts at Eid on the Green

Post author By KeighleyCreative
Post date June 25, 2024
No Comments on Arts and Crafts at Eid on the Green

This weekend a big community event was held on Church Green in Keighley.

The Eid on the Green event featured a host of activities including an arts and crafts stall hosted by our fab team as well as soft archery, rodeo football and face painting.

There were also stalls by Keighley Lions and Pawperfection Rehoming and housing association, Incommunities, ran a competition for the best henna designs.

An amazing performance was put on by local musicians and dancers Punjabi Roots and Cecil Green Arts held a circus workshop and show.

Thank you to Keighley Town Council for organising and hosting the event which took place on the Church Green car park on Saturday 22nd June 2024.

For information on Keighley Creative hosting an arts and craft workshop at your next event, please email admin@keighleycreative.org

Tags art, craft, eid, family, keighley, keighley creative, workshop

Community workshops Family fun

Celebrating St. George’s Day in Keighley

Post author By KeighleyCreative
Post date April 30, 2024

St. George’s Day celebrations came to Keighley on Sunday 21st April 2024 with a parade followed by lots of activities and goings-on inside the Airedale Shopping Centre.

As well as lots of performers and entertainment put on by the shopping centre and Keighley Town Council, Keighley Creative were invited to run a themed craft workshop for local families.

Lots of people came along to enjoy the activities including Punch and Judy shows, stilt walkers and face-painting. And lots of children came along and made and designed their own shield and sword. We had lots of unique creations courtesy of Keighley kids!

Thank you to the shopping centre and Keighley Town Council for organising such a fab event.

To attend our next community arts and craft workshop, please follow our social media.

Tags airedale shopping centre, crafts, keighley, keighley creative, st george's day

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Celebrating Eid in Keighley with arts and craft workshop

Post author By KeighleyCreative
Post date April 23, 2024

Eid celebrations were a great success at Keighley Market this year.

Local artist and experienced facilitator, Emily Parkin, designed and led a fun Eid themed craft activity on Saturday 13th April. The families who attended made Eid cards to pass on to loved ones.

Lots of Keighley people got involved and it was a real celebration!

Thank you to Keighley Market for hosting and for Bradford Markets and Bradford Council for their support.

To find out about our next family-friendly arts and crafts workshops, please follow @keighleycreative on social media or check on our website.

Family fun Stockroom

Keighley cinema hosted young film festival

Post author By KeighleyCreative
Post date April 22, 2024

This April, Keighley Creative and The Unit welcomed some new movie-goers to its teeny Stockroom Cinema.

Leeds Film contacted us about using our pop-up cinema to offer Keighley families a unique cinema experience over the Easter holidays.

Screenings put on were part of the Leeds Young Film Festival (LYFF) and included 80s’ fantasy classic Labyrinth, the Roald Dahl animation Fantastic Mr Fox and the still popular cartoon Moomins. Most popular was the unique Marcel the Shell with shoes on who entertained viewers both young and old.

Thanks so much to the team at Leeds Film and our fabulous bunch of volunteers for putting on such a great series of events.

For more information on our Stockroom Cinema and performance space, please email admin@keighleycreative.org or contact The Unit.

For more information on Leeds Film and their film festivals, please visit their website leedsfilm.com

Tags family fun, film, film festival, keighley, keighley creative, leeds film, screening, stockroom cinema

Family fun

Eggsellent crafting at Easter workshop

Post author By KeighleyCreative
Post date April 2, 2024

Saturday 30th March we welcomed lots of Keighley families to our market workshop.

The Easter Craft Eggstravaganza was supported by the Keighley Creative team, Keighley Market and Bradford Council and our facilitators, Emily and Demi, helped lots of local children make some eggsellent Easter themed mosaics.

The event was a great success with lots of attendees. The children loved getting creative with the crafting and having their face painted. There was even a surprise appearance from the Easter bunny!