The history of Kirkstall Art Trail
Kirkstall Art Trail had its humble beginnings, launching on Saturday 18 July 2015. The event hosted over 40 artists across 22 Kirkstall venues, with an estimated 500 people visiting on the day. The event has grown in size over the years, now including the Sunday, allowing visitors to fit more in over the whole weekend.
The Art Trail continues to be a big part of the Leeds creative calendar, with only a break on activities between 2020 and 2022 due to the Covid pandemic. In 2023, the trail relaunched, welcoming visitors back to Kirkstall. In 2025, over 100 artists took part, hosted across 40 venues. The Art Trail has now established itself as a creative influence within Kirkstall, and a wider cultural highlight within Leeds and Yorkshire beyond. Take a tour around previous maps, from 2015 to the present; see how far we’ve come!
About the ‘Kirkstall’ in the trail
The historic Kirkstall Village area (within Leeds LS5) is the location for the Art Trail. Kirkstall is home to one of the best-preserved Cistercian monasteries in the country. Founded over 800 years ago, Kirkstall Abbey is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled ancient monument. Abbey House Museum, situated in the former gatehouse, dates back to the 12th century. The museum hosts a wealth of local historical knowledge. Once inside, you can stroll Victorian streets and explore shops, houses, and the local pub. Both sites have made fine backdrops to showcase artists, workshops, and events for the Trail.
Another site that Kirkstall Art Trail partners with is Hollybush. The environmental volunteering centre has been running for over 40 years. The Hollybush building dates back to at least 1700 when the site was a farm. The farm, under the ownership of Joseph Whitwell in the 1860s, was the first to pioneer forced rhubarb. Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb now has Protected Designation of Origin – much like Champagne, feta cheese, and Jersey Royal potatoes.
St Stephen’s Church also plays host to artists for the trail. Designed by the architect R. D. Chantrell, it was built in the Gothic Revival style and opened in 1828. It is one of the many ‘Commissioners’ churches’ built in the early 1800s when industrial towns had outgrown their churches.
With these four remarkable heritage sites, Kirkstall Art Trail is an essential visit.
The Kirkstall Art Trail committee
We are a small volunteer-led charitable, not-for-profit organisation. The organising committee consists of eight members, coming from a range of backgrounds, with most of us living within Kirkstall. Some of the tasks we carry out include:
- raising funds
- organising activities
- finding and selecting artists
- booking venues
- recruiting volunteers
- creating social media
- managing websites
- and all the other behind-the-scenes jobs you can, or even can’t, think of.
We welcome any interest from the public to volunteer or join the committee. Please visit the volunteer page to find out how.
Kirkstall Art Trail is an unincorporated association, and we are governed by a constitution.
Find out more about the Kirkstall Art Trail organisers, Meet the Team
Our aims and objectives
We aim to create an event where people have the opportunity to learn new creative skills.
We aim to create an environment that allows visitors to derive inspiration and enjoyment from their interaction with the artists and the art trail as a whole.
We aim to support art in schools, where local schools welcome participation in the art trail. We aim to facilitate projects that give children first-hand experience working with professional artists.
We aim to encourage artists from all backgrounds to take part, where they feel that art is for them.
We aim to give encouragement, guidance, and support to new artists with the objective of boosting their confidence.
We aim to give space for established artists to share their work and knowledge with others.
We aim to make the event as welcoming and as accessible as possible. For example, investing time in ensuring that visitors have detailed accessibility information to empower them to make their own decisions.
We aim to create an impact in Kirkstall and the surrounding neighbourhoods.
We aim to offer a rich experience that will enhance people’s well-being and bring communities together.
We aim to create an invitation for people to get out in the locality, be sociable, and form lasting friendships and connections.
We aim to create and build upon partnerships with a variety of organisations that provide venues for the event. These include heritage sites such as Kirkstall Abbey, along with local community spaces, schools, allotments, sports and social clubs, and the church.
We aim to create a supportive neighbourhood network that empowers local residents to take part by opening up their homes as mini art galleries.
These aims help to create unique opportunities for artists to show their work in unusual settings and for visitors to view art outside of a traditional gallery.