What is Kirkstall Art Trail?
Kirkstall Art Trail began as an annual event in 2015, taking place over a weekend in July.
Kirkstall Art Trail has grown over the years. With ever more venues, artists, activities and visitors. It continued to be a big part of the Leeds creative calendar until 2019. The Covid pandemic forcing a break on activities from 2020 until 2022.
In 2023, the trail relaunched, welcoming over 1,400 visitors to Kirkstall.
Our Aims
The aim of the Kirkstall Art Trail is to encourage engagement and as an education of art in all its forms. It is a free event for visitors and artists to meet and inspire each other.
The event has had a huge impact in the community. From promoting community cohesion, creating connections, and combating loneliness. It has also helped give a boost to artists who are starting out, whilst giving space for more established artists to share their knowledge.
Kirkstall Art Trail’s main beneficiaries are the residents of Kirkstall – the area is ranked 33 in the Index of Multiple Deprivation, 2019 (see note 1). As well as the surrounding areas of west Leeds and further afield.
The visitors and artists involved in Kirkstall Art Trail are from all ages and social backgrounds. Kirkstall Art Trail has successful partnerships with a variety of organisations. Working with local schools, allotment gardens, social and sports clubs, retail, and places of worship.
The Trail in 2024
A small committee of volunteers manages the operation of Kirkstall Art Trail. Led by Mandy Long (Chair), Mindy Goose (Secretary), and Jim Corah (Treasurer). Committee members take on individual projects, to bring Kirkstall Art Trail together.
We have recruited over 100 artists, performers and workshop facilitators. They will be hosted by almost 40 venues across LS5.
A variety of venues host the artists, ranging from residential, historic and retail. This year Kirkstall Art Trail are promoting some exciting new events. These include a photography competition, a poetry trail, and a charity sustainable fashion show. We are also working on some planned projects. These are:
- a large-scale mural covering the gable end of a block terrace house, located in the heart of Kirkstall
- artist led community workshops in two areas of Kirkstall. These will develop art based on the experiences of residents.
- a large Hollywood style sign, with letters spelling out ‘KAT’.
A brand-new website has been created, which showcases all the artists, poets, performers, and workshop facilitators. In addition to this, Kirkstall Art Trail is creating a culture of inclusion, putting accessibility at the heart of our Event. We are dedicated to helping our visitors make better informed decisions before their visit, and have researched and implemented accessibility, not only on the website, but also in the choices we make in hosting the Event. This project has been led by Mindy Goose, who is a disabled person herself.
Why should you sponsor us?
The Trail is only made possible by the generosity of individuals, businesses, and our funders.
Sponsorship helps us to create an exciting programme. It makes a real difference to the impact that the Trail has, the number of people we can reach out to, and the amount of activities and artist support we can deliver. This includes the creative workshops, and legacy art projects within the Kirkstall area.
We would like to collaborate with local businesses to achieve this. Your sponsorship will help support the three core aims through our event:
- encouraging engagement in art,
- bringing communities together,
- boosting art and culture.
This year we will be carrying out Quantitative research with our visitors, using QR code stickers around the trail, that will take them to an anonymous survey, we are hoping for this year to capture even more data about the Trail.
Sponsorship Options
We have different tiers for sponsorship set out below:
Bronze £50
What you get
• A thank you on ‘Our Supporters’ page on the website.
• Acknowledgement and feature on social media.
• Feature in the promotional material we display at venues.
• Invite to our Wrap Party.
Silver £250
What you get
All of the benefits of the Bronze Tier, plus:
• The opportunity to advertise on or at venues (with your provision of your marketing materials).
• Logo on Map (timeframe permitting).
Gold £1,500+
What you get
All of the benefits of the Silver Tier, plus:
• Named as a project sponsor.
• Named as a main sponsor.
• Featured on our website as a top sponsor – with brand logos and links to your website.