Celebrating Leeds

Having missed out on being European Capital of Culture due to Brexit and losing out in the bid to host Eurovision, in 2023, the city of Leeds is hosting a year of cultural celebrations

Leeds Year of Culture 2023 will be running partnerships and events to promote culture in the city. The project will aim to unlock opportunities for everyone to find enjoyment and live their best life through participating in creative activity; boost engagement in culture particularly among people who face barriers because of their experience or circumstances; lead and showcase cultural transformation and play an active role in the city and region’s social, economic and cultural recovery from the pandemic.
    
Tracy Brabin, mayor of West Yorkshire said: “LEEDS 2023 is an exciting year of culture that will show the world everything this fantastic city has to offer. “We know that our creative talent rivals anywhere in the country, and LEEDS 2023 will give people a fantastic opportunity to express themselves, all while boosting our local economy.”
“It’s important that we’re also empowering women and girls across our region, giving them the tools to get into work or change careers with boot camps to share and learn construction skills.”

LEEDS 2023
LEEDS 2023 is run by the Leeds Culture Trust, an independent charity set up in 2019 by Leeds City Council as part of its Culture Strategy and as a response to the cancellation of the UK’s participation in the European Capital of Culture competition, following Brexit. The event is supported by Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund.
    
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, culture and education said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be supporting LEEDS 2023 and to be seeing this hugely imaginative and exciting programme of events taking shape across the coming year.

“Culture has a unique ability to both enhance and empower our communities, giving them the platform to showcase exactly what makes Leeds such a special place. It also makes a massive contribution to our local and regional economies, attracting visitors, businesses and inward investment.
    
“We can’t wait to be part of what will be a transformative celebration of culture, creativity and innovation in Leeds.”

Vision and values
Leeds 2023 states as its vision: “A thriving, exciting and inclusive Leeds. Where creativity fuels opportunity. For everyone.” and its mission is “to deliver a year of creative experiences which connect people and change their relationship with culture for good.”
    
The project has four values: Compassionate: “It’s with a huge heart that we’ll look out for each other, knowing we’re stronger together.” Bold: “Together, we know our spirit, imagination and creativity will make a positive difference to thousands of lives.” Confident: “With a team we trust and people who can both inspire and be inspired, we can achieve amazing things.” And finally, Inventive: “The rule book has gone; ripped up and thrown out in favour of fresh thinking, brave ideas and new ways of doing things.”

Events
The year began with a kick-off event called The Awakening at Headingley Stadium. Hosted by Gabby Logan and Sanchez Payne, the event featured live performances and appearances from Corinne Bailey Rae, Simon Armitage and LYR, The Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North, Graft, Inder Goldfinger, Testament, Hope and Social, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Denmarc Creary, and George Webster. Attendees exchanged artwork in return for tickets for the event and these artworks will be displayed in a pop-up exhibition across the city from January to April.
    
Several events, activities and exhibitions will be taking place across the city throughout the year.
    
The WOW Barn, created by WOW - Women of the World Festival Founder Jude Kelly CBE, is a temporary structure on Cinder Moor, which will host two weeks of discussion, music, performance and workshops. Applications for Barnraisers (300 women and non-binary people to help raise The Barn) are open now.
    
Leeds Literature Festival will hold a special edition on the themes of untold stories, radical acts, playful adventures and future generations from 25 February to 5 March. Events at Leeds Literature Festival include a workshop from Dan Coxon on “Weirding Your Fiction”, live poetry reading from Lemn Sissay and others and A Day in the Life of an Astronaut with Mike Barfield.
    
Several events will be free of charge, including an All-Night Readathon at Chapel FM Arts Centre and a screening of The Magician, a new film from James Phillips featuring a dystopian vision of Leeds.
    
There are also several family events including Lego building and learning how to code robots. Author and illustrator Sharon Rentta will be talking about space with Stella the Squirrel and Sophie Deen will be sharing her latest Asha Joshi book.
    
The Leeds 2023 Creative Learning Programme aims to give children and young people a chance to take part in the Year of Culture. The programme includes classroom resources, facilitated workshops, participatory activities, and opportunities for learning outside the classroom. Learning resources are available such as classroom resources, facilitated workshops, and school trips, which map to subjects in the National Curriculum, are inclusive for learners of all abilities, are free to download or participate in and enhance the development of cultural capital. Key Stage 1 resources include Indie and Punk Music in Leeds and the History of the Leeds Rhinos, with Leeds Men’s captain Kruise Leeming.
    
A culture map is available, showing where all the events will be taking place.

Neighbourhood hosts
33 Neighbourhood hosts – one for each ward - will be highlighting Leeds communities. The hosts will be meeting every week and participating in training workshops, trips and discussions. They will be exploring their wards, finding out what makes them special and highlighting the creativity and culture within them. The hosts will also be helping residents take part in the opportunities of Leeds 2023.
    
Kelly Hamilton, Gipton & Harehills Neighbourhood Host said: “I want to give back to and inspire my rich and warm community, by lifting and celebrating the vibrant and diverse voices that dwell here.”
    
Caroline Newsome, Garforth & Swillington Neighbourhood Host added: “Having the opportunity to be involved in creative activities can have a transformative impact on people’s lives and I’m so excited to be a part of this outstanding project.”
    
Local residents are encouraged to take part by volunteering, to make connections, get a culture boost and discover opportunities to grow. Locals can apply online.

Sustainable travel
First Bus has also partnered with the festival to promote sustainable travel. A bright-pink, ultra-low-emission bus will be running around Leeds over the next year to promote the project.
    
John Godfrey, head of marketing for first bus in West Yorkshire said: “We’re delighted to partner this 12-month celebration of cultural events, diversity and attractions across the city. The bus will be used on routes throughout Leeds so we’ll help to get the message into communities. Travel for leisure, social and entertainment activities has come back strongly and we’re looking to build on this behaviour and welcome more customers through the year. LEEDS 2023 will create opportunities to explore and discover new experiences and we share in the ambition of the organisers to encourage the people of Leeds and visitors to use sustainable travel to get there.”

Extraordinary experiences
Kully Thiarai, creative director and CEO, LEEDS 2023 said: “With the kind support and the true Yorkshire grit of the whole city, along with the help of partners, colleagues and peers, from the very local to the global, we have together dreamed up a year of creativity that we hope will provide much needed joy, delight and extraordinary experiences for everyone.
    
“Our Year of Culture is designed to wake up our senses and reveal our city in brand new and surprising ways; in ways perhaps that you never expected or noticed previously. We know that when this city speaks it has a proper story to tell. And it is our ambition to be the spotlight and foghorn for all the glorious creativity that is behind every door, in every home: broadcasting the brilliance of Leeds beyond the region and to all of us who live and work in the city.”