A figure by Sir Antony Gormley perched atop the Pioneer Adult Skills Centre in Northgate keeping a watchful eye on the comings and goings of the people of Dewsbury. The figure is on a ten year loan to mark the opening of the refurbished Pioneer House by Kirklees College and the beginning of the Creative Town arts programme.
The rooftop figure is an echo of his work in London 2007
and 'Event Horizon' exhibition in New York in 2010.
The Dewsbury and wider Kirklees area has many artists, sculptors, musicians and other creative arts as well as local centres focused on particular cultural activities. Check out the listings below.
A new art installation using recycled materials was unveiled in the town centre in April 2023. The installation features recycled letters that spell out the town’s name to welcome visitors to the town centre. This artwork was commissioned as part of the Dewsbury Creative Town Arts Programme, which is aimed at breathing new life into
Read MoreTessella is a permanent gateway feature for pedestrians arriving in the town centre via the pedestrian underpass. Incorporating a tiling design using 3,000 unique tiles designed by Saba Rifat who drew inspiration from urban patterns found in the town. The previous tiling incorporating designs by a number of local artists were carefully photographed in situ
Read MoreWalls Have Ears by Adrian Riley features eight coloured metal panels installed on the outside wall of Dewsbury bus station. Each panel contains words and phrases used by local people in their conversations with Adrian during the preparation of the work. Originally commissioned in 2019 but delayed by Covid, the work was installed on 7 May
Read MoreThe Antony Gormley figure is on loan to Kirklees College to mark the end of the restoration of the former Cooperative building and its opening by Kirklees College as an Adult Skills training centre as well as the beginning of the Dewsbury Creative Town project. The figure was installed on 13th April 2021 and stands in
Read MoreSix works by local artist Kathryn Ensall. Enlarged and printed on vinyl they adorn the end wall of Redbrick mill on the Batley/Dewsbury border. The originals, painted in oil in 1997. are held in the permanent collection of Kirklees Council.
Read MoreSaturday, 3rd December dawned with the good news for the Dewsbury Christmas Lights of a weather forecast of only 5% probability of rain – which was music to our ears after the soaking we got last year. But fate wasn’t finished with us yet as we waited for Covid test results to come in for
Read MoreSupriya Nagarajan is Artistic Director of Manasamitra, an artist-led organisation based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, delivering a range of exciting and original cross-cultural experiences. Supriya is a classically-trained Carnatic singer who is inspired by not only the traditions of her South Asian roots but also by a drive to work with new ideas, forms and aesthetics
Read MoreSam Hodgson (aka Samh) is a songwriter, a researcher, and community musician. Samh has been experimenting with an unusual folk-coloured sound for almost 10 years. The latest EP, Glowinglow, features a collection of instruments including 80’s keyboards, a handmade xylophone, wind-up clock chimes, soft synths and Turkish skin drums. All this accompanies his masterful guitar playing and
Read MoreA percussionist with an international reputation, Claudio Kron do Brasil lives in Dewsbury. He performs frequently in our local pubs while also composing, recording, workshoping, facilitating, creating videos, projects, companies and collaborating with the finest musicians and artists and performing at international music festivals..Claudio shares his vast knowledge of Brazilian rhythms with hundreds of schools, colleges,
Read MoreTessella is a permanent gateway feature for pedestrians arriving in the town centre via the pedestrian underpass. Incorporating a tiling design using 3,000 unique tiles designed by Saba Rifat who drew inspiration from urban patterns found in the town. The previous tiling incorporating designs by a number of local artists were carefully photographed in situ
Read MoreWalls Have Ears by Adrian Riley features eight coloured metal panels installed on the outside wall of Dewsbury bus station. Each panel contains words and phrases used by local people in their conversations with Adrian during the preparation of the work. Originally commissioned in 2019 but delayed by Covid, the work was installed on 7 May
Read MoreFormer Oil Field Equipment Mechanic Supervisor at Balfour Beatty Engineering Services, former coalminer and long time resident of Dewsbury. Malcolm East is currently producing a maritime series of paintings to help raise funds for the RNLI.Malcolm EastHis earlier work included memories of his home town of Dewsbury and of his life down the pits as a
Read MoreThe Antony Gormley figure is on loan to Kirklees College to mark the end of the restoration of the former Cooperative building and its opening by Kirklees College as an Adult Skills training centre as well as the beginning of the Dewsbury Creative Town project. The figure was installed on 13th April 2021 and stands in
Read MoreSix works by local artist Kathryn Ensall. Enlarged and printed on vinyl they adorn the end wall of Redbrick mill on the Batley/Dewsbury border. The originals, painted in oil in 1997. are held in the permanent collection of Kirklees Council.
Read MoreEmmeline North is an emerging multi disciplined artist, making her name with her large scale murals, and striking surface pattern designs. Recent clients include:Redbrick Mill, BatleySelina Hotels GroupWellspring Academy TrustOriginally working in surface pattern and design for interiors, Emmeline, or Charlotte as she is known back home in Leeds, studied printed textiles and surface pattern design at
Read MoreMural Artist, Large scale painter, Film maker, Printer. Art based in my joy of life that I hope is infectious. Painting outside spaces, Hotels, Restaurants, Shops and Hand making Fine Art Prints. Also work using Art in a community setting with groups and agencies Art has left the Gallery and is now everywhere.Trafford Parsons ArtFrom music roadie to ballet
Read MoreSculptor – Artist – Stone CarverMelanie Wilks is a sculptor living and working in Dewsbury who specialises in the carving of stone using hand held tools.She produces drawings for her sculpture and uses them as a guide while not allowing the final work to be limited by her initial intentions.Melanie has been producing sculptures in
Read MoreSculptor in Scrap MetalFormer maintenance engineer in the textile industry, Graham Jenkinson uses the same tools and equipment to inject scrap metal, old tools and redundant machinery with a new lease of life.Intending to make people smile by imbuing his work with quirky characteristics, Graham has exhibited extensively as well as producing works for public
Read MoreBruce Mulcahy pictured during one of his workshopsBruce Mulcahy was born and bred in Dewsbury and continues to work here. After gaining an honours degree in Fine Art at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1978 he immediately won commissions and began painting full time. He has exhibited around the world and his work is held
Read MoreSupriya Nagarajan is Artistic Director of Manasamitra, an artist-led organisation based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, delivering a range of exciting and original cross-cultural experiences. Supriya is a classically-trained Carnatic singer who is inspired by not only the traditions of her South Asian roots but also by a drive to work with new ideas, forms and aesthetics
Read MoreA vibrant club with over 150 members catering for both the experienced turner who may wish to develop their skills and for the complete novice.The club has a well equipped workshop which includes 16 lathes, bandsaws, sanders and a planer/thicknesser.Tuition and advice is freely available from the team leaders and the more experienced members.Note that
Read MoreThe Creative Arts Hub located in Mirfield is an independent, self supported, artist-led initiative supporting artists in the creation and promotion of new artwork. With 12 studio spaces and an exhibition gallery the Hub provides activities and workshops for all age ranges and skill levels as well as hosting a programme of exhibitions by contemporary artists. The
Read MoreThe monthly Creative Breakfast run by Simon Thirkill in the Brigantia rehearsal space has been instrumental in bringing together people interested in creative activity in Dewsbury whether as performers, artists, organisers or those most valuable people, volunteers, who just want to help out and have some fun. As is often the case, there’s more going on
Read MoreWhere you can buy many works by artists based in Dewsbury and the local area
On the Mezzanine floor of Redbrick Mill, 218 Bradford Road, Batley, WF17 6JF.