I went to the Leeds Street Gallery event at Seagulls Paint last year as a punter, and was buzzed to be asked to share a stall with my pals Rory and Ali at this year’s event.
Running under the title of Jubilee Block Party, like many events that weekend, it had little to do with celebrating the Jubilee and everything to do with celebrating creativity and supporting the local scene.
If you’ve not encountered either, Leeds Street Gallery provide legal art walls, and Seagulls Paint are a social enterprise who reprocess waste paint and sell it at an affordable price from their shop, situated just off Kirkstall Road. They also run Seagulls Mosaic, which is a community arts programme.
Like many of the spaces along Kirkstall Road, Seagulls has a huge yard outside the building, which is perfect for events such as the Jubilee Block Party. There was live painting all day from a host of Leeds-based artists, and also people from further afield, and it was excellent to watch the various pieces evolve throughout the day.
If you want to check out any of the talented folks responsible for this, here are the links:
The event also, of course, had food, a bar and some great coffee, and it was good to see my old pal Arturo ( @arturostacos9999 ) serving up some excellent tacos, which set me up for the day.
There was music throughout, from DJs playing a vast plethora of sounds – hip hop, reggae, jazz, funk and even a bit of house. Again, if you want to give any of the DJs a follow, check out:
and also myself and Rory who had a spin as well as manning our stall…
Rory and I both paint, and we went along with art prints to sell, while our mate Ali ( @ali_cat_vintage ) brought along her amazing collection of vintage clothes. We also had a few prints from Josefus Haze ( @josefushazedesign ), who came down to help out on the day.
We were next to @ytho_incorperated who make some truly amazing things. I came away with a cool t-shirt and some stickers, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The most wonderful item on display was a Gregg’s vegan sausage roll encased in resin, and priced at a ludicrous £100, because such a thing is, of course, priceless.
I was also really taken by the work of Bad Drawings by Tom ( @baddrawingsbytom ), capturing LS6 life and Becky Mann ( @itstherealbeckymann ), whose postcards are now added to the vast array of things to look at on my walls.
Keeping the walls bright and interesting is, I feel, key to having an environment you can thrive in, and it’s great that these things happen, and are supported, in Leeds. As well as continuing to provide places for people to paint, Leeds Street Gallery have more events coming up in the near future. Be sure to check them out…
LSG & Friends in the @meanhood.co – 16th July with @number8cocktails
LSG Presents an evening with (tbc) – 15th October @ Seagulls
Words and Photos: Roya Brehl
