Museums celebrate people and history of West Yorkshire in new exhibitions

29 May 2019

Five museums across West Yorkshire have joined up for the first time to celebrate what makes the county so unique.

The ‘We Are West Yorkshire’ project brings together five new exhibitions from the county’s local authority museums services in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.

Each exhibition shines a spotlight some of the different qualities that make West Yorkshire such a special place, as well as showcasing the amazing richness and variety of our local museum collections. The exhibitions are running across the next year and include:

Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford – We are People: Bradford, until 22 September 2019

Portraying the diversity of the people of Bradford through a selection of artworks and social history items, this exhibition looks at some of Bradford’s most successful home-grown talent, including David Hockney.

Smith Art Gallery, Halifax – God’s Own Country, until October 2019

See art inspired by the county and works created by West Yorkshire artists in this display that reveals the beauty of West Yorkshire’s landscapes.

Tolson Museum, Huddersfield – A Woman’s Work is Never Done, opening 23 July

This photographic exhibition explores the lives of women during the 19th and early 20th centuries in roles as diverse as rag sorters and bomb makers. It discovers the limitations placed on women’s work and reveals the opportunities created by the First World War.

Leeds City Museum – A City and its Welcome: Three centuries of migrating to Leeds, 12 July 2019 – 5 January 2020

Showcasing the stories and experiences of people who have made a home in Leeds over the past three centuries and have helped shape the city that we recognise today. With brand new items that have been collected for the exhibition, oral histories and more.

Castleford Museum – In a League of Their Own, until March 2020

This exhibition will look at the history and impact of Rugby League, the sport which was born in West Yorkshire. ‘In A League of Their Own’ tracks the history of Rugby League from its beginnings in Huddersfield in 1895 to the Super League stars of today.

The We Are West Yorkshire project has been made possible through funding and support from Arts Council England.

Pete Massey, Arts Council England, Director for the North – Yorkshire & The Humber, and Northern Economy and Partnerships said:

“We are West Yorkshire shows what a rich collection of objects can be seen in local museums and is a wonderful celebration of the people and landscapes that make West Yorkshire what it is today.

It is a fantastic demonstration of successful collaboration across the museum services in the region.”

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact: marketingmuseums@leeds.gov.uk

Notes to editors

WYLAMP

The exhibitions are an initiative of WYLAMP – the West Yorkshire Local Authority Museum Partnership. WYLAMP partners believe that by working together and sharing strengths, they can provide the best possible museum service for West Yorkshire.

WYLAMP’s members are: Bradford Museums and Galleries; Calderdale Museums; Kirklees Museums and Galleries; Leeds Museums and Galleries; Wakefield Museums

The museums, historic houses and art galleries operated by the five West Yorkshire local authorities include:

• Bradford: Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Cliffe Castle Museum, Bradford industrial museum, Bolling Hall Museum.
• Calderdale: Bankfield Museum, Shibden Hall, Smith Art Gallery, Heptsonstall Museum, Duke of Wellington’s Regimental Museum.
• Kirklees: Bagshaw Museum, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Oakwell Hall and Country Park, Tolson Museum.
• Leeds: Abbey House Museum, Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds City Museum, Leeds Discovery Centre, Leeds Industrial Museum, Lotherton, Temple Newsam, Thwaite Watermill.
• Wakefield: Castleford Museum, Pontefract Museum, Pontefract Castle, Wakefield Museum.

West Yorkshire’s local authority museums, galleries and historic houses regularly feature in surveys of the most visited free and paid visitor attractions in the region. In 2016/17, they contributed over £34 million to the regional economy and attracted over 1.7 million visitors through their doors.

Arts Council England

 Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country.