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Main Vessel Exhibition

3rd September - 30th October 2022


Vessel investigates the form and function of vessels through 2D and 3D visual art & craft, events and discussion.

Opening times: Tuesday-Saturday 10-4, Sunday 12-4. Closed on Mondays.

FREE ENTRY


Alice Fox
Ann Povey
Carol Douglas
Frances Lee
Helaina Sharpley
Jeremy Nichols
Joe Andrew
Loretta Braganza
Sarah du Feu
Zoe Preece


The Arts Team headed out for a belated new year tr The Arts Team headed out for a belated new year trip to York today. We planned, looked back on 2025 and got quite involved with @yorkartgallery’s engagement activities.

Our 2026-2027 Arts Programme was feeling pretty solid already, but we’re feeling even more confident after a bit of room to dream in one of our favourite cities. Onwards and upwards! 

[Image 1 shows Natalie, Millie and Amy posing happily in front of a medieval stone gatehouse below a blue cloudy sky in York. Image 2 shows Amy smiling at the camera whilst standing in a room of York Art Gallery covered in squishy colourful forms. Image 3 shows a light installation made up from strings of glowing white orbs suspended from the ceiling, created by Squidsoup in York Art Gallery. Image 4 shows Natalie and Millie wearing matching brown patterned capes and wicker man style headpieces standing in an airy room at York Art Gallery. Image 5 shows Amy, Millie and Anna laughing and battling the wind as they share a small black umbrella on a rainy day in York. Image 6 shows Anna  smiling as she poses with a squishy oval textile form resting on her shoulders.]
When we think of traditional textile weaving, we m When we think of traditional textile weaving, we may imagine cloth created from natural fibres such as wool, linen or cotton - but did you know horsehair has been used since Georgian times to produce a fine, strong lustre cloth? 

You can’t keep any of the Sunny Bank team away from a good textile experience, and in November 2025, William, Sarah and Jack visited the UK’s only horsehair weaver, John Boyd Textiles, tucked away in the village of Castle Cary in deepest Somerset.

If you, like William, are a textile fanatic, and would like to read the full and very technical description of what he discovered, read his new blog using the link in our bio!

For the less fanatical, the cloth width is determined by the length of a horse's tail, it's dyed, woven by machine but in a methodical slow-textile kind of way and there are some nice pictures!

Shades vary from the natural hues of ecrus through to jet black, and eye-popping pinks, blues and acid greens. John Boyd horsehair fabrics can be seen at all the major interior shows in the UK and Europe. It was a great privilege to see the skill of horsehair weaving not only being kept alive but also a commercial success. 

Our thanks to everyone at John Boyd for sharing their time and expertise.

 #TextileHistory #HorsehairWeaving #JohnBoydTextiles #TraditionalTextiles #InteriorDesignUK #SustainableTextiles #BritishCraftsmanship #WeavingTechniques #TextileInnovation
It’s a grey Sunday in Leeds, but we’re not feeling It’s a grey Sunday in Leeds, but we’re not feeling it in the Gallery 🌞

Come along and see the bold, playful and evocative work of this year’s Ones to Watch cohort and vote for your People’s Choice Award winner. 

The Artists:

Abbie Bruff - @abbierosebruff
Aleksandra Druc - @aleksandra.illus 
Andrea Marsh - @andreamarshart 
Anouk Mary Hope Fawcett - @anouk.mary.hope 
Bethany Wilson - @bethany.in.the.archives 
Cassy Oliphant - @cassyoliphant 
Charlotte Miles - @cefmiles 
Clare Stringer - @clarestringerdesign 
Ella Brereton - @brere.tonella 
Ellis Hutton - @ellisdavidknitwear 
Endellion Grosvenor - @endelli0n 
Eve Wright - @thelime_art 
Felix Booth - @felixbooth.illustration_ 
Fraser Cornall - @frasercornall 
Grave Armytage - @ghastlynova 
Jake Jacobs - @jakejacobs_art 
Jude Kershaw - @itsjudeokay 
Kieren Gill - @kierengill.art 
KP Culver - @kp.culver 
Louie Haslam-Chance - @louiehc123 
Lucy Bennett - @pigsandpaint 
Martha Hinde - @daemonishy 
Michael Campbell - @michaelc_art 
Pooja Mistry - @artbypoojaaa 
Rebecca O’Hooley - @rebecca_ohooley 
Reece Kelly - @reeces_art_pieces_ 
Ria Lake - @lakexy_design_artist 
Rio Darwin - @_riodarwin 
Scarlet Foster - @scarletpoppyart 
Simon Baker 
Skyla Isabella West - @skyla.isabella.art 
Stanley Goretzki - @stanleyg.illustration 
Susan Hare - @suehare42 
Tess Hardy - @tessvhardyart 
Tom Hardwick - @tom.hrdwick 
Yvonne Pethullis - @artypeth 

Read more about their work now via our website (link in bio).

The Gallery, Shop & Tea Room are open 10am - 4pm today. FREE ENTRY. 

See you soon! 

#SunnyBankMills #EmergingArtists #OnesToWatch #YorkshireArtists #YorkshireGraduates #CreativeStudents
New year, new workshops! Tickets for most of our A New year, new workshops! Tickets for most of our Arts Programme's January workshops have flown out, but if you’d like to learn a new creative skill in 2026, we have a wide range workshops available to book up until the end of March. 

Here are just a few of the techniques covered in our upcoming sessions with brilliant local tutors;

Life drawing
Sashiko
Screen printing
Calligraphy
Watercolour
Weaving
Drawing
Bookbinding
Natural dyeing

Visit our Eventbrite to see our full listings and book your spot! LINK IN BIO.

[Image 1 shows a group of adults during a textile workshop, seated around large wooden tables with various crafting materials in the Mills' Weaving Shed workshop space. Image 2 shows drawing tutor Ellie Andrews guiding a life drawing portrait session in our Finishing Room workshop space. Image 3 shows a weaving workshop participant smiling as she weaves on a large traditional wooden dobby loom in the Weaving Shed. Image 4 shows the bright colourful Finishing Room workshop space, with long wooden tables in the centre surrounded by green chairs and exposed brick walls under hanging lights.]

#SunnyBankMills #Farsley #Leeds #LeedsWorkshops #DaysOutInLeeds #CreativeWorkshops #YorkshireWorkshops #DaysOutInYorkshire #TextileWorkshops #Textiles #Felting
Our Ones to Watch 2026 voting jar is looking prett Our Ones to Watch 2026 voting jar is looking pretty full after the weekend’s launch! Don’t forget to vote for your People’s Choice Award winner during your next trip to the exhibition.

The winner will be awarded a 3 month long residency in our artists’ studios. Some of our previous recipients have gone on to join us as permanent studio holders, complete large-scale commissions, kick off new projects and more. It’s not an opportunity to be sniffed at!

You can read more about our exhibiting artists on our website and visit the exhibition Tuesday to Sunday until 29th March to cast your vote.

The Gallery is open 10am - 4pm Tuesday to Sunday. FREE ENTRY.

[Image 1 shows three people writing their votes during the exhibition launch event on a small wooden table in front of the Ones to Watch entrance board in the Gallery. Image 2 shows pair of hands holding up a glass jar filled with folded papers and a voting slip in front of a blurred ‘Ones to Watch’ entrance board in the Gallery. Image 3 shows a visitor in red hoodie closely examining three black-and-white photographs displayed on a dark green Gallery wall during the Ones to Watch launch event.]

#OnesToWatch2026 #OnesToWatch #SunnyBankMills #YorkshireArtists #EmergingArtists
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© Copyright works on this site were created between 2009 and 2026.

Tel: 0113 256 3239 | Email: [email protected]

Edwin Woodhouse & Co Ltd, Registered Office: Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, LS28 5UJ, Registered in England Company No 688968

Gallery: open Tuesday - Sunday, 10am - 4pm. Closed Monday.

Museum & Archive: open Saturday for tours, 10am-3pm (bookings via website) and for research visits (by appointment).

Estate Office: open Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.

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