Fine Art
Creative Skills Day - Ones to Watch 2026
The Mills' first official Creative Skills Day cooincides with Ones to Watch 2026. The exhibition returns to the Gallery for its thirteenth year in 2026, showcasing some of the most exciting emerging talent Yorkshire has to offer, bringing together work by artists from across disciplines, from painting to sculpture, film, photography, ceramics, design and more.
The Skills Day is a new addition to our existing Ones to Watch programme, which aims to support young and emerging talent through workshop opportunities, studio residencies and experience working with a professional independent gallery.
The event is open to post-GCSE to PhD level students, recent graduates, self taught artists, and those hoping to kickstart their creative career.
PLEASE NOTE - Under 18s must be accompanied by a paying adult. As capacity is limited, free carer tickets are reserved for those with a registered Carer/Personal Assistant.
Topics of the day:
Running Times:
11:00 - Doors open, teas and coffee
11:15 - Opening (15 min)
11:30 - Masterclass 1 (45 min)
12:15 - Tutorial on how to Price Your Work (20 min)
12:45 - Break/Tour (60 min)
13:45 - Masterclass 2 (45 min)
14:30 - Break (10 min)
14:40 - Masterclass 3 (45 min)
15:25 - Tutorial on how to Photograph Your Work (30 min)
15:45 - Closing Q & A
16:00 - Finish
If you're unable to make the full day, please feel free to drop in during the sessions that are most useful to you. Please ensure you still book a ticket in advance.
Food & Drink
A pop up bar will be open, selling a range of soft drinks and offering free teas and coffees. There are many independent food & drink businesses across the site of Sunny Bank Mills which can be visited during the 12:45 lunch break.
Accessibility
The Old Woollen has step free access directly into the venue. Immediately outside the entrance is a car park, which includes accessible parking bays.
The Old Woollen one accessible toilet. In common with all toilet provision for this historic building, this is situated a short distance from the venue, in the block next to the Gallery. This is step-free, though there is a small lip to get into the building itself. On the day, if you ask a member of our bar staff they will provide a key for this and show you the direction.
The Old Woollen, Gallery, and businesses site-wide welcome assistance dogs.
Please contact us ahead of time if you have any access requirements you'd like us to be aware of, or if you require BSL interpretation or a hearing loop for this event.
About Alice
Alice Boulton-Breeze is a producer and artist from Leeds. She uses her experiences as a working class and chronically ill person to inform community and participatory creative projects, and also works across heritage, visual arts, performance and writing.
About Harry
Harry Meadley is an artist and Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Leeds School of Arts, Leeds Beckett University. For over ten years they supplemented their more socially engaged practice by working as an exhibition photographer for many galleries ranging from artist-led spaces to major institutions and even Sunny Bank Mills itself. In this session, Harry will offer useful and practical advice on how best to photograph artworks and exhibitions, as well as how these skills can be developed into a valuable tool for artists.
About Lydia
Lydia is a Leeds-based artist who creates multi-disciplinary work across performance, digital media, and immersive experiences. Alongside her artistic practice, she uses her interest in online space to support arts organisations in developing engaging, inclusive online content. She’s worked on comms and digital campaigns for organisations like Compass Live Art, YVAN, and CVAN creating everything from social media content to newsletters and video edits. Lydia enjoys helping others communicate what they do in a clear, creative way and is especially interested in making arts content more accessible and easier to connect with.
About Lucy
Lucy Hook is a freelance Illustrator and Print designer based in York, proudly represented by Advocate Art. Lucy's previous clients include Card Factory, Asda, Tesco's, Sainsbury's, Pitcher and Piano, Manchester Gin.
A massive thank you to Opera North and Arts Together Creative Careers for supporting this event.
Arts Together Creative Careers is a new freelancer collective based in Leeds. Creative Careers is a unique network of creative arts and community organisations, with members ranging from the national to the hyper-local, facilitating workshops, Q and A's and many other networking and training events.
For more information: About - Creative Careers - Arts Together or Instagram.
