Historic Sunny Bank Mills hosts two new major events

Sunny Bank Mills is reopening the doors of its iconic 1912 Mill over the weekend of April 1-2 for the second instalment of Printed Bound, the annual Artists’ Book and Print Fair, and then for the new Threads Textile Festival over the weekend of May 12-14.

Printed Bound, which enjoyed a very successful launch last year, will feature over 40 printmakers, bookmakers, collectives and studios ready to sell their work as part of a weekend celebrating traditional and contemporary print and bookbinding techniques.

Expect to see screenprints, monoprints, risographs, collographs, zines, hand-bound books and more. There will be a wide range of stallholders from Yorkshire and beyond, including Angela Hall, Russell Hughes, Hattie Clark, West Yorkshire Print Workshop and Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre.

Natalie Kolowiecki, Arts Events Co-ordinator at Sunny bank Mills, explained: “We’re very excited to that our Artists’ Book and Print fair is back for a second year. Printed Bound 2023 is sure to be bigger and better, as the fair is being relocated to our iconic 1912 Mill to make space for over 60 UK based print and book makers over the two days.

“There will be 100s of prints and books to see from a wide selection of artists, from early career zine makers, to traditional printmakers with over 40 years’ experience under their belts. Visit the fair’s craft café for our usual homemade cakes and hot drinks and enjoy a pint from Amity Brew Co’s pop-up bar.

“We are also running a range of workshops throughout the weekend, including linocut taster sessions with Jenna Foster from Henshaws Arts and Crafts centre, and tote bag screen printing in the Spinning Mill Studios with El Riordan.

“There will be plenty going on around the rest of the site, including Open Studios in both the Twisting and Spinning Mill, and the Gallery’s 10th year of its Ones to Watch exhibition, showcasing the work of over 30 Yorkshire-based emerging artists. Head up the hill to our Archive on the Saturday for an interactive talk with book binder Brian Cole and explore the Mills’ unique textile heritage.”

Meanwhile the Threads Textile Festival will open on 12th May in the Textile Archive with a day of talks on dyeing by leading experts in the field. In the evening, new exhibition, Tailored, by the 62 Group, will have its opening in the Art Gallery, with music and refreshments.

During Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th there will be an extensive workshop programme including dyeing, weaving, embroidery, quilting and print. A series of textile talks will be held during the weekend, with keynote speaker the fashion historian Amber Butchart. Students from Leeds Arts University will be holding a fashion show on Saturday afternoon.

In the historic 1912 Mill there will a wide range of stallholders selling everything from yarn to sewing materials to hand made clothing to soft furnishings and textile art. There will be the opportunity to make something unique from recycled fabric, a weaving taster session with Agnis Smallwood and tours of the Archive on Saturday and Sunday together with history tours of the site.

Dr Sarah Gaunt, Threads Textile Festival Director, explained: “As we celebrate 10 Years of Arts and Culture at Sunny Bank Mills, it is the perfect opportunity to launch Threads. Over the years we have had various textile related workshops and exhibitions but never a full weekend to celebrating all things textile.

“It seemed an obvious and natural fit to have such an event at an historic textile mill and nationally important textile Archive. The intention is for the visitor to have a fully immersive experience either visiting the Archive, taking a tour of the site, visiting the market, listening to a talk or learning a new skill in one of the workshops, all within these historic buildings.

"We want to establish Threads as an annual event that celebrates textiles in its many incarnations within the unique and very special setting of Sunny Bank Mills. Make sure you leave lots of time to explore our historic Mill and immerse yourself in a weekend of creativity and fun.”

Sunny Bank Mills, where Yorkshire Television’s Emmerdale and Heartbeat were once filmed, is now one of the most exciting and respected cultural and community hubs in the Yorkshire region.