CREATE IN LEEDS

Showcasing talented artists who have graduated from Leeds Arts University and now create in Leeds.

Connor Shields, artist.

BA (Hons) Fine Art at Leeds Arts University, 2018.

It feels cliché to say that art was the only subject I was interested in at school, but it was. I knew I wanted to continue to study art in the future, but I didn’t really understand what it was to be an artist, or that being an artist was even a career path, until studying Fine Art at college.

I moved from Middlesbrough to Leeds Arts University in 2015. During my first two years studying at undergraduate I would overthink everything that I made. I wasn’t fully happy with any of the work that I made during this time. In my final year I moved pathways into sculpture and it just suddenly made a lot more sense for me. Sculpture has a totally different language to other mediums, and I learned to experiment and make without overthinking. I think that is something that I still have with me years later. I try not to label myself as a sculptor, but the work I make is predominantly sculptural.

When I graduated I was awarded the Yorkshire Sculpture Park Graduate Award. This was of great support for my art practice in the beginning stage of my career after leaving education. It gave me the time and space to think about what it was I wanted to make work about, whilst also surrounded by the work of great artists and sculptors all around the park.

My work is concerned with ideas of working-class masculinity, industrial heritage and industrial landscapes. I’m interested in the visual language that materials have, and our perceptions that we have of the materials I use. The process of making is explorative, combining often contrasting objects which develop a sense of tension within the work.

Creativity allows us to see the world in different lights, and from different perspectives. The world would be a much different place without creatives and artists. It is important for keeping all areas of life and cities vibrant.

Leeds and the wider Yorkshire area has lots of buzz about it. It’s gained itself a great reputation for sculpture, with 3 sculpture institutions in the area. There are so many amazing creatives here - Leeds Art Gallery have opened their ‘Leeds Artists Group Show’ from February to the end of April and I’m delighted to be a part of that show alongside lots of other Leeds based creatives. There is lots of support and a community feeling amongst artists working in the region.

Words: @connorshields

Music Tiamethakorn (pen name: musicgallery), Comic Artist, BA (Hons) Comic and Concept Art at Leeds Arts University, 2022.

Growing up in Thailand, I always loved drawing cartoon characters and creating my own original stories. In primary school, I told the class that I wanted to become a cartoonist when I grow up - however, I have been discouraged by many people that it was an impossible career, so I started branching out into fine art and graphic design. After attending a design school in Bangkok, I realised that my true calling remained in comic and character art, so I decided to enrol in Leeds Arts University’s Comic and Concept Art course, which allowed me to explore my passion until I was able to achieve my childhood dream career today.

I have self-published two original titles, ‘Vehanakarin’ and ‘Submerged Youth’. In many of my original works, my art is a way for me to appreciate and represent the culture that I know and love while at the same time expressing my feelings towards the injustice in the very society that I feel deeply connected to.

In my second year of university I was given the opportunity to focus on developing my personal branding as part of the course. With my own portfolio website, business cards and social media platform, I started building more of an online presence and gaining connections by attending Thought Bubble Festival and talking to other creators in the comic field. Recently, I had the opportunity to showcase and sell my comics at Thought Bubble Festival 2022, which was a big step forward in my career.

At LAU I discovered that creativity is a problem-solving skill. A creative person is able to figure out a clever solution to a problem, big or small. By promoting creativity, individuals will be able to present better and easier solutions to the matter at hand, whether it be a problem in their personal life, in a business or in their community. And I learned the importance to engage with your community and support the other artists around you.

So many of the friends that I went to LAU with are extremely talented and hardworking and I really admire them. Leeds is a culturally diverse and queer-friendly city, which has made me feel very comfortable expressing my creativity as a POC and queer artist, knowing that the people in the art scene here are very accepting of a different culture and identity. The diversity of the city has given me the courage to bring my own culture forward and unapologetically show it to the world.

Words: @musicsgallery

Adam Allsuch Broadman, Freelance Illustrator, Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, BA (Hons) Illustration at Leeds Arts University, 2016

I come from a particularly creative family. My folks are artist-types, while both my siblings run their own creative businesses. A lot of my earliest memories involve wandering around art galleries or drawing pictures whilst watching Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Straight after school in 2012 I studied the Foundation Diploma over at Vernon Street. The Foundation was truly excellent, and I learned a great deal in a short amount of time. Whilst studying I became aware of the brand-new illustration degree, which tickled my interest. I was successful in my application to the course, and had a wonderful three years honing my craft.

I believe my time on the further education and higher education courses helped bring into focus my work ethic and raw output. I was given every opportunity to learn new skills and apply them to simulated and real briefs. Many of the lessons I learned in the studio I use on a daily basis when working with peers and clients. Most of my work appears in publishing, editorial and educational contexts. Aesthetically, my illustration tends to follow the principals of ligne claire. This clean and stripped-back style was popularised by early 20th century illustrators like Hergé (you know, Tintin). I have a particular enthusiasm for interpreting subjects, data detail and then expressing as clear diagrams and straightforward illustration. I enjoy being direct, clear and a little playful.

My clients have included Apple, Deloitte, Facebook and The Cabinet Office. My largest investment of figurative sweat and tears tends to be the books I write and illustrate for Nobrow, including An Illustrated History of UFOs. Many of my oldest clients are Leeds-based. It is an accessible place to get started in, but not so huge that you get lost in the crowd. There always seems to be some creative event on somewhere, which makes the city feel like a writhing mass of happenings.

Creativity can mean a lot of different things, but for me it comes down to why I bother sitting down and drawing pictures in the first place. To me, creativity means play, and the amusing avenues of interest one can find yourself in.

Words: @aaab_illustration