Music and the Art School
14 February - 17 April 2025

Blenheim Walk Gallery is thrilled to present ‘Mixed Up: Music and the Art School’, an exhibition exploring the profound and often unconventional relationship between art education in Leeds and local and global music culture. Based on the groundbreaking research underpinning Gavin Butt’s book ‘No Machos or Pop Stars: When the Leeds Art Experiment Went Punk’, this exhibition examines how the experimental spirit of the art school shaped the radical, boundary-pushing sounds of a city music scene of lasting international significance. The exhibition celebrates the rich legacy of Leeds’ art school culture in the 1970s and 1980s highlighting its role in fostering cross-media experimentation, showing the unorthodox moves of painters and performance artists who chose to make music. Building on their example, the exhibition also asks us to consider the ongoing entanglement of art and music today.
A key element of the exhibition is the recreation of an analogue sound studio, originally created for art students to make sound and performance art. This will be open for use by both students and the public. The studio underscores the exhibition’s focus on the interplay between visual and sonic arts and offers a hands-on platform for new creations to emerge within the context of the city’s rich artistic legacy.
Curator: Marianna Tsionki, Associate Professor and University Curator, Leeds Arts University
Guest co-curator: Gavin Butt, Professor of Fine Art, Northumbria University
Associated Public Programme:
Panel discussion
12 March 2025 5:30pm-7:00pm
Location: Leeds Arts University, Blenheim Walk, Leeds LS2 9AQ
Join us for a lively panel discussion exploring the intersections of music and art school education, with Gavin Butt, Kevin Lycett, Sarah Statham and Andy Wood. This event delves into the creative and cultural dynamics that shaped Leeds’ music scene, examining the influence of art school teaching, DIY ethos, and cross-disciplinary experimentation. Reflecting on the legacy of post-punk and beyond, the panel offers insights into the enduring connections between art education and music culture.
Booking is essential as places are limited.
Sound studio open sessions
24 February 2025 2:00pm–4:30pm and 17 March 2025 2:00pm–4:30pm
Location: Leeds Arts University, Blenheim Walk, Leeds LS2 9AQ
You are warmly invited to join us for an introductory session to test our recreated analogue sound studio—a key feature of the exhibition celebrating the fusion of visual and sonic arts. Originally designed for art students to experiment with sound and performance, the studio now opens its doors to the public, offering a unique, hands-on opportunity to create in response to the themes and concepts explored in the exhibition.
Booking is essential as places are limited. Please email curatorial@leeds-art.ac.uk.
Performance
31 March 2025 5:00pm-7:00pm
Location: Leeds Arts University, Blenheim Walk, Leeds LS2 9AQ
You are invited to join us for a performance event inspired by Frank Tovey’s Berg —a work based on Anne Quin’s surrealist novel of the same name, which incorporated unnerving soundscapes made from musical instrumentation and manipulated found audio. The event is co-created with Leeds Arts University MA Fine Art students, artist Samra Mayanja, David Steans (Senior Lecturer, MA Fine Art, Leeds Arts University) and Marianna Tsionki (Associate Professor & University Curator, Leeds Arts University).
Booking not required.