Sunny Bank Mills: Departing gallery director looks back at a decade of bringing art to former mill

“As soon as I walked into one of the light, open spaces, I thought ‘this would make an amazing gallery,’” she says.

A former solicitor, Kay had recently completed an access course at Leeds College of Art and a degree in textiles at the University of Bradford and was in the process of developing her creative practice.

“I suppose I had always had this dream about having a place where I could show and sell my artwork and that of other people. The space seemed perfect for that.”

It made such an impression on her that she approached William and John Gaunt, the cousins who regenerated and run Sunny Bank Mills, a former textile mill that has been in their family for over 150 years, and asked if she could come and talk to them about her idea.

“That was really unlike me – I’m not the sort of person who normally does that sort of thing,” says Kay.

“I went to see them; we had a meeting and they agreed to give it a go. It turned out that William and John had been thinking it might be an interesting space for a gallery.

“I liked them, they liked me and it was all a bit experimental at first. They were very supportive and gave me the freedom to try out things. Then it grew quite quickly – and very organically.” Kay contacted artist friends who lived locally about showing their work in the gallery.

She organized a few pop-up exhibitions, which proved successful and popular, and from there the gallery, which is housed in what used to be the cloth warehouse, expanded and developed.

“We thought a shop would be a good idea,” says Kay. “We started selling cards and jewellry and then I thought maybe we should do some tea and cake for people while they were in the gallery. I brought in some old cups and saucers that had been my mum’s and made a cake.”

That was the beginning of what is now a lovely café area, which is known for its delicious cakes. “I’m still making cake – in fact, I think my greatest legacy is going to be cake,” says Kay, laughing.

Early in the New Year Kay will be leaving Sunny Bank Mills after ten years in post as gallery director and she has just overseen one of her final exhibitions.

Woven Stories, which opened last month, features the work of over 30 artists and makers. The artwork on display includes painting, printmaking, ceramics and textiles.

“It is a bit of a retrospective,” says Kay. “All the artists involved have exhibited with us before, sometimes more than once, and most of them are from Yorkshire.

“The exhibition will change and grow over the course of its run as work is sold and more artists are invited. It feels like a very personal exhibition for me because many of the artists and makers have been part of my own journey over the past ten years.”

Kay also suggested, and was instrumental in, the setting up of artists’ studios on site in the mill buildings.

The studios are now home to 27 artists and makers creating work there.

“Something we are really passionate about here is supporting artists,” she says. “When I started thinking about putting together this show, I looked back over what we have done and in the past ten years we have hosted 75 exhibitions supporting over a thousand artists and makers.

"We are now established on the Leeds arts scene and we are attracting artists from further afield – even abroad. There are lots of possibilities going forward.”

She feels that now is the right time for her to move on.

“I turned 60 earlier this year and that felt like a bit of a line in the sand; also, the gallery was my baby and it’s very much a teenager now,” she says.

“Initially it was just me and an intern for quite a long time, now I have a team of five. So, the needs are different and it requires a lot of energy – I think things need to change in order to keep things vibrant.

"I am going to have a bit of a rest but I would still like to be involved here in some capacity – I can’t imagine I won’t be – and I would like to rediscover my own creative practice too. There are younger people coming up behind me who can take the gallery in new directions while keeping true to our values of supporting artists and makers.”

One of the things Kay is most proud of is the annual Ones to Watch exhibition which she established early in her tenure as gallery director.

Every year it showcases the work of young and emerging artists who have either studied in or are from Yorkshire. Some past participants are among the artists exhibiting in Woven Stories.

“It has been really lovely working on this exhibition because so many of the artists were early exhibitors with us, it is like having family back.”

Reflecting on the past decade and looking to the future, Kay sums up what the gallery and the work done by the whole creative team at Sunny Bank Mills means to her.

“For me it all is about community on different levels,” she says. “Supporting the creative community by giving them space to make, sell and exhibit and reaching out in different ways to bring people in to explore their own creativity.

"We run regular creative workshops, children and family events. It just keeps growing and the fact that we are all genuinely personally invested in it contributes to its success.”

Woven Stories runs at the Gallery at Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley until December 23. Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 12-4pm. Free entry. sunnybankmills.co.uk