Leeds Arts University

Our history dates back to 1846 and alumni include Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth and more recently, Marcus Harvey, Damien Hirst, Danny Sangra and Omar Kashoura. We strive to remain a leading centre for arts education, choosing from among the brightest local and international potential to produce some of the most sought-after creative talent.

All our facilities have been designed and built for specialist arts education, whether this was the Vernon Street art school in 1903 or our latest building at Blenheim Walk, which was completed in January of 2019. Our resources are equipped to industry standards, and are run by highly skilled staff.

Exhibitions are a major platform of Curation and Library Services at Leeds Arts University, with a dynamic programme of research-practice across our two campuses and satellite display spaces. A new bespoke university gallery opened in January 2019 showcasing a range of internationally renowned cultural figures, such as Yoko Ono and Ilana Halperin and Mieke Bal, as well as internal research, graduate projects and community engagement initiatives.

With provision at both our Blenheim Walk and Vernon street campuses, the library contributes to the academic experience through collections and resources closely tailored to our courses and curricula, with a particular strength in user-driven collection development and engagement. The library also houses a special collection of 20th century artists books, photobooks and illustrative books and an institutional archive for primary research.