Preview Armley's Hippo Invasion
A look ahead to the I Love West Leeds festival
Preview: Armley's Hippo Invasion
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The West Leeds town of Armley is to face an invasion of hippos this month, when 500 of the exotic animals make their way down the area’s Town Street.
But, these are no ordinary hippos. Organisers and volunteers of the I Love West Leeds festival have made 500 plaster versions of the animal as they pay homage to a past resident of the town. Back in the 1800s, prehistoric hippo bones, which can now be found at the Leeds Museum Discovery Centre, were unearthed in Armley.
Over the last few months, the basement in Armley Mills has been turned into a “hippo factory”, according to Jane Earnshaw, festival director. Both children and adults across West Leeds have been busy making and painting the plaster models, in time for the festival, which takes place from 3rd-24th July.
Jane said: “I’ve convinced the shopkeepers on Armley Town Street to give us window space during the festival. So, there’s going to be hippo trail going all the way from the top of Armley Town Street to the bottom, with all these decorated plaster hippos.”
“On top of this, I’ve commissioned five artists to do hippo based-work and we’ve got an empty shop on Town Street which will feature their work in the windows as well.”
This hippo trail is only one aspect of the festival. Like similar events, such as the Bradford Film and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festivals, I Love West Leeds sets out to bring art and cultural activities to areas which have traditionally been excluded from what is often considered highbrow entertainment.
Instead of organising concerts and plays in galleries and music halls, cultural events will take place across West Leeds in parks, on streets and in libraries. As part of this, photographers have been commissioned to take 20 photos of Armley, Bramley, Pudsey, Rodley and Farsley, which will go on display on lampposts in each of the towns’ main streets.
“Rather than put stuff in galleries space, we really love to take what we’re doing right to where people are. They’re encountering it and discovering it in their everyday lives,” Jane explained.
“We try to make everything accessible. I don’t believe in dumbing down what we’re doing – we believe in the highest quality, but we really want to make things open and accessible to everyone.”
As well as removing the often innate elitism from the arts, the festival organisers say they want to promote the area. “West Leeds used to have a pretty bad reputation… but it’s an amazing place and the West Leeds people are amazing,” Jane said.
One of the highlights of the four-week event is Festival Day, which takes place this year in Farnley Hall Park on 4th July. Some 3,000 people are expected to attend, where an afternoon of free family activities will take place.
In total, 40 events are due to be held throughout I Love West Leeds including a Casey Orr exhibition at Armley Mills, while Bramley Library will display paintings by people seeking asylum in West Leeds. There will also be plenty of music on offer, including a free gig by some of the city’s young guitar bands in Pudsey Park on Saturday 10th and a performance by all-female acappella group Solaris at Pudsey Library on Saturday 17th.
3-24 July, more information can be found at www.ilovewestleeds.co.uk
Posted on Thursday 1st July 2010
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