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Leeds Beckett University launches new £80m Leeds School of Arts building
The launch featured an exciting programme of events, including an inaugural lecture, student performances and concert. The university’s Deputy Vice Chancellor Tracey Lancaster and Dr Oliver Bray, Dean of Leeds School of Arts, spoke at the event.
Professor Sue Miller, Professor of Music at Leeds School of Arts, gave her inaugural lecture ahead of the reception marking the official opening of the Leeds School of Arts building. The day ended with a live performance of Sue’s 12-piece Cuban dance band, Charanga del Norte, a traditional ensemble of violins, flute, piano, bass, singers and Latin American percussion.
Forming part of the LEEDS 2023’s Season One: Awakening showcase, the day marked the partnership between Leeds Beckett University and LEEDS 2023’s Year of Culture and gave guests a taster of what the building offers the city.
Speaking at the launch, Tracey Lancaster, Leeds Beckett University Deputy Vice Chancellor, said: “This is an £80m love letter to the creative arts. It symbolises Leeds Beckett University’s commitment to the creative arts, not just in our university, but also in our city.
“Creative industries contribute over £13m per hour to the UK economy and are worth over £2bn to our region. But it is the impact of our students and staff that I would like to acknowledge today. We are all enriched by their original thought, their ability to work across boundaries, their ingenuity and expertise. In this building, we sought to create a space that would bring all our different disciplines together. We want this space to be part of the creative profile of the great city of Leeds.”
Professor Sue Miller's Cuban dance band, Charanga del Norte, closed the event.
Declaring the building officially open, Dr Oliver Bray, Dean of Leeds School of Arts, said: “Leeds School of Arts has an unbelievably rich and powerful history that dates back 170 years, and it is now one of the largest higher education art schools in the North. With around 50 courses across the subject areas of architecture, art and design, fashion, music and sound, film, creative technologies, and performing arts, the sheer scale of the Leeds School of Arts is breath-taking and so are our students and our staff.
“We’re here to launch the new building, but we are also marking the importance of the Leeds School of Arts in the cultural landscape of the city. We welcome you with open arms. We welcome your brilliance, expertise, and interest and look forward to seeing our school, our city and our region flourish. This is not just a building. It is a symbol, it is us shouting loud and clear that culture matters, it transforms lives, and it makes the world better.”
About Leeds School of Arts
Leeds School of Arts is a key educator of artists and creatives who go on to enrich and transform all sectors of arts and culture with their limitless ambition and innovation. The expert support of our academics, who are renowned regionally, nationally, and globally, positions Leeds School of Arts as an ideal partner of LEEDS 2023, allowing our expertise and individuality to shine on a prominent stage.
Leeds Beckett University is a Principal Education Partner of LEEDS 2023, playing an active role in showcasing the city’s creative industries and communities. The new state-of-the-art School of Arts building houses a community of 3,000 diverse creators, at the centre of the city’s thriving creative economy and a key part of what makes Leeds one of the UK’s great cities of culture.
