2023 Leeds Summer Group Show

I’m pleased to announce that Sound of the Kenwood Chef and Giant Cauliflower Harvest have been selected by curators Courtney Spencer and Helen Dryden for the 2023 Leeds Summer Group Show.

The mixed-media exhibition takes place at The Leeds Playhouse, Leeds, West Yorkshire, 22 July – 7 Sept 2023.

Sound of the Kenwood Chef
Sound of the Kenwood Chef

We received over 500 submissions from 150 artists and 77 works by 54 artists have been selected by the panel.

Courtney Spencer
Giant Cauliflower Harvest
Giant Cauliflower Harvest
2023 Leeds Summer Group Show
2023 Leeds Summer Group Show

The 2023 Leeds Summer Group Show is an eclectic exhibition showcasing talent from across the UK. This annual exhibition was started in 2015 by Courtney Spencer, and this year she will be co-curating the show with Helen Dryden, an artist and curator based in Leeds. They were joined on the selection panel by Nigel Walsh, the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art for Leeds Museums & Galleries, based at Leeds Art Gallery.

The show’s selection panel

Nigel Walsh is the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art for Leeds Museums & Galleries, based at Leeds Art Gallery. He joined the team in 1986 as its first dedicated Exhibitions Curator, after training with the Scottish Art Council in Glasgow following a degree in English Studies and Fine Art (History of Art) from a Scottish University. Until very recently he was Chair of Trustees of the Ilkley Literature Festival where he’d been a member of the Board for 20 years.

Helen Dryden is a Leeds based visual artist who works primarily in painting and is the curator of Compact Contemporary Gallery which is housed in her studio at Sunny Bank Mills. She has an MA in Curation Practices from Leeds Arts University and a BA(Hons) in Graphic Arts and Design from Leeds Beckett University. 

Courtney Spencer is an Australian artist, curator and collaborator. She was the director of an arts charity for five years, began the Leeds Summer Group Show in 2015 and is the founder of The Art Court which works to support artists and collectors in the North of England. She has worked with organisations including National Trust; The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate; S1 Artspace, Sheffield; Leeds Playhouse; and The Old Parcels Office, Scarborough. She also writes a monthly column called Snooping Through Studios for The State Of The Arts. 

Update:

Exhibition images courtesy of curator Helen Dryden.

Leeds Summer Group Show 2022

I’m pleased to announce that Time for Tea will be on exhibition at Leeds Summer Group Show 2022. The mixed-media exhibition takes place at The Leeds Playhouse, Leeds, West Yorkshire, Monday 1-30th June 2022.

Leeds Summer Group Show 2022 poster
Leeds Summer Group Show Poster
Catherine Hill standing next to her hand embroidered artwork
Catherine Hill & Time for Tea at the exhibition open evening
Leeds Summer Group Show 2022 - Time for Tea, hand embroidered clock and words describing a hot fire, tea and crumpets
Time for Tea

The 2022 Leeds Summer Group Show will be a physical exhibition once again! This year it is presented in association with Leeds Playhouse and will be shown in their newly refurbished building for the month of June. The open call out for artists has now closed. From 198 submissions the selection panel chose 45 artists to take part.

Court Spencer , Founder of the Leeds Summer Group Show.