News

A new blueprint aimed at shaping the pivotal role heritage can play in the future of Leeds has been launched this week.

Independent Spirit: A Heritage Framework for Leeds has seen partners from across the city’s heritage sector come together to set out an exciting, shared vision for how heritage can help bring people together, strengthen communities and support the city in the years to come.

A park in the centre of Leeds has received a transformative new mural by an internationally recognised artist to uplift the heart of the city.

A magical new panto-themed gardening challenge is set to be the stalk of the town for families across Leeds this summer.

Green-fingered locals are being asked to follow in the footsteps of storybook hero Jack and see how high they can grow their very own beanstalk as part of a fairy tale team-up between the Carriageworks Theatre and the city’s horticultural hub The Arium.

A new seasonal sculptural spectacular will see stunning works by world-renowned artists go on show in Leeds this summer, it was announced today.

Leeds Art Gallery’s Summer of Sculpture will feature an impressive programme of thought-provoking exhibitions and installations including eye-catching pieces by some of contemporary sculpture’s leading lights.

Council-run museums in Leeds are celebrating after new figures revealed they welcomed more than a million visitors through their doors last year.

The eight Leeds Museums and Galleries sites, run by Leeds City Council, saw a total of 1,046,372 people flock to an innovative programme of exhibitions, displays and events, according to statistics just released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA).

The people of Leeds have the chance to be part of 400 years of history by answering the call to take part in a unique new city-wide challenge.

Launching today, the What’s Your 400? campaign has issued a rallying cry to individuals, groups and communities across the city, asking them to get involved in celebrations to mark 400 years since Leeds was awarded its first city charter.

A mysterious coin once used to pay a bus fare in Leeds was minted by an ancient civilisation more than 2,000 years ago, it has been revealed.

The astonishing discovery, handed to an unwitting local bus driver in the 1950s, was produced by Carthaginians, part of the Phoenician culture, in the Spanish city of Cadiz during the 1^st century BC and has now kindly been donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries.

Flamboyant floral creations have burst into life this spring in a new exhibition paying tribute to the unique beauty of the natural world.

Botanically Beautiful: Art and Design Inspired by Nature at Lotherton explores how colourful depictions of flowers, fruits, leaves and trees have taken root in the worlds of art, design and fashion, inspiring a vast array of eye-catching works across history.

A pair of antique library books written by a renowned 19^th century geologist have finally been returned 50 years late.

Volumes I and II of the esteemed Rev. William Buckland’s Geology and Mineralogy, written almost 200 years ago, were due back at Leeds Central Library in March 1976, but were instead discovered by staff in a charity shop in Beverley, East Yorkshire.

A trio of up-and-coming Leeds artists have been given a huge boost thanks an innovative scheme aimed at shaping the city’s emerging talent.

Sculptors Elrick Boldy, Ewan Summerton and Iona Ogilvy-Stuart were this week announced as recipients of the 2026 Accelerator Bursary, a joint initiative funded by Leeds Art Fund and delivered by Leeds Art Gallery and Assembly House Leeds.

Intrepid young adventurers can go on an epic journey from the far reaches of space to the depths of the ocean floor as they explore the magic of storytelling.

Story Explorers, a new free exhibition at Leeds Central Library, includes eye-catching features such as a giant cuddly octopus and a spectacular model of the moon as part of an immersive, family friendly event running from February 19 until May 30, 2026.

One of the most important documents in the history of Leeds was rescued from being turned into a makeshift lampshade, the city’s archivists have revealed.

The one-of-a-kind copy of the Leeds Royal Charter, written centuries ago, was about to be repurposed as an unusual decorative feature by the unwitting owner of a Canterbury book shop in the 1950s.

Fortunately, a chance consultation with a friendly expert disclosed that the delicately inscribed text was the sole remaining copy of the Royal Charter first granted to Leeds by King Charles I in 1626.