Over a hundred artists have made their creative home at one of Yorkshire Artspace’s two sites. Here at Exchange Place Studios, artists and craftspeople of all persuasions fill five floors of this beautiful art deco building.
Based in Sheffield’s historic Castlegate quarter, the building was originally a wholesale branch of WH Smith in the 1920s. It’s lived many lives since then – and in 2013, Yorkshire Artspace moved in, converting it into studios. It now sits in a colourful corner of the city centre, among the planting and sculptures of the Grey to Green project.
Alongside the individual studios, Exchange Place also has dedicated spaces for artists to get together and share resources. Clay Space is a communal ceramic studio for early-career makers. Carousel Print Studio, meanwhile, is a not-for-profit, open-access printmaking workshop.
Look out for occasional exhibitions and events in the project space at Exchange Place too. Much of the public programme centres around work by artists based at Yorkshire Artspace. For many, it’s their first step out of the studio – giving them somewhere to test out ideas with an audience, whether through exhibitions or the Testing Ground residency series.
Artists at Exchange Place open their doors once a year, alongside those at sibling site Persistence Works, as part of Yorkshire Artspace's Open Studios event. Head down to the next Open Studios, held each November, for a good nosy and a chance to meet some of Sheffield’s creative residents.
