Weekender: New investment commits to the arts at ‘iconic’ city centre building

An investment programme at an ‘iconic’ Leeds city centre building has now seen the addition of an art installation by artist, Alice Smith.

Smith, who is a commercial book designer, illustrator and art director for The Idler magazine, has created a piece of work called ‘Stepping In Time’ for the Leeds Corn Exchange.

The installation shows varying fashion styles throughout the history of Leeds Corn Exchange, dating back to 1860, and now features on the ground floor pair of staircases.

Georgina Maud, creative lead at property company Rushbond, which owns Leeds Corn Exchange, said: “As part of our commitment to this ongoing development programme, we wanted the stunning, sweeping staircases to become an exciting backdrop for rotating designs by talented, creative people.

“This goes hand in hand with our bold development approach, where we’ve embraced and encouraged the contrast of history with new creative talent, just like we’ve done at the main entrance.

“Throughout our investment programme at Leeds Corn Exchange, the focus has been about enhancing the building’s future, whilst also linking back to its rich nineteenth century heritage and exchange culture.  Alice’s ‘Stepping In Time’ epitomises this, and the reaction has been phenomenal.”

Smith added: “The Leeds Corn Exchange is a gem of a place, I have fond childhood memories of shopping there in the nineties. The outline of the challenging project brief was to encourage visitors to ascend the stairs to the upper level shops.

“I wanted to create a design that would be sympathetic to the architecture, echo the bright new colour scheme of the renovated doorways, whilst lending a nod to the building’s age and also conjuring up the feeling of walking in the footsteps of people from the past.”

Since acquiring Leeds Corn Exchange, Rushbond has built a new fully accessible entranceway at the front, which now incorporates a curved sloping stone ramp, designed to blend with the original 170 year old steps.

Adam Warner, centre manager at Leeds Corn Exchange, said: “Leeds Corn Exchange is a place where lifestyles are fashioned – not just by clothes but by their way of being. We wanted a fun project, produced in a creative and authentic way, with skill and thought, by a creative artist who has a deep connection with the place – and Alice has really achieved this.”