LEEDS 2023 kicked off the year with ‘The Awakening’ – a live show of music, poetry, performance and digital and visual art.   

An exhibition at the event displayed 2,000 individual artworks created by local people and a series of films about the artists who call Leeds home. 

Tabla player Inder Goldfinger, vocalist SilverFinger Singh and poet Khadijah Ibrahiim performed ‘Rise Up’, a poem exploring their shared cultural heritage and the connections between Harehills and Jamaica. 

The rest of the year sees a programme of activities to celebrate the life and work of civil engineer John Smeaton. This includes a new mobile observatory called Moon Palace, where people can explore the natural heritage of the night sky as it tours the city.

Hidden Stories will be captured at community events, workshops and oral history sessions.  

Another project will connect people to the natural world and work towards transforming local land for nature recovery. 

Find out more about the Year of Culture on the LEEDS 2023 website.