Exhibitions

Current Exhibitions and Events

GalleryArtistDates
Mosaic/UpstairsSkye Shadowlight Brite – 80S/HD11th Jan – 13 Apr
Crossley GalleryThe Halifax Grid Project26th Oct – 9th Feb
Installation D MillLost WorkersPermanent
Lego Brick GalleryLego ModelPermanent
Gallery EntranceThe Iron Man by Chris MouldPermanent
Photography GalleryPhotographers including Martin ParrOpen now

Skye Shadowlight
80S/HD

The Mosaic and Upstairs Galleries
Saturday 11th January – 15th April 2025

Skye Shadowlight (b.1974) is a neurodivergent Texan-born artist who has lived and worked in Calderdale for over twenty years. As a modern-day storyteller with plenty of thought-provoking tales to tell, she creates large scale installations often featuring live performance.

Previous exhibitions include Liverpool Independents Biennial (2018) and SHAPE OPEN (London)(2017). Skye was the winner of Edna Lumb Travel Award at Leeds Beckett University and the Square Peg Bursary (2018).

In 80S/HD, Skye takes a vibrant trip back in time to the 1980s. She explores the challenges of being an undiagnosed girl with ADHD and all of the feelings and emotions surrounding her situation. The work is comprised of different toys, games and objects of the time, which have been subverted and reimagined to bring stories to life. There will be a live performance at the opening.


The Halifax Grid Project
In Search of Urban Happiness

The Crossley Gallery
Saturday 26th October – 9th February 2025

This ‘portrait’ of the Halifax area in 2023 was carried out by 63 contributors from the local community. They produced 2471 photographs and 41 pieces of writing.

Their work forms the most recent Grid Project, a project which uses systematic approaches to documentary photography and seeks to avoid cherry-picking solely picturesque outcomes.

What makes us happy in our environment?

This project uses photography and writing to look at the question from a less-than-conventional point of view. Typically, we might be happy if we inhabit a place with, say, low crime, good schools, friendly neighbourhoods, low-volume traffic, attractive views with lots of trees, clean and tidy streets and so on.

We looked at a different dimension of happiness, based on The Image of the City (1960) by Kevin Lynch. It’s concerned with the sense of wellbeing we get when we possess a strong image of our town or city.

The Iron Man by Chris Mould

The Iron Man is currently on show in the entrance to The Dean Clough Galleries. Chris said “My interest in Ted Hughes’ The Iron Man began when I first found the book in the school library at a young age. It had been published in the year before I was born (1968) and continues to be a strong selling title in the children’s market today. 

After being asked to produce my own illustrated version of the story I became fascinated with the idea of taking the artwork to the next stage and building the character three dimensionally.”

Copies of The Iron Man, Illustrated by Chris Mould are available in the Design Shop at Dean Clough.

The Lego Model

Visit the Lego model of the 22 acre Dean Clough site situated in the Lego Brick Gallery in D Mill next to the Upstairs and Mosaic Galleries. This model, constructed out of approximately one million Lego bricks has been created by Lego artists Michael Le Count and Tony Priestman.  

Also displayed in the gallery are artefacts and photographs of the Crossley Carpet era and of the renovation of Dean Clough in the 1980s.

The Piano Club

The Piano Club started over 30 years ago, a forerunner of the many piano meet-up groups found throughout the UK. Based at the Crossley Gallery in Dean Clough, The Piano Club offers a forum for pianists to play, perform and develop within a sympathetic and friendly environment and the opportunity to discuss aspects of piano playing and repertoire with fellow musicians. Our aspiration could be summed up as mutual self-improvement through the knowledge and experience to be found within the group.

The group meets on the first Sunday of each month from 10am to 1pm. Membership is free and meetings are open to observers.

The Crossley Art Gallery at Dean Clough has a beautiful Fazioli grand piano and seats 150. It is situated close to Halifax Bus Station, and the Dean Clough car parks are free on Sundays.

The Piano Club is run by David Nelson, formerly the Artistic Director of the Hebden Bridge Piano Festival. Please contact David by phone or email for further information. Tel. 07704 873 894

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/pianoclubhalifax

Purchasing Artwork

Purchase exhibited items by debit or credit card from the Design Shop next to the Dean Clough Main Reception. When the exhibition finishes purchased items may be collected by arrangement.

Prints of some artists’ work are also for sale in The Design Shop.