New Eyes for Nidderdale

New Eyes for Nidderdale is a vibrant cultural exchange; inspiring creative expression from a range of artists based in Nidderdale National Landscape and Seacroft in Leeds.

This is a participatory project to help break down barriers to communities accessing the countryside. Artists include asylum seekers, young people and refugees. Leeds participants all have a connection to the to the Chapel FM arts centre. NNL participants are numerous and include children from a local primary school, refugees, as well as a number of writers and makers.

Following a series of workshops in both Leeds and Nidderdale National Landscape, as well as visits to the landscape, the project will culminate with events in both Seacroft and Pateley Bridge.

Expect an encounter between two new giants – “Green Eyes” and “Grey Eyes”– A theatrical story, accompanied by music, movement, and giant puppets!

The aims of the project are to:

• Provide a platform for a community that normally experience barriers to accessing the countryside.
• Provide a space for bold expression – embracing alternative insights and views, challenging perceptions about landscape.
• Embrace the unknown, telling stories we don’t yet know, and re-imagining and re-framing those we do.  Exploring, updating, and reviving folk traditions.
• Seek out connections and contrasts, exploring the qualities that make both Seacroft and Nidderdale National Landscape distinctive.
• Bring ideas to life with performances, giant puppets, and music, and spoken word.
• Record the project through photography, writing and radio.
• Making Nidderdale National Landscape a “landscape of sanctuary” – sharing meals, music, workshops, and walks, to foster a sense of friendship and belonging.
• To initiate a long-term relationship between communities in Seacroft and Nidderdale National Landscape, breaking down barriers to access, both cultural and practical.