Mixed up: Music and the Art School

Curator: Marianna Tsionki, Associate Professor and University Curator, Leeds Arts University. Guest co-curator: Gavin Butt, Professor of Fine Art, Northumbria University.

Blenheim Walk Gallery is thrilled to present Mixed Up: Music and the Art School, an exhibition exploring the profound and often unconventional relationship between art education in Leeds and local and global music culture. Based on the groundbreaking research underpinning Gavin Butt’s book No Machos or Pop Stars: When the Leeds Art Experiment Went Punk, this exhibition examines how the experimental spirit of the art school shaped the radical, boundary-pushing sounds of a city music scene of lasting international significance. The exhibition celebrates the rich legacy of Leeds’ art school culture in the 1970s and 1980s highlighting its role in fostering cross-media experimentation, showing the unorthodox moves of painters and performance artists who chose to make music. Building on their example, the exhibition also asks us to consider the ongoing entanglement of art and music today.

Central to the exhibition is how punk and post-punk DIY culture related to the teaching and resources of three art schools in Leeds—Jacob Kramer College (now Leeds Arts University), University of Leeds, and Leeds Polytechnic. Rejecting traditional hierarchies and commercial pressures, students at these institutions embraced independence and collective creativity, deeply shaping music culture. From iconic post-punk bands like The Mekons and Gang of Four to synth-pop group Soft Cell and other art school acts, Mixed Up traces how Leeds became a hub for hybrid forms of expression and experimentation, with each institution contributing uniquely to the city’s cultural fabric.

A key element of the exhibition is the recreation of an analogue sound studio, originally created for art students to make sound and performance art. This will be open for use by both students and the public. The studio underscores the exhibition's focus on the interplay between visual and sonic arts and offers a hands-on platform for new creations to emerge within the context of the city’s rich artistic legacy.

Drawing on archival materials, artwork, and memorabilia, Mixed Up features contributions from key post-punk, electro, and experimental artists, and highlights art student involvement in the city’s club and politicised music cultures. The exhibition juxtaposes artworks with photographs and recordings, creating a multisensory experience that reflects the dynamic relationship between a visual art education and music worlds. 

Accompanying the exhibition is a public programme featuring a panel discussion, a performance, and sound studio sessions, bringing together artists, musicians, and academics to explore the historic and enduring ‘crossed wires’ between an art school education and music culture.

Events
Sound studio open sessions: February 24, 2–4:30pm
Introductory sessions to test our recreated analogue sound studio

Panel discussion music and art education: March 12, 5:30–7pm
Gavin Butt, Kevin Lycett, Jon King, Sarah Statham, Andy Wood and Marianna Tsionki

Sound studio open sessions: March 17, 2–4:30pm
Introductory sessions to test our recreated analogue sound studio

Performance Samra Mayanja & MFA students: March 31, 5–7pm
inspired by Frank Tovey’s Berg