A RENOVATED mill complex is celebrating ten years of arts and culture at the venue. 

It is exactly 10 years ago that cousins John and William Gaunt embarked on a programme of cultural regeneration at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley.

Their ambitions have transformed the former textile mill into a successful cultural community.

In 2013 the Gaunts, the co-managing directors of the mill, made two key appointments to lead the cultural regeneration programme, creative director Jane Kay and heritage director Rachel Moaby.

William Gaunt said: “These appointments enabled us to develop and grow our arts and heritage programmes which have fostered the creative zeitgeist that has developed and flourished at the mill. We are very proud of our reputation as one of the most innovative and exciting cultural centres in the region.”

Cornerstones of the cultural regeneration are the Art Gallery which runs a rolling exhibition, events and engagement programme, and the mill’s historic Archive, one of the most substantial woven textile archives in the UK.

These have been supplemented by 25 artists’ studios and, in recent years, the development of the Old Woollen, a 500-capacity events venue.

In the past 10 years, the Gallery has hosted 75 exhibitions supporting over 1,000 artists and makers, and there are now 500,000 visits to the mill annually.