Artist Led Workshops 3-5 July
As part of this year’s Hebden Bridge Open Studios, IOU invites you to the IOU Hostel for a weekend of exhibitions, creative workshops, outdoor experiences and conversation.
Marking 50 years of IOU and featuring activities from the IOU Creation Centre and Active Hub, the programme brings together art, nature and creative exploration with workshops led by artists including our previous Artists in Residence
All events are FREE but booking is required for certain workshops please see below. Donations to support our work are very welcome and can be made at the point of booking.
Friday 3 July 12pm – 2pm
A Shared Garden- A multimedia art workshop led by 2023 Artist in Residence Alicja Mrozowska.
This calm, low-pressure session uses still life and natural forms as a starting point for painting and drawing. Plants and flowers will be available as visual references, creating space for reflection through making, observation and conversation.
Free but booking essential
TICKETS
Saturday 4 July, 11am – 3pm
Flower Casting- A drop-in workshop led by 2025 Artist in Residence Jessie Li.
Spend time in the beautiful IOU Hostel garden observing flowers and plants, reconnecting with nature, and creating your own lasting artwork by casting botanical patterns into clay.
Drop-in session , no booking required
Donations welcome on the day
About the Artist
Jessie (Jiaqi) Li is a Chinese art practitioner and researcher. In her works, she weaves together personal memory, family archives, and historical research, and collaborates with local residents and artists through interviews and fieldwork to develop participatory, site-specific works.
Jessie recently finished her artist in residency at HIAP Helsinki International Artist Programme, exploring how cultural identity and belonging are carried and recreated through everyday life in the context of migration. Having lived across multiple cities, she is interested in how people reconstruct home through domestic rituals and portable memories.
During her IOU Hostel residency, Jessie used casting to record objects from everyday domestic spaces, capturing subtle emotions embedded within them.
At the same time, through daily practices such as cooking and cleaning, she sees homemaking as a performative critical spatial practice, reflecting on what it means to feel ‘at home!
Saturday 4 July, 1pm-2.30pm
Nature Notebooking Walk – exploring place, plants, and the joy of noticing with Mel from Hey Nature.
This relaxed walk invites you to slow down, tune into the surrounding landscape, and notice the small details – moss, textures, patterns and plant life. Through simple drawing prompts, you’ll explore creative ways of responding to nature and capturing what you see along the way.
Mel is an illustrator and naturalist from the Calder Valley. “I love to explore Nature through different lenses – art, ecology, and folklore – but mainly by getting outside and following my curiosity. You’ll find me in the woods or the garden, looking at plants, and painting them in my Nature notebook!’
https://www.heynature-earth.com/
Free but booking essential
TICKETS
Sunday 5 July 11am – 3pm
Nature Willow Sculptures. A drop-in workshop led by 2023 Artist in Residence Stewart Knights (esK).
Create small willow sculptures inspired by plants and wildflowers using traditional weaving and sculptural techniques.
Drop-in session , no booking required
Donations welcome on the day
