Last 4 weeks to see 'Ones to Watch' exhibition

One of Yorkshire’s most prestigious annual art exhibitions, Ones To Watch, now in its 13th year, closes in just 4 weeks’ time. See it at the Sunny Bank Mills Art Gallery in Farsley, between Leeds and Bradford, before it disappears for another year.

Celebrating 36 talented emerging artists and makers who are based in, or originally from, Yorkshire, Ones To Watch brings together an exciting cross-section of contemporary practice. The exhibition spans painting, sculpture, jewellery, textiles, photography, ceramics, design and more, with much of the work available to purchase. A further 14 artists are represented in the Ones to Watch Zine Library.

For new and seasoned collectors alike, the exhibition offers an accessible entry point into collecting original art, with prints and limited editions available at affordable prices. Buying from the show directly supports artists at a pivotal stage in their careers.

Sunny Banks Mills arts director Anna Turzynski said: “This is our 13th year of Ones To Watch and whilst it may be an unlucky number for some, it has been an exceptional year for the exhibition. We’ve extended its duration to reflect its value and central position within our Arts programme, and we’re delivering an even broader programme of events alongside it, including our Performance Night, Overtime Art Club and our first-ever Creative Skills Day.

She continued: “My intention is for this annual exhibition to be an act of encouragement and support for artists at a time when it can feel as though the world is telling them not to pursue this path. I want to thank every artist who applied this year for continuing to make, experiment and express themselves despite the challenges. Please keep going.

“This exhibition includes self-taught artists, practitioners returning to a new phase of their work, and those who have applied multiple times. There is so much joy, good humour and raw talent in this show. Please visit before it closes, and don’t forget to vote for your favourite piece to help us decide the winner of The People’s Choice Award.”
Two of the artists taking part in Ones To Watch are Cassy Oliphant and Pooja Mistry.

Cassy Oliphant is a Leeds-based community artist based at Sunny Bank Mills, whose practice moves between painting, textiles, and photographic processes including cyanotype. She uses the symbolic language of animals in myth and folklore as recurring figures through which to explore transformation, migration, and belonging.

Cassy commented: “I’ve taken an unconventional path through the arts. I didn’t go to arts school but instead have been working as a freelance community artist for the last 20 years so being chosen for this year’s Ones to Watch was an amazing moment. I felt seen as an artist and my work understood. My piece Islands uses a mix of old family photos, traditional Singaporean embroidery and mythical images to express ideas about identity and belonging.”

She continued: “Part of my development has been getting my own studio space at the Mills. I absolutely jumped at the chance when more studios became available last year. Having a physical space away from my family home and really using my time there as part of my working week, has expanded my practice very quickly. Since joining Sunny Bank Mills, I’ve been shortlisted for the Scott Creative Arts Foundation Prize, made work for Westminster City Hall and Islands will be travelling to the New Art Exchange in Nottingham later in the year.”

Pooja Mistry is a third-year illustration student at Leeds Arts University whose practice explores the value of imperfection, playfulness and instinctive mark making. Working across drawing, printmaking and sketchbook-based experimentation, she creates expressive, “wonky” animal forms that sit somewhere between observation, imagination and joyful distortion.

She said: “Being part of Ones To Watch feels incredibly affirming, especially as an emerging illustrator whose practice is rooted in experimentation and play. My work explores imperfect, childlike drawing as a way of letting go of control and reconnecting with joy, curiosity and intuition.

She continued: “This exhibition feels important because it values process as much as outcome and embraces work that is exploratory rather than resolved. To be included among other artists who are testing ideas, materials and visual languages feels both encouraging and motivating, and reinforces my belief that there is space for imperfection, humour and vulnerability within contemporary illustration.”

Alongside the main exhibition is a programme of events including a Performance Night by Ones To Watch artists on 7th March, Over Time Art Club workshops and a Creative Skills Day on 25th March.

Ones To Watch is open in the Gallery, Sandsgate Building, Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, LS28 5UJ, Tuesday-Sunday 10am-4pm until 29th March. Closed on Mondays. FREE ENTRY.