VILLAGE - independent art book & zine store

Welcome to Village

Village is a new independent art bookstore and publishing house coming to central Leeds in early 2012, specialising in self-published zines from local and international artists, as well as selected art, design, fashion and photography books and magazines from established and independent publishers.

Our Aims

Leeds is a highly creative city with several independent galleries and project spaces for many different disciplines. We hope to expand this scene by acting as creative hub for the city, developing the links between these projects and helping to create a cohesive artistic community. We want to bring art to Leeds highstreet and make it available and accessible for anybody and everybody.

Our aim is to develop the art community in Leeds by providing exposure for up and coming artists and inspiring greater interest in art in the city by hosting special events, workshops and talks from influential people in the field.

We want to create an environment that is welcoming, friendly and unpretentious where people who are interested in art can meet, hangout and browse with an in-store gallery and café.

Beyond the store, we plan to contribute to the Leeds art community as a whole by hosting events and exhibitions around the city and supporting local art projects, with the aim to expand to other cities in the future.

About us

Village was founded by a group of graduates from the Leeds College of Art & Design and the University of Leeds. Over the past few years we have had an active involvement with the Leeds creative community, organising events and clubnights as well as providing visuals for gigs as part of LIMN (http://www.limnlimnlimn.co.uk) - The idea for Village came from a desire to bring together a number of independent art projects and put Leeds-based art art the forefront of the city.

Give us a hand!

It is an ambitious project which we hope one day will be something that Leeds residents can be proud of and feel a strong association to. We have already raised most of the funding required but are currently seeking £5000 in order to secure a bank loan under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee that will help make Village a reality. Once full funding has been secured, the money raised will help to cover start-up costs such as stock and fixtures, as well as equipment to put together our first publications. We welcome donations of any amount and whatever you feel you can give would be greatly appreciated. We are offering some great rewards for donations (see box to the right).

If you cannot donate then you can still get involved by sharing this link with your friends or posting it to your website. As well as following us on Twitter and/or liking us on Facebook, there you can get updates on the progress of the store and information about upcoming events.

Ta.

Ben and Joe (Village)

www.villagebookstore.co.uk