A new arts centre in Keighley will also become a hub for adult education, with courses designed to help people gain qualifications, develop new skills and access employment opportunities.
Arts Centre Keighley is currently being developed inside the former Beales department store on Hanover Street, opposite the Airedale Shopping Centre, and is expected to open later this year. The centre is being created through the redevelopment of the former department store and will serve as the new base for arts charity Keighley Creative.
Alongside exhibition spaces, artist studios, performance areas and workshops, the venue will include dedicated facilities for adult learning delivered by Keighley College.
The college has now revealed details of the first courses that will be offered from September, including CV writing, digital and IT skills, English and Mathematics, teaching assistant training and an Access to Higher Education Diploma in Art and Design.
Funding for the project includes £2.6 million from the Keighley Towns Fund, £1.27 million from the Community Ownership Fund, £906,000 through Keighley College and £250,000 from Bradford 2025’s Cultural Capital Fund.
Kevin O’Hare, Principal of Keighley College, said the development would create new opportunities for local residents. He said: “The Arts Centre Keighley will become a new front door to learning, creativity and opportunity in the heart of the town, bringing together education, culture and community under one roof.
“We are thrilled to be a part of it. The building will provide a fantastic base for our college to run a whole raft of courses designed to help adults back into work, or onto the path to something completely new, and we will also have a National Careers Service presence.”
Co-chair Georgina Webster described the project as an important development for the town. She said: “This is an exciting time for our town, with The Arts Centre Keighley providing first class facilities for creativity for local people and the wider region in an imaginative repurposing of a former department store.
“We look forward to working alongside Keighley College and welcoming the people of the town into a superb centre with two galleries, a Keighley Creative education room, multi use room and more than 20 studios for artists to further their craft.”
Once completed, the centre is expected to combine arts, education and community activity under one roof, creating a new destination for both creative talent and adult learners in the heart of Keighley.
