External partner event
Claye Bowler in conversation with Aimee Harrison
18:00–19:30
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
About this event
Join artist Claye Bowler in conversation with Aimee Harrison, Co-Curator of Liverpool Biennial 2027, in this event hosted by Yorkshire Contemporary.
Throughout this summer, Claye Bowler designed and facilitated pARCHIVE. Taking place in Cross Flatts Park in south Leeds, children were invited to explore the natural environment around them, collecting materials to respond to and assemble in creative ways. Informed by Claye’s sculptural practice, his background working as a museum registrar and his interest in materiality and tactility, the project aimed to create an archive shaped by children’s right to play, explore, touch and create.
Reflecting on the project, Claye will share his experience of developing and presenting this work in conversation with Aimee Harrison, Co-Curator of Liverpool Biennial 2027.
Their conversation will consider changing ideas, attitudes and work around play and participatory practice in contemporary art, including questions of equity between museum and exhibition contexts and participatory ways of presenting work. Interested in where we place value as a sector, Yorkshire Contemporary discuss why it’s exciting to place a practice like Claye’s within a children’s play setting, the challenges faced and the learnings taken from the project.
pARCHIVE is a Yorkshire Contemporary project. It is part of INSIDE OUT, a three-year National Lottery funded programme aiming to improve opportunities for play in Beeston, Leeds. As INSIDE OUT concludes later in 2026, this event forms part of the reflection, legacy and learning of the project. Yorkshire Contemporary is committed to embedding playfulness as a serious and transformative force for artistic practice, learning and engagement.
About the speakers
Claye Bowler
Claye Bowler (he/him) is an artist born in Derby and living in Yorkshire. Based on his experience working in museum collection management, Bowler’s work often incorporates, yet questions, the ethics, administration and aesthetics of museum collecting. Bowler uses sculptural practices to highlight stories that are not historically collected through institutional means, often working with narratives of queerness and disability.
Recent solo exhibitions include: Dig Me a Grave, Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2025); Top, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds (2022). His work is held in public collections: Arts Council Collection, Wellcome Collection, Otherness Archive, and Leeds Art Gallery.
Aimee Harrison
Aimee Harrison (she/her) is the Co-Curator of Liverpool Biennial 2027. She has worked at Liverpool Biennial since 2019 as Curator of Learning, producing collaborative projects with international artists as well as designing and delivering an extensive Learning Programme.
Prior to the Biennial she was Children and Young People’s Producer at Heart of Glass, St Helens and previously worked at FACT Liverpool as Learning Coordinator. Harrison has produced many community projects throughout her career, working extensively with children and young people, d/Deaf and disabled people, older adults, migrant communities and people within the criminal justice system.
Yorkshire Contemporary
Yorkshire Contemporary commissions, produces and presents ambitious contemporary art, championing artists and ideas that spark curiosity.
Based in Leeds and working across West Yorkshire, they champion emerging and underrepresented artists, offering sustained support, networks and visibility, creating the conditions for artists to thrive, and shining a spotlight on the region’s most exciting, diverse talents.
Working beyond gallery walls, they spark creativity and inspire communities through playful, stimulating encounters, working in partnership to make new things possible. Welcoming everyone to actively explore, create and discover the joy and power of art.
Tickets
Tickets to this event are free, and can be booked online via Eventbrite.
If you’d prefer to book over the phone, please call us on +44 (0)1132 467 467.
Past exhibitions at Henry Moore Institute
Claye Bowler: Top
7 October 2022 – 15 January 2023
Gallery 4
Claye Bowler’s work explores the archive – the body as an archive, hoarding as archiving, and looking at the political priorities of history. He is interested in how queer and trans narratives specifically have been perpetually hidden, erased or destroyed.
Access information
The workshop will take place in the Studio, our new workshop space on the second floor of the building.
Step-free entrance
Our accessible entrance is on Cookridge Street, with a lift (doors 100cm wide) bringing you onto the ground floor of the building.
Internal lift
There is an internal passenger lift (doors 76cm wide) to all floors of the building.
Toilets
The Studio has its own toilet facilities, including one accessible superloo (self-contained cubicle with toilet and sink) and two additional gender-neutral superloos.
Guide dogs
Guide dogs, hearing dogs and other badged assistance dogs are welcome in our galleries and at our events. There is a small grassy…
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Guide dogs
Guide dogs, hearing dogs and other badged assistance dogs are welcome in our galleries and at our events.
There is a small grassy area just outside the Institute, suitable for spending. The nearest larger green space is Park Square.
A water bowl for dogs is available, please ask a member of staff at the welcome desk who will fetch it for you.
If you would like to talk to us about any access concerns before the event, you can email us at institute@henry-moore.org, or call us on 01132 467 467.
Getting here
Find us next door to Leeds Art Gallery on Victoria Gardens, in the centre of Leeds. Our step-free entrance is on Cookridge Street.
Henry Moore Institute
74 The Headrow
Leeds
LS1 3AH
United Kingdom
T: 01132 467 467
E: institute@henry-moore.org
