Wainsgate is an artist-led cultural space in a former Baptist chapel in the hills above Hebden Bridge. We host a broad mix of activity — dance, music, heritage, visual arts, workshops, talks, community events and seasonal gatherings — all shaped by experimentation, welcome and shared endeavour.
Our programmes feed into one another to create a vibrant environment where innovation and heritage thrive side by side. International artists work in the same spaces that hold local makers’ fairs; children’s workshops sit alongside cutting-edge performance; concerts unfold next to heritage trails, exhibitions and Sunday Sessions. The chapel and its landscape are active collaborators, shaping what we do and how people experience it.
We run a range of interconnected programmes that bring people and practices together. These include Wainsgate Dances — our residencies, workshops, performances and daily Open Practice — alongside live music, exhibitions, spoken-word events, creative workshops for all ages, and larger gatherings such as Advent at Wainsgate, Spring Fair and Heritage Open Days. Each strand contributes to the energy of the place, creating an environment where local participation and international perspectives meet.
Our heritage work treats the building as a living site, from graveyard research and local history projects to open-door events that invite people to explore how stories, bodies and place connect.
What ties everything together is a belief in generosity, curiosity and the value of making things happen where we are. Wainsgate is a community-embedded and outward-looking hub of creativity — a welcoming, evolving space where artists, neighbours and visitors meet, make, imagine and shape something larger than any single programme.
