Compass commissions and presents interactive live art projects in Leeds, UK.
We run an artist residency programme, present standalone projects, exhibitions and artist development initiatives.
Compass is also the driving force behind the biennial Compass Festival.
Compass Festival 2024 is funded by Leeds City Council through the Leeds Cultural Investment Programme; Arts Council England; Leeds BID and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. For a full list of partners and supporters, head to our Supporters page.
Compass Live Art has:
Compass was founded in 2010 by Annie Lloyd, Karen Watson (East Street Arts) and Sarah Spanton (Waymarking). In 2011, the first ever Compass Festival took place and since then has taken place biennially animating the city of Leeds with interactive art projects in public spaces created by ambitious artists.
Each year we commission unique projects from internationally renowned artists, involving local people within the works to make them widely accessible as well as creating a sense of place, community and wellbeing.
Our projects encompass performance, visual arts, dance and music. They are thought provoking, entertaining and memorable – and designed specifically to reflect and celebrate the places, people, history and stories of Leeds.
Alongside the festival, Compass Live Art has trained 14 young people as producers through a mixture of paid placements, workshops, training and mentoring, who now have independent careers in the arts.
We support local, national and international artists, both emerging and established, to develop their practice.
To develop, produce and locate our projects we have created over 150 partnerships with organizations large (Leeds City Council, Bruntwood, Universities) and small (market traders, cafe owners and farmers).