Start With One - a-n The Artists Information Company

Venue: The Mill Gallery
Starts: Friday, May 16, 2025
Ends: Friday, June 6, 2025
Address: The Mill Gallery, Unit 5 Cardinal House, Swinnow Grange Mills, Leeds, LS13 4EP
Location: Yorkshire
Organiser: The Mill Gallery

The Mill Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Start with One, a ground breaking exhibition designed specifically for first-time art collectors. The exhibition, which opens on 16th May, will feature 45 original artworks, each priced at just £100, making it the perfect opportunity for those looking to start their own art collection without the pressure of high price tags or complex art jargon.

Start with One aims to demystify the world of art collecting, offering a welcoming and accessible space for anyone interested in acquiring their very first piece of original art. The exhibition is built around the idea that owning art should feel inviting and achievable for all, regardless of experience or knowledge.

Spanning a diverse range of mediums, styles, and artistic voices, ensuring that there is something for every taste and every wall. From bold paintings to delicate prints, abstract works to figurative pieces, the show showcases contemporary art in a variety of forms. The exhibition offers collectors an exciting chance to discover new artists, connect with their stories, and start a relationship with art that could last a lifetime.

“We wanted to create a show that felt approachable, not intimidating,” says Lucy Morrison, curator at The Mill Gallery. “Art collecting can sometimes feel like an exclusive world, but there’s something special about the first piece you choose. It marks the start of a relationship with the art, with the process of collecting, and with your own personal taste. This exhibition is designed to help first-time collectors navigate that journey in a fun and relaxed way.”

With all artworks priced at £100, Start with One removes the typical barriers that may deter new collectors. It offers a rare opportunity to buy original art confidently and affordably. The exhibition invites visitors to engage with the art, find something that resonates with them, and take home their very first piece to begin their collection.

The Mill Gallery’s mission with this exhibition is to create a space where the process of starting a collection feels easy and enjoyable, rather than daunting. No prior knowledge or experience in art collecting is necessary – just curiosity, a blank wall, and the desire to make art a part of your life.

Start with One will be on display from 16th May at The Mill Gallery, and we invite all art enthusiasts, beginners, and curious visitors to join us in this exciting celebration of original art and creative discovery.

Sarah Francis

Artist Curator Sarah Francis is a Leeds based Artist Curator who focuses on bringing under-recognised artists and narratives to the public, using empathy and warmth to build self-confidence in creatives left behind by the mainstream system. Fascinated by complex possibilities lying dormant in ‘familiar’ environments, setting a challenging dialogue between cultural identity and the inner worlds which we as artists manifest within our work. This conceptual framework draws parallels between artists from differing socio-cultural worlds, whose work follows similar lines in metaphysical realms. Francis' interpretation of the curator is that of a caretaker of other worlds, working in collaboration as the tour guide and storyteller, bringing these converging manifestations to our physical spaces. Francis’ artwork centres around her neurodiverse and queer identity, building her own language and worlds to explore and understand ‘how I made me’; a reference to an early body of work that investigated her inner trauma and re-articulation of her current self. Her work has been shortlisted for the Saatchi Gallery’s Art of Giving Prize, selected by Richard Billingham for Curator’s Choice Noise Young Talent 2009, and recognised in Aesthetica’s 100 Best Contemporary Artists in Europe. In addition to her work, Sarah Francis is the Founder and Director of Aire Place Studios, Leeds. @sarahfrancis.art & @aireplacestudios

Aire Place Studios CIC

Aire Place Studios is a creative studio which holds spaces of equality and solidarity. We host comfortable studios spaces, hold safer spaces for workshops and a bold gallery space centred around innovation and inclusivity. Aire Place Studios also features a collective of associated artists who exist to radically uplift under-represented creatives with empathy and warmth to realise the potential of those often overlooked by traditional art institutions. This dynamic collaboration builds trust and collective accountability to serve our communities.