Dean Clough Galleries in Halifax, one of the largest contemporary art spaces in Yorkshire, has just launched a new season of free exhibitions covering everything from the work of Huddersfield University student Adam Summerscales to the large-scale paintings of Christopher P Wood, ‘one of the greats of the art world today’.

The Galleries, sited in the vast former Crossley Carpets mill, offer a fascinating day out for those in search of art, history and a place to feed body and soul.

From Ray Fearn: The Damned

At a time when many municipal art galleries have no budget for buying or showing new works, Dean Clough has its own permanent collection, a rolling programme of exhibitions and is also home to some 20 artists and major theatre companies such as Northern Broadsides and IOU theatre.

The collections are free to view but visitors are advised to check if all galleries are open before setting out (telephone 01422 250250), as the mill is also a conference centre and individual galleries may be in use.

Christopher P Wood: Beneath the Surface

Supporting North of England artists, the mill has its own shop selling quirky arts and crafts by local makers.

The Dean Clough complex, once the largest carpet mill in the world at half-a-mile long, houses a number of cafes and restaurants with the Viaduct Cafe Bar, adjacent to the main galleries entrance, the most convenient for a snack or coffee break.

Art works are chosen by a selection committee for exhibitions that range from photography and large-scale paintings to sculpture.

From Ian C Taylor: Happy Anniversary DADA!

Currently on show (until January 22, 2017) are: Paintings covering a five-year period by Christopher P Wood, who is showing both ‘signature’ landscapes and newer collages and whose work was admired by the late, great Scottish painter Alan Davie; Photographs, raw materials and ceramic wares curated by Rupert Brakspear to celebrate the work of one of England’s last country potters, Yorkshireman Isaac Burton; Mystical and mythical watercolour and monotype paintings of animals, humans and natural forms by Kate Walters; Ray Fearn’s seriously political and personal works in The Damned; Street photography from disabled student Adam Summerscales that shows the world from his perspective; and Happy Anniversary DADA!, a commemoration of the art movement using found objects by resident Ian C Taylor.

The Galleries are open every day from 10am until 5pm. There is off-street and on-street metered parking on both sides of the mill complex.