Culture

Public vote opens to choose new character trail in York

Larger than life, vibrant and bold characters will guide people through York’s cobbled streets and hidden gardens in a new sculpture trail coming to York in 2024. The chosen character for the trail is down to the people of York, who have two designs to choose from, with a public vote open from today until Tuesday 28^th February at 5pm.

Last year, Make It York put a call out for Yorkshire based visual artists, designers and illustrators to create a unique character or creature, bespoke to the city. The brief asked for artists to design a character or creature that represents the city, something new and something different. There were 75 submissions, with Make It York narrowing it down to two final designs. Will it be the friendly monster Barouse inspired by the city’s rivers and bars? Or the bookish Snook, who can be found hiding in the city’s corners?

Organised by Make It York, with charity partner St Leonard’s Hospice, the new trail featuring Barouse or Snook will launch in early 2024. Find out more about the two final designs and artists below:

Barouse by Christine Jopling

“Barouse” is a friendly monster who has a castellated head and a big droplet of a body. It’s battlement-shaped head is inspired by the bars around York’s unique wall, and its rotund frame is like a drop of water from the River Ouse, which runs right through York’s centre. Bringing together these two important aspects of the City – the walls and the river – in a fun and approachable figure. Barouse is a simple, chunky monster, and its friendly features are created to appeal to humans of all ages.

About Christine Jopling: Christine is a freelance illustrator based in a little studio, opposite a chippy in Pudsey, Leeds. Working as an illustrator since 1995, she’s still noodling and doodling – happy to hand-letter a wedding reading or a wall, paint British Birds or beer bottles, create monsters or maps, or ink in aliens and armadillos. All of Christine’s work starts with a doodle in pencil on paper, using Indian ink, watercolour, acrylic paint, Posca pens, emulsion paint or maybe a bit of digital scribbling to create the finished thing

Snook by Sian Ellis

There are plenty of old buildings around the city that you’re bound to have spotted, from the higgledy piggledy shops along The Shambles to Clifford’s Tower to the city walls, but have you ever set eyes on a Snook? They’ve been here just as long as even The Norman House (the oldest building in York) but they are a little more hidden away than the historic sights of the city that you are familiar with.

A bookish breed they are often found in cosy corners with their faces buried inside the pages of a good book. However recently Snook sightings have skyrocketed, and it looks like these friendly folk have been enjoying some sightseeing around the city walls.

Old habits die hard though and you aren’t likely to spot a Snook without a book in its hands. It could be a novel, an anthology or a playbook but it might also be a guide to bird spotting, a family photo album, an instruction manual for building a rocket or a travel diary and sketchbook.

About Sian Ellis: Sian is a Yorkshire based illustrator and mural artist whose work is playful, fun and full of humour. She is inspired by the bold and the bright, the weird and the wonderful. Sian has created art on a national scale and in a range of mediums, ranging from detailed fine drawing to twelve foot paintings and even a metre long knitted head band for a fibre glass gorilla! Sian has created a number of murals around Yorkshire and has worked on a number of charity sculpture trails across the UK, with which the sales of her sculptures have to date raised over £100,000 for charitable causes.

Vote for your favourite design here by 5pm on Tuesday 28^th February.

Sarah Loftus, Managing Director at Make It York, said: “We’re really looking forward to bringing a new trail and introducing a new character to York in 2024. Our final two artists have done a brilliant job at bringing the characters to life and we look forward to seeing the winning design in our city next year. We’re really pleased to be working with our charity partner, St Leonard’s Hospice, on this project.”

Dawn Clements, Director of Income Generation at St Leonard’s Hospice, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Make It York and to be part of this exciting activity. It will be a fun way to help us engage further with our community, not only educating people about our services but also helping to raise vital funds to support people facing life-limiting illnesses and bereavement. We are proud that we can represent hospice care in such a unique way and it’s a great opportunity to work with new supporters and volunteers. We are looking forward to working collaboratively with Sarah and the team at Make It York and, of course, either Barouse or Snook.”

Councillor Darryl Smalley, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities said: “York’s latest trail will add more colour and fun to our beautiful city whilst supporting a wonderful cause. I’d like to thank all artists who submitted their ideas as part of the competition, it was extremely difficult to narrow the excellent submissions down to the final two. The final choice is now in the hands of York’s residents who have the difficult choice between these two fun characters.”

Christine Jopling, artist of Barouse, said: “I’m so chuffed that Barouse has made it this far, I still can’t quite believe it! It was quite a challenge to come up with something that represents York in a fun, approachable sculpture, but when Barouse popped into my head I thought – “That’s it!” If Barouse is chosen I hope it’s a fun form for the artists to let themselves loose on, and that the sculptures bring a smile to the faces of residents and visitors to York.”

Sian Ellis, artist of Snook, said: “Since 2019 I have been travelling from my studio in Yorkshire to paint sculptures for trails across the UK. I absolutely love being involved with every trail so to get the chance to design a brand new and unique sculpture design would be an absolute dream come true for me! I would love love LOVE to see the Snooks with Books come to life and explore the city and it would be absolutely brilliant to see other artists unleash their imaginations onto each one. I think it could be such a magical addition for the local community to see them pop up on the streets of York. My menagerie of painted pals currently totals 17 including gorillas, wallabies, elephants and even a T-Rex, and the sales of my painted sculptures have raised over £100,000 to date for local charities. To be chosen as the artist to design the sculpture for the Make It York 2024 trail would be the cherry on top of my work with sculpture trails so far!”

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Sarah Foster and Brittany Guymer

Communications Team at Make It York

Comms@makeityork.com

About Make It York

Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. Its mission is to grow the economic prosperity and wider wellbeing of York and its citizens. In practice, this means delivering a range of projects and programmes based around our corporate strategic priorities.

These are:

City positioning and profile-raising

Ensuring an exciting city centre
Delivering the city’s ground-breaking Cultural Strategy

Support local creatives and designers with unique York Christmas bauble

Culture, Make It York News, Markets / By Bethan Gibb-Reid

This winter, Make It York have collaborated with local artist Emma Feneley to produce a limited-edition bauble celebrating Christmas in York. Proceeds from the baubles will go into a new York Creates Fund, a new micro-fund that will support cultural and creative activity in the city.

The hand-decorated porcelain bauble is unique to York, with Emma’s design featuring famous York landmark Clifford’s Tower in the festive season. It was commissioned by Make It York as part of the 30^th Anniversary celebrations of the St Nicholas Fair, following a public competition to create a unique design for the bauble.

Proceeds from the bauble will go into a new fund to support artists and makers in York. The York Creates Fund will provide opportunities for local creatives to produce new work through micro-grants, commissions and competitions. The fund will be held by Make It York and administered in reference to the objectives of York’s Creative Future, the city’s Culture Strategy.

Emma designs are created through unique collages that repurpose wastepaper for her art, and often depict places in the local area. The baubles are high quality white porcelain and hand decorated with Emma’s creation, produced by Foley Pottery.

The bauble is available to purchase from the Visitor Information Centre in York City Centre.

Helen Apsey, Head of Culture and Wellbeing at Make It York, said: “At Make It York, we’re really committed to supporting the cultural and creative sector, so we’re delighted to be collaborating with Emma to launch this beautifully designed bauble. The bauble not only celebrates and raises the profile of the work of a local artist, but its profits will go towards setting up a fund that can benefit even more creatives across York, so this is a key initiative for us. It’s also really nice to be able to do this at Christmas, to celebrate the 30^th Anniversary of the St Nicholas Fair.”

Artist Emma Feneley said: “The MIY competition has been such a lovely, fun opportunity for me to share and develop my artwork within the local area. It’s always exciting to see your work in print or being used for a purpose, and this felt even more special knowing that the profits will go back into the community and support other creatives. As a smaller, ‘starting out’ artist, this really does make a difference and has already helped to build my profile. Outside of making, I also work full time at a local primary school. The children have been so excited to see the finished bauble and it’s really inspired them to experiment with their own art, knowing that there are opportunities like this to make artwork in a meaningful way.”

About York’s Creative Future

The Culture Strategy has the ambition to transform York – and by 2025 we believe York will be known as a city where outstanding, renowned heritage comes together with a cutting-edge and contemporary approach to creativity – reflecting the city’s rich history and its status as the UK’s first UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts.

About Make It York

Make It York is the city’s Destination Management Organisation, with the purpose to develop and promote the city and its surroundings nationally and internationally.

The company’s remit covers leisure and business tourism, city centre management and Shambles Market, as well as delivering world-class festival and events, including the St Nicholas Christmas Fair, and the city’s ground-breaking Culture Strategy.

For further information please contact:

Culture team at Make It York

Email: culture@makeityork.com

York Civic Trust awarded £250k National Lottery Heritage Fund grant for York Trailblazers

Culture, Make It York News / By Brittany Guymer

York Civic Trust, working in partnership with Make it York and partners across the city, has been awarded £249,999 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver the York Trailblazers project.

Trailblazers will be an exciting and inclusive city-wide programme of events and activities across 2023 – 25, celebrating York’s heritage. Shaped around significant anniversaries, Trailblazers will inspire residents and visitors on York’s collective history and empower new generations to create and discover new interpretations of our heritage.

The activities funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund will enable York Civic Trust, Make It York and partners to uncover lesser-known heritage stories of York through workshops, sculpture trail, community grant funding, partner events and marketing.

York Civic Trust and Make It York will develop and deliver the project together, leading on their areas of expertise within culture, community and heritage in York. A mix of 40 organisations, from small voluntary groups to big institutions, supported York Civic Trust and Make It York’s bid to make Trailblazers a reality. The project is made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players.

Andrew Morrison, Chief Executive Officer at York Civic Trust, said: “Our project York Trailblazers will be a fantastic opportunity for people to discover and celebrate the heritage stories of people who are important to their communities. The National Heritage Lottery Fund’s support of our project is an incredible boost and will enable the project to reach out to all parts of the city.”

Helen Apsey, Head of Culture & Wellbeing at Make It York, said: “A huge thank you to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and to all the organisations who have come together to support our bid – we’re absolutely thrilled to have been awarded the funding for York Trailblazers. It will make such a difference, and enable Make It York and York Civic Trust to develop a really meaningful celebration of our history and heritage across 2023 – 25, working with partners across the city, and engaging with residents, schools and community groups. We’ve got a lot of activity planned, so watch this space!”

Anne Jenkins, Executive Director of Business Delivery at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are thrilled to be able to support York Civic Trust and Make It York in celebrating and exploring the significant heritage that their city is home to. Thanks to National Lottery players, this project will allow local communities to delve into the varied history of their city and help others discover stories they haven’t heard before. York is home to fascinating heritage and we know it is a great way of bringing people together and creating a sense of pride of place, that in turn can deliver much wider benefits, and we’re excited to see how this project achieves just that.”

ENDS

For more information:

Livvy Golby-Kirk, Marketing & Communications Officer at York Civic Trust

events@fairfaxhouse.co.uk

Sarah Foster, Communications Manager at Make It York

Comms@makeityork.com

Notes to Editors:

About Make It York

These are:

City positioning and profile-raising
Ensuring an exciting city centre
Delivering the city’s ground-breaking Cultural Strategy

About York Civic Trust

York Civic Trust is a membership organisation open to all who wish to protect and enhance York’s architectural and cultural heritage, to champion good design and to advance the high place which York holds amongst the cities of the world. Founded in 1946, it has the key objectives of “Promoting Heritage—Shaping Tomorrow” at the heart of its work. Since an extensive conservation-repair programme in the 1980s, the Trust has restored Fairfax House on York’s Castlegate to its former grandeur. It is one of England’s finest Georgian townhouses and now a museum and offices of the Trust.

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Using money raised by The National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.

Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund

Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants have been awarded across the UK. More than £30 million raised each week goes to good causes across the UK.

York becomes first city with an elected Culture Executive in UK

Culture, Make It York News / By Make It York

A broad coalition of people passionate about culture and creativity have been democratically elected to York’s new Culture Executive from across the sector: together, they will oversee the future direction of the city’s Culture Strategy, York’s Creative Future.

In 2020, the ambitious Culture Strategy mapping out the next five years of York’s Creative Future was launched. A joint initiative between Make It York, City of York Council and the city’s cultural and creative sector, the strategy aims to create opportunity and make culture relevant and accessible to everyone in the city.

A key priority within the city’s Culture Strategy has been to create more democratic and open structures: the York Culture Forum opened in December 2021, and it now has over 160 members. They represent a broad range of creative freelancers and members of culture, heritage and creative organisations. As the organisation leading the delivery of the Culture Strategy, Make It York has worked closely with City of York Council and the cultural and creative sector to build this process together and ensure robust engagement with it.

Over the summer, nominations were open for any members of the York Culture Forum who wanted to stand for a voluntary elected position on the Culture Executive. The York Culture Executive, who will oversee the future direction and implementation of the city’s Culture Strategy, York’s Creative Future, have been democratically elected by the York Culture Forum this September.

There are seven newly elected members of the Culture Executive group, who will lead on specific Priority Areas of the Culture Strategy, as well as General Members who will support across the breadth of the strategy. They are:

Barbara Swinn, Head of Strategy and Engagement at York Explore Libraries and Archives, as Head of Priority Area – Cultural Engagement, Participation and Relevance
Andrew Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of York Civic Trust and Fairfax House, as Head of Priority Area – Placemaking

Lydia Cottrell, Founder of SLAP and freelance multi-disciplinary artist, as Head of Priority Area – Talent Development and Retention
Sarah Maltby, Director of Attractions at Jorvik Group, as Head of Priority Area – York’s National and International Profile
Rachel Cowgill, Professor of Music and University Research Theme Champion for Creativity, University of York, as General Member
Tom Bird, Chief Executive of York Theatre Royal, as General Member
Rebecca Newman, Soprano and Managing Director of York Proms, as General Member.

They join the non-elected members:

Chris Edwards, Chair of REACH, the Local Cultural Education Partnership, as Head of Priority Area – Children and Young People
Owen Turner, Master of the Guild of Media Arts, representing the UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts designation
Helen Apsey, Head of Culture and Wellbeing at Make It York, as co-Chair of the York Culture Forum and Head of Priority Area – Culture and Wellbeing
Councillor Darryl Smalley, representing City of York Council, as Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities.

The Executive will be led by two co-chairs – Head of Culture and Wellbeing at Make It York and a co-chair appointed from and by the incoming Executive. The group will meet bi-monthly to steer the strategy’s future direction. The first meeting of the new Culture Executive will take place in October.

Helen Apsey, Head of Culture and Wellbeing at Make It York and Co-Chair of York Culture Forum, said: “It’s a really exciting time for culture in York. Through the York Culture Forum, we’ve created a new space for people working across the culture and creative sectors to connect, come together to share knowledge, and develop partnerships – and with the newly elected Culture Executive in place, the sector can now really take the lead in shaping the future direction of the city’s Culture Strategy. I’m very much looking forward to working with the new Culture Executive: they’re an incredible group of people, with so much expertise, passion and energy.

Councillor Darryl Smalley, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities said: “I look forward to working with the newly elected Culture Executive, who will with their experience, creativity and leadership help us bring York’s ambitious culture strategy to life. It’s a really exciting time for culture across the city, and York is leading the way in having an elected executive driving forward the delivery of our culture strategy. I’d urge any interested organisations or people working across the sector to get involved in the Culture Forum and help shape York’s creative future.”

Andrew Morrison, Chief Executive Officer at York Civic Trust, said: “The Culture Forum is a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved in one of the most important parts of life in York to work together to develop and promote the vibrant and enriching creative and cultural community it is. I am excited to have been elected to join the executive in order to help support this development and in particular to help to ensure that opportunities for everyone to experience York’s kaleidoscope of culture are embedded within the fabric of the city as it develops.”

Rachel Cowgill, Professor of Music and University Research Theme Champion for Creativity, University of York, said: “I’m excited to be joining the Culture Forum Executive at such a crucial time in the creative and cultural life of the city. The cost-of-living crisis poses huge challenges, and we all have a part to play, as organisations and individuals working together, in promoting a culture of vitality, inclusion and well-being through creativity, arts and heritage. I’m excited to join as part of the University of York’s commitment as a university for public good to helping create the conditions for all parts of society to flourish.”

Sarah Maltby, Director of Attractions at Jorvik Group, said: “I am delighted to join the executive group to bring the benefits to York; its residents and visitors, through the new Cultural Strategy. We have huge opportunities to work together to enhance York’s impact on a national and international stage and I am very pleased to be able to play a part in making that happen.”

ENDS

For more information:

Sarah Foster and Brittany Guymer

Make It York Communications Team

Comms@makeityork.com

Notes to Editors:

About the York Culture Forum

The Culture Forum is open to anyone working within the arts, culture, heritage, and creative sectors, including collections, combined arts, dance, libraries, literature, museums, music, theatre and the visual arts, as well as people’s own creative participation in, and interpretations of, culture based within York. Find out more and sign up to join the Forum here: York Culture Forum (makeityork.com)

About the Culture Strategy

York’s Creative Future has inclusion and participation at its core, and the commitment to ensure that culture is relevant and accessible to everybody in York – regardless of age, background or postcode. It places culture at the heart of activities from major capital developments, to residents’ wellbeing – and will work to ensure cultural entitlement for every child.

About Make It York

These are:

City positioning and profile-raising
Ensuring an exciting city centre
Delivering the city’s ground-breaking Cultural Strategy

York Sculpture Trail Character Commission

Culture, Events, Make It York News, Uncategorized / By Make It York

Make It York is looking for visual artists, designers and illustrators to create a unique character or creature, bespoke to the city, that will be transformed into 3D, larger than life sculpture models as part of a family-friendly city-wide trail in 2023.

Submit your design using this form on the Make It York website by 12 noon on 14 October 2022.

Sculpture Trail Background

The 2023 sculpture trail will see 25/30 large scale sculptures strategically placed around the city to form a vibrant and bold family friendly trail of characters or creatures. Each sculpture model will be customised by being decorated with unique designs (through painting, applique, etc.) from Yorkshire-based artists, in response to a set overarching theme.

It is expected the sculptures will remain in situ for a period of four months and will be complimented with a programme of workshops, talks and demonstrations from our commissioned artists.

While this trail model has been seen widely across the country, taking the form of animals and other shapes in a multitude of formats, we’re looking to create something bespoke for the city – creating our own story and narrative for residents and visitors of York to explore.

About the Character Commission

We’re looking to commission an artist to design a character or creature that represents the city, something new and something different, that we will then turn into the sculpture model for the trail. Not only that, we’re interested in the narrative and why artists have chosen to create this particular design.

Perhaps the character plays on the heritage of York, a concept that is unearthed or has been missed from the city achieves, even a myth brought to life. Maybe this character or creature has found itself misplaced in the city, maybe it’s a fantastical never-seen-before animal, or perhaps it’s another construct entirely.

We are keeping the commission as open as possible to allow artists freedom of interpretation to create this character however, the trail will be family friendly and submitted designs must take that into consideration.

Practically, the selected design will be cast and transformed into a 5/6ft tall sculpture and therefore cannot be overly complex and highly detailed. Once produced the blank sculptures will be brought to life with different artist designs, meaning the shape of the character is key as this will be the defining element across the trail.

Another consideration is to keep designs as contained as possible, loose aspects to the character increase the likelihood of damage to the sculptures once they are in situ. Keeping the sculpture as solid and contained as possible reduces the risk of damage. For example, a long upward tail of a cat would be more prone to damage that one wrapped around the cat.

The selected artist will be decided by Make It York. The commissioned artist will be awarded a £1000 commission fee for the design and narrative of the character alongside an additional artistic fee of £1000 to create one of the artistic designs and bring a sculpture to life as part of the trail itself.

Upon commissioning Make It York will work with the artist and the manufacturing company to tweak designs where appropriate for the most suitable replication in a physical format.

Submit your design using this form on the Make It York website by 12 noon on 14 October 2022.

Commission Criteria

Artists may submit a maximum of two entries.
Anyone over the age of sixteen is eligible to submit a design.
Artists should reside in Yorkshire (including all of North, East, South and West)
Designs that do not fit the commission criteria will not be accepted.
Only new designs will be permitted – designs which already exist and have been used in other contexts will not be accepted.
The artist should submit a visual drawn/designed representation of their concept. This should be in PDF or image format.
Artists should also complete the expression of interest form and include details of the character narrative.
Designs should be considered practically based on the shape and elements for large scale reproducing.
The commissioned artist will be required to make tweaks to the design if needed following selection and consultation with the production company.
Entries remain the intellectual property of the artist and will be kept on record for informational purposes only by Make It York. Artists may contact the company to request their design be removed from records.
The selected artists commission fee includes a buyout fee of £1000 of the intellectual property of the design, which will become the property of Make It York, who will have sole right to replicate the design for the production of the trail and potential commercial opportunities to run alongside. The artist will not receive a share of sales.
An additional £1000 artistic fee will be awarded to the selected artist to create a design on one of the sculptures as part of the trail.
Decisions will be made in October 2022, with the winner being notified on or before 4th November 2022.
The decision of Make It York on the outcome of the commission is final, although we are happy to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Nine Organisations Awarded Cultural Wellbeing Grants 2022

Culture, Make It York News / By Brittany Guymer

Nine York-based charities, social enterprises, community groups and individuals have been awarded grant funding by Make It York and City of York Council, made available via the Better Care Fund. The Cultural Wellbeing grant funding will support a range of initiatives for York residents, which are designed to support mental wellbeing and reduce loneliness and isolation.

A total of £30,000 was made available for organisations to help isolated people engage in their communities, combat mental ill-health, improve physical health, enable participation in culture and creativity, or access to employment and learning opportunities. Organisations were invited to apply to grants up to £5,000 to aid initiatives throughout the city, which will be taking place from summer 2022 through to March 2023.

The projects that will be funded through the Cultural Wellbeing Grants 2022 are:

Singing for all with Jessa – ‘Singing For All York’ – reducing loneliness and isolation by providing inclusive and informal singing sessions for those living with dementia or other physical/mental health conditions, carers, and those in good health.

New Visuality – ‘Intergenerational Art: Memories and Hope’ – encouraging the sharing of memories, stories, and anecdotes by elderly people to make them feel more part of their community and more connected with younger people, which will then form various art projects throughout the city
Next Door But One – ‘A Rehearsal for Life’ – providing young adults with multiple and complex disabilities a safe space to explore feelings of fear, anxiety and safety about real-life experiences through theatre, to help them develop personal resilience and social skills for when these scenarios arise
Thunk-It Theatre – ‘Enchanted’ – enticing members of the local community to enjoy creative green spaces in our city to reduce isolation and loneliness using craft-making and storytelling
Pilot Theatre – ‘Creative Connections with Sanctuary-Seekers’ – creating a series of arts, crafts, and dance sessions to welcome sanctuary-seekers into York and provide them a safe space to socialise, including Ukrainian refugees in York
Converge – ‘An Exhibition of Sanctuary: from the hospital to the city’ – creating works of art with patients at Foss Park Mental Health Hospital to explore ideas of sanctuary in a stressful, busy world which will later form an exhibition in the city

National Centre for Early Music – ‘Baroque around the Books’ – a tour of musical performances around York Explore community libraries to encourage creative conversations and share musical experiences with members of the community
Bolshee – ‘Bolshee Women’ – an exploration of contemporary autobiographical performance techniques which will result in a co-created performance that aims to combat social isolation of women over the age of 25
‘The Artery for Health’ led by heritage and cultural learning consultant Karen Merrifield – establishing a programme to understand how artists and cultural organisations can provide solace, support and comfort for patients and healthcare professionals through art therapy and art interventions.

Helen Apsey, Head of Culture and Wellbeing at Make It York, says: “This year’s Cultural Wellbeing Grants projects reflect the immense breadth and diversity of cultural initiatives taking place in the city to support people’s mental wellbeing, and to reduce isolation. They range from creative activity sessions for sanctuary-seekers in York, to an art exhibition by patients at Foss Park Mental Health Hospital, through to a programme of performance techniques to combat social isolation in women over 25.

“The Cultural Wellbeing Grants are a really important scheme to support residents’ wellbeing, which is at the heart of the York Culture Strategy. It’s a privilege to be able to support these vital initiatives from Make It York.”

Councillor Darryl Smalley, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities, says: “The Cultural Wellbeing Grants are a really vital scheme, building on our work in tackling isolation and supporting mental health across the city. This is particularly important in the aftermath of the pandemic. Thank you to all those organisations who submitted so many excellent bids, it’s great once again to see how many creative institutions there are across York.

“The successful projects, from singing lessons to intergenerational art, will all deliver crucial support in bolstering residents’ health and wellbeing. I look forward to seeing these projects deliver a real difference across York’s communities.”

ENDS

For more information:

Sarah Foster and Brittany Guymer, Communications Team at Make It York

Comms@makeityork.com

Notes to Editors:

Further information for the Cultural Wellbeing grants can be found here: https://www.makeityork.com/culture/cultural-wellbeing-grants

If you have any queries or need support with the grant processes, please email: Carl.wain@york.gov.uk

About Make It York

These are:

City positioning and profile-raising
Ensuring an exciting city centre
Delivering the city’s ground-breaking Culture Strategy

St Nicholas Fair 30th Anniversary Bauble Design Competition

Culture, Make It York News, St Nicholas Fair / By Make It York

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

Make It York are calling out for visual artists, print makers, and designers to create a bespoke bauble design to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of York’s St Nicholas Fair.

A staple in York’s streets over the festive period since 1992, the St Nicholas Fair Christmas Market will this year feature a special limited run of porcelain baubles that celebrate this exciting milestone. Profits from the bauble sales will be used to create a new cultural fund, York Creates, to provide future small-seed funding for artists and makers in the city.

About St Nicholas Fair

Rated in the top ten Christmas Markets in the UK, the five-week St Nicholas Fair features over sixty alpine chalets lining the streets of Parliament Street and St Sampsons Square, with local businesses selling everything from handmade gifts to delicious treats. The fair is the heart of the city’s Christmas experience and contributes to York ranking in the UK’s top ten Christmas destinations.

Find out more about Christmas in York here.

About the Competition

The theme for the design is: A York Christmas

Artists should produce a design around this theme for the bauble, which can be traditional, contemporary or give a fresh interpretation to a York Christmas.

Artists should produce a design using the guidelines provided and give a short explanation of their design. The bauble can accommodate three images of 40 x 40mm. These images can either be identical or different, depending on artist preference. However, one (or all) of these image squares should either be or include the word ‘York’, or some variation around a Christmas greeting (e.g., ‘Merry Christmas from York’).

Designs should be high quality and appeal to a range of customers, both local and visitors. The design should be suitable for use set against the white background of the bauble. The brief is open to interpretation on design style. Download instructions here for design specifications.

The winner will be decided by Make It York. The winner will be awarded a £500 cash prize and be included in promotional activity. A limited run of baubles will be produced and sold through Make It York as part of the 2022 St Nicholas Fair.

Enter the competition by 12 noon on 12 August 2022. APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

For more information or to ask a question, contact culture@makeityork.com.

Competition Rules

Artists may submit a maximum of two entries.
Anyone over the age of sixteen is eligible to enter the competition. Artists should reside in York, or have a strong local connection.
Designs that do not fit the specifications provided will not be accepted. Read specifications here.
Only new designs will be permitted – designs which already exist and have been used in other contexts will not be accepted.
The artist should submit a visual design for a bauble which will be manufactured professionally. Artists are not expected the manufacture the baubles themselves.
Entries from members of Make It York staff, Visit York staff and volunteers, and close family of these is not permitted.
Entries remain the intellectual property of the artist and after the competition, will be kept on record for informational purposes only by Make It York. Artists may contact the company to request their design be removed from records.
The winning artist’s prize includes a buyout fee of £500 of the intellectual property of the design, which will become the property of Make It York, who will have sole right to merchandise the baubles. The artist will not receive a share of sales. All profits will be ringfenced for the new York Creates cultural seed fund.
Decisions will be made in August 2022, with the winner being notified on or before 19 August 2022.
The decision of Make It York on the outcome of the competition is final, although we are happy to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Applications open for Visit York Tourism Awards 2023

Culture, Events, Make It York News / By Make It York

Entries are now open for the prestigious Visit York Tourism Awards 2023, sponsored by LNER, which recognise, congratulate and celebrate outstanding businesses and individuals that deliver a world-class experience for visitors to the city.

The last Visit York Tourism Awards 2022 took place earlier this year in March, where 15 of York’s top tourism businesses celebrated a win at the ceremony at York Racecourse. Winners of eligible categories were put forward to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, with Middletons Hotel’s Adam Wardale going on to win the national Unsung Hero award.

Returning on 23^rd March 2023 at York Racecourse for a black-tie ceremony and an evening of entertainment, there will be 16 Visit York Tourism Awards up for grabs including:

B&B and Guest House of the Year
Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year
Cultural Venue of the Year* sponsored by Clarion Housing Group
Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism Award sponsored by The Fabl
Event or Festival the Year* sponsored by LNER
Experience of the Year sponsored by Destination Core
Large Attraction of the Year
Large Hotel of the Year sponsored by Streamline Taxis
New Tourism Business of the Year
Pub of the Year sponsored by Hunter Gee Holroyd
Resilience & Innovation Award sponsored by York St John University
Retailer of the Year* sponsored by Fidomoney
Self Catering Accommodation of the Year
Small Attraction of the Year
Small Hotel of the Year
Taste of England Award sponsored by Fowlers of York

There are two new categories introduced for the 2023 awards, ‘Cultural Venue of the Year’ and ‘Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism Award’.

From hotels to restaurants, pubs to visitor attractions; businesses and cultural organisations across the city are being urged to enter – with the deadline of Friday 26^th August to submit their winning entries online at www.visityork.org/awards. The awards are free to enter for Visit York members and £150+VAT for non-members.

Once all the entries are in, a panel of independent judges will decide on the final shortlist and winners through a mix of mystery shopping and rigorous analysis against the entry criteria. Businesses can check the eligibility criteria and enter the Visit York Tourism Awards online at www.visityork.org/awards.

Sarah Loftus, Managing Director at Make It York, said: “The Visit York Tourism Awards celebrate the very best in tourism, hospitality and culture in our city and surrounding areas. For many years, winning these awards have had huge benefits for businesses both regionally and nationally, with many awards being automatically put forward for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence. This year, following his win at the Visit York Tourism Awards 2022, Middletons Hotel’s Adam Wardale went on to win Unsung Hero at the Visit England Awards for Excellence.

With 16 opportunities to take home an award in 2023, as well as the introduction of two new categories, businesses have until 26^th August to get their entries in!”

Councillor Darryl Smalley, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities at City of York Council, said: “York’s tourism industry plays a major role in our city’s economy and culture, with a vibrant offering, which sets us apart from other cities. There are many excellent local businesses and organisations who make our city world-renowned to millions of visitors every year and . The Tourism Awards are a great way to celebrate their wonderful work and the contribution they make to our great city. I would encourage all across the industry to apply to ensure their efforts can be rightly recognised.”

*Visit York only. These categories are not eligible to go forward to the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

ENDS

For more information:

Sarah Foster and Brittany Guymer

Communications team at Make It York

Comms@makeityork.com

Notes to Editors:

Applications for the Visit York Tourism Awards 2023 are open until 5pm, Friday 26^th August. Finalists will be announced in the Autumn, ahead of the awards ceremony at York Racecourse on Thursday 23^rd March 2023.

About Make It York

Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. The company’s remit covers leisure and business tourism, city centre management, Shambles Market and festivals and events.

Visit York is a part of Make It York and is the leisure tourism brand

Under the brand Visit York, Make It York’s aim is to market York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure visitor and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York.

Cultural Wellbeing Grants Support Heritage Hunters Project

Case Studies, Culture, Culture and Wellbeing / By Comms Team

As part of York’s Culture Strategy, Make It York, York CVS and City of York Council have come together to award funding of more than £60,000 to nineteen social and cultural initiatives across the city – with the aim of easing loneliness, isolation and mental ill-health across the city.

The grants, which were made available via the Better Care Fund and Ways to Wellbeing, were set up in recognition of the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on people’s wellbeing – through shielding, self-isolation and social distancing. This series of case studies profiles each of the 2021 recipients:

One of the projects which has been supported by the grants is Heritage Hunters – which saw 10 Hull Road residents join with York Museums Trust to look back and learn more about the history of the people who used to live in their area. This was not only a research project, but also a way to unite the community and encourage neighbours to learn more about each other.

Through the use of five workshops running from January to April, the Heritage Hunters worked closely with both York Castle Museum and York Explore to uncover maps, council minutes, photographs, diaries and a whole variety of artefacts that would help them find out more about their local community.

From the discussions, activities and responses of those involved, a pop-up exhibition has been created which will be loaned to local schools and community centres across the city, allowing them to learn about the newly uncovered history of their local area. Four banners have been created, highlighting all the information collated by the group, as well as booklets which will be distributed to local schools and community centres in May 2022.

There has also been a 16-page toolkit which has been sent to interested parties living on Hull Road. To date, this has included 50 households and is currently downloadable from the York Musuem Trust website.

Philip Newton, Communities Engagement Researcher who led the Heritage Hunters Project, says:

“Honestly, Hull Road Heritage Hunters has been one of the most uplifting and enjoyable projects I have been involved with. Not only have we discovered interesting and personal stories linked to Hull Road but it has brought together neighbours who had never met and now share an interest in their local heritage. The Cultural Commissioning grant award has allowed us to test new ways of working with local communities and will now be able to continue this project annually with other areas in the city; expanding our knowledge of the city and sharing it with local residents.”

Other comments from participants include:

The most enjoyable part of the project was ‘meeting other people with interests in local history, and discussing ideas with them. Working in a group of new researchers, and presenting the work together in the community was the highlight. revealing the facts. I also loved scouring the archives.’

Participants were pleased at the opportunity of ‘getting the brain cells going, meeting other people and working out how to continue when the project has finished. i.e. attending Tang Hall History groups and the connections made at these places.’

‘We’ve loved working on this project & the opportunity to meet our neighbours. I’m sure we’ll all keep in touch. We’re not stopping now – I’m determined to find out when the Bees Wing was built!’

City comes together to bring Ukraine’s Kyiv City Ballet to York Theatre Royal

Culture, Make It York News / By Make It York

Tickets on-sale now, 100% of ticket sales to be donated to UNICEF’s Ukraine Appeal

On Tuesday 14th June, York Theatre Royal will be hosting a very special gala performance from Ukraine’s Kyiv City Ballet. In the company’s first UK performance, all ticket proceeds will be donated to UNICEF’s Ukraine Appeal.

Tickets are now on-sale for the special performance which will be split into two parts, under the direction of Ivan Kozlov and Ekaterina Kozlova. Firstly, a class from the company of the Kyiv City Ballet followed by excerpts from ballets such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.

Tom Bird, Chief Executive of York Theatre Royal, personally invited the prestigious Kyiv City Ballet to perform at the theatre after learning that the company were stranded in France. The Kyiv City Ballet had been on tour in France as the war broke out in Ukraine and have resided there ever since, with it being too unsafe for them to return home to Ukraine.

City partners in York have come together to make this fundraising performance a reality, with Make It York, City of York Council and York BID supporting York Theatre Royal with organisation and logistics to bring the Kyiv City Ballet to York.

Eurostar and LNER have stepped in to arrange the company’s return travel from France to York for the fundraising performance. While Visit York members Elmbank Hotel, Malmaison, Middletons, Sandburn Hall, The Grand, The Principal and York Marriott have all offered to accommodate the Kyiv City Ballet company and crew while they’re in the city, with additional hospitality offered from City Cruises and Bettys. The company will also receive a Civic welcome at York Mansion House.

First Bus will support on the visa costs to bring the company to York, with remaining costs and company fees for the performance to be covered through corporate sponsorship.

An evening with the Kyiv City Ballet will be a special opportunity for York to publicly show its support for the citizens of Ukraine, while celebrating an incredible evening of dance. 100% of the ticket sales from the performance will go to UNICEF to support people in Ukraine, as nominated by the ballet company.

Ivan Kozlov, General Director of Kyiv City Ballet, said: “We are honoured to be performing in York and sharing our art with a British audience. We are hugely grateful to everyone who has collaborated to bring our company to the United Kingdom for the first time.”

Tom Bird, Chief Executive of York Theatre Royal, said: “It is a huge honour to be hosting Kyiv City Ballet at York Theatre Royal. This is the company’s first UK appearance since their city came under attack, and we are proud that York is able to stand in solidarity with Kyiv by supporting these extraordinary dancers for this one-off visit.”

Sarah Loftus, Managing Director at Make It York, said: “We are so proud of our city pulling together to bring the Kyiv City Ballet to York. This is a special opportunity to celebrate world-class performers, while raising vital funds for the people of Ukraine. The generosity of businesses and residents in York has made this possible.”

Councillor Darryl Smalley, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities, said: “In what are incredibly dark times, it has been heartening to see York’s response as the city has come together to show our support and solidarity with our Ukrainian friends here in York and in Ukraine. From donations and heart-warming signs of solidarity to housing refugees, it’s clear that we as a city are united and ready to do all we can to stand with Ukraine and its people.

“Art has a unique way of uniting people and that’s certainly what we need more now than ever. I’m grateful to all those involved for their support in setting up this amazing event. It will certainly be an emotional and wonderful evening for a crucial cause – please do consider supporting the event and charities involved in helping Ukrainians at this difficult time.”

Andrew Lowson, Executive Director at York BID, said: “It is always good to hear of high quality cultural offerings coming to York, but for our City to attract the Kyiv City Ballet will feel really special. Many of us feel helpless on how we can support Ukraine, but I know residents and businesses will want to show support and solidarity, as well as celebrate the visit of a world-renowned group of performers.”

Adam Wardale, Chair of Hospitality Association York (HAY) and General Manager at Middletons Hotel, said: “The members of HAY are incredibly proud to be able to offer Ukraine’s Kyiv City Ballet performers accommodation throughout their stay in York. This is a fantastic opportunity to support Ukraine, whilst also celebrating the arts, and I would encourage people to attend the show and show their solidarity.”

ENDS

For further information or interview requests:

Sarah Foster, Communications Manager at Make It York

Sarah.Foster@makeityork.com / 07719 105 088

NOTES TO EDITORS

Kyiv City Ballet will perform at York Theatre Royal on Tuesday 14^th June at 7.30pm, 100% of ticket sales will support the people of Ukraine.

Ticket Information

Ticket prices: £15, £24, £33, £41 (100% of ticket proceeds will be donated to UNICEF, as agreed with Kyiv City Ballet)

Tickets are available from York Theatre Royal Box Office in person or on the phone 01904 623568 (Mon – Sat, 13.00 – 17.00 and until 20.00 on performance days) and online at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Additional Information

Performance running time: approximately 2.5 hours

Funding Information

To make this production happen, York Theatre Royal have requested £20,000 in corporate sponsorship to cover the costs of bringing the Kyiv City Ballet to York. This includes visa costs (supported by First Bus) for the company and their performance fees.

If businesses would like to enquire about sponsoring this event, please contact eleanor.mckenna@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

100% of ticket sales will be donated to UNICEF’s Ukraine Appeal.

About Kyiv City Ballet

The Kyiv City Ballet was founded in 2014 by ActArt LLC by the director of both ActArt LLC and subsequently the Kyiv City Ballet; Ivan Kozlov. The company has over 25 ballets in its repertoire and has conducted numerous successful tours throughout Europe and Asia; France, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and the Middle East. The dancers are of the highest calibre; from the corps de ballet to the principal soloists.

https://www.kcbtheater.com/about

About Make It York

Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. The company’s remit covers leisure and business tourism, city centre management, Shambles Market and festivals and events.

Visit York is a part of Make It York and is the leisure tourism brand. Under the brand Visit York, Make It York’s aim is to market York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure visitor and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York.

About York Theatre Royal

York Theatre Royal has brought delight and fulfilment to the people of York and beyond by offering a rich and diverse programme of creative activity for over 275 years.

York Theatre Royal is one of the UK’s leading creative producers and presenters, constantly building on its reputation for producing high quality and ambitious theatre with highly regarded productions of new commissions, revivals at all scales, extraordinary site specific and large scale community shows and each year delivering a pantomime of international renown.

The theatre strives to be innovative, far-reaching and proactive in helping its entire community to live creative lives and has an engagement and participation programme that is nationally recognised and admired.

York Theatre Royal is committed to be forward-thinking and inclusive. It is a theatre at the very heart of its community and it is here for everyone.

www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Twitter: @YorkTheatre

Instagram: @YorkTheatreRoyal

Facebook: /YorkTheatreRoyal

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