A major new public art trail will arrive in York this summer, bringing ten striking sculptures to locations across the city in a bold celebration of heritage, creativity and community.
Produced by Make It York in collaboration with York Minster, the trail is titled “The Watchers of York”, which will showcase ten individually designed sculptures, each inspired by a different facet of the city’s rich identity and cultural legacy.
The sculptures draw inspiration from the carved stone figures – the grotesques – that adorn the exterior of York Minster, and much of the Gothic architecture around the world. Reimagined with a contemporary twist, these new sculptures bring historic forms to life, stepping down from the stonework to cause a little mischief across York.
The free, family-friendly trail will officially launch on 29 June, coinciding with the city’s historic York Mystery Plays, creating a landmark moment in York’s summer cultural calendar. From hidden gardens to cobbled streets, these larger-than-life sculptures will be waiting to be discovered in locations throughout the city centre throughout the summer months until 31 August.
Making of The Watchers of York
In collaboration with York Minster’s Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management, a team of stonemasons transformed the initial design concept into the first original sculpture. In this world-class facility, the stonemasons used state-of-the-art cutting technology in addition to their carving skills to make a reduced scale maquette in stone.
This maquette formed the foundation for a suite of detailed 3D renders, which were used by the production artists at Norse Sky to upscale and fabricate a full-scale four-foot master model. That master model was then used to produce the ten final sculptures in fibreglass before they are individually designed and painted by hand by the artists and groups involved.
Artists and groups call out
Each sculpture will be linked to its location and inspired by York’s history, character and everyday life. Designs will see an artistic line up of national artists, receiving a £1,000 commission fee to bring their design to life. Apply for artist application.
The trail will also feature an ‘original’ sculpture, The Watcher of York, alongside work from York St John University, students from York College, York Mystery Plays and a dedicated community sculpture open to expressions of interest from local charities and community groups. Apply for community group application.
All applications close 17 April. At the heart of the project is an accessible, city-wide art experience designed to encourage an interactive cultural journey through the city, spark creativity and foster civic pride.
Sarah Loftus, Managing Director of Make It York, said: “We are delighted to bring “The Watchers of York” to life this summer. After months of careful planning and collaboration, it’s incredibly exciting to launch our new trail working alongside one of our key partners York Minster. By reimagining the figures on one of the world-class icons of the city, we hope to inspire everyone to explore, connect and celebrate York’s rich heritage.”
Paul Peirson, Head of Works at York Minster, said: “The Minster is home to countless grotesques, carved using the incredible skills and the ingenuity of generations of our stonemasons. We can’t wait to see what they inspire as the grotesques take to the streets of York – we hope they cause just the right amount of mischief!”
Trail maps for “The Watchers of York” will be available from mid-June at the Visit York Visitor Information Centre and more details released in the coming months at visityork.org/watchers-trail
END
PRESS RELEASE: 24 March 2026
NOTES TO EDITORS
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. MakeItYork.com
About York Minster
York Minster was built for the glory of God and this is reflected in every aspect of this ancient building, from the exquisite handcrafted stone through to the unrivalled collection of medieval stained glass. York Minster remains a thriving church and everyone is invited to join the daily services, including choral Evensong sung Tuesday to Sunday during term time by the Choir of York Minster, visit to pray or light a candle or simply spend time absorbing the atmosphere of the cathedral. YorkMinster.org
About Visit York
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 and business visitor and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York. Activity covers all aspects of tourism marketing and PR, including market intelligence, as well as providing business support through the membership programme. Visit York operate the Visit York Pass, York’s city-sightseeing card, and run the Visitor Information Centre. VisitYork.org
