trail

York Trailblazers, the new city-wide sculpture trail, launched on 1 August, kicking off the Yorkshire Day celebrations.  

This unique sculpture trail celebrates York’s unsung heroes. Centred around the tansy beetle, each sculpture has a different design to capture the legacy of these inspirational people who have made a difference to people’s lives.  

At the launch celebrations at THOR’s Orangery, artists and trailblazers gathered to enjoy the first day of the trail by one of the featured sculptures, Coppergate Woman. 

Coppergate Woman tells us about the life of a migrant woman living with disabilities in York 1000 years ago. This particular sculpture will be on Parliament Street until 6 August then it will be moved to Coppergate Centre, where she lay until she was discovered by archaeologists from the York Archaeological Trust in the late 1970s. 

A special mural was painted for the day by Gemma Wood. This will stay in place on THOR’S exterior until Sunday 18 August. 

There are 17 sculptures to see and discover their stories throughout the city until Monday 30 September 2024.  

You can collect a trail map from the Visitor Information Centre on Parliament Street, plus, once you’ve completed the trail, you can collect a limited edition ‘I’m a trailblazer’ sticker.  

The trailblazers were nominated by local groups, who worked with local artists to create something unique and meaningful to them to honour these remarkable individuals. 

The tansy beetle, an emblematic symbol of York, was chosen due to its unique connection to the city. York is one of only two places where tansy beetles are found. This vibrant and resilient beetle mirrors the spirit of the Trailblazers – each sculpture not only pays tribute to these changemakers but also brings their stories to life along the trail.  

The York Trailblazers Project is a partnership between York Civic Trust, Make It York and a wide range of community and heritage groups, artists and residents of York funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.  

Some of the sculpture artwork may only exist for a few weeks but the beetle structure itself and an accessible digital record of the artwork will be able to continue to celebrate York’s Trailblazers.  

 Find full details at the York Trailblazers hub page. 

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PRESS RELEASE: 2 August 2024 

Notes to Editors 

Contact: comms@makeityork.com   

Download images for York Trailbalzers.  

The York Trailblazers trail is city wide and runs from Thursday 1 August until Monday 30 September 2024.  

York Trailblazers Hub page: visityork.org/york-trailblazers 

Yorkshire Day activities: visityork.org/yorkshire-day 

Tansy beetle facts:  

• The river Ouse has the largest population of tansy beetles in the UK. 

• Tansy beetles rarely fly; they find new food-plants and habitats by walking. 

• Tansy beetles are being monitored and bred in captivity to ensure that the populations do not disappear. 

Trailblazers project facts: 

• National Lottery Heritage Fund Grant: £249,999. 

• Over 40 community groups have been involved. 

• Over 1,000 schoolchildren participated in school workshops. 

• £30,000 of community grants awarded to 23 local groups.  

• Over 150 workshops have been delivered. 

• 39 York Trailblazers have been researched and celebrated. 

• 17 Tansy Beetle Trailblazer Sculptures have been created. 

The project has only been made possible by the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and players of the Lottery. To date the project has delivered: 

• A community workshop programme to allow local communities and residents to research and uncover new trailblazers for York. 

• A community grants programme to enable heritage organisations, voluntary and community groups to contribute to the project especially those groups who have not accessed heritage activities before.  

• A digital arts project to help celebrate York’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts. 

• A heritage trail around the city working with local artists and local communities inspired by York’s lesser-known heritage stories. 

• A school workshop programme and resource packs providing opportunities for young people to learn more about their local heritage and in particular the trailblazers that will be part of the sculpture trail. 

Sustainability 

The sculpture trail has been designed to be as sustainable as possible. The materials used are recycled, repurposed or recyclable and the sculptures and the reused bases will be repurposed or recycled after the trail has ended. 

The choice of sustainable materials and artwork and the decoration of each sculpture has been developed by the partnership of the artist and local communities. It is this process of sustainable co-production that is as important as the finished product.  

Tansy beetle metalwork  

Commissioned to create the beetle structure, Tom Springett, Metalwork Creations, drew upon his rich background of experiences, from working within set-construction, visual merchandising, architectural metalwork and art fabrication industries, to create these magnificent metal works of art. 

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 Civic Trust 

York Civic Trust champions the heritage of York in all of its diversity. Thanks to the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the work of York Civic Trust we have been able to work with partners across the city to celebrate people from our communities who expand what heritage means in York. 

For nearly 80 years the Civic Trust has installed over 150 blue plaques, conserved and restored historic buildings and places and helped develop the city in ways that maintain what is special about York. Anyone can become a member of the Civic Trust and be part of our celebrations of York’s heritage through our events programme, publications and our museum at Fairfax House and influence how our beautiful city develops for the future. yorkcivictrust.co.uk 

Visitor Information Centre 

Address: 21 Parliament Street, York, YO1 8SG 

Opening Times: Monday – Saturday: 9:00am-5:00pm, Sunday and Bank Holidays: 10:00am-4:00pm