York Art Gallery
With a National Art Pass you get
Founded in 1879, York Art Gallery is home to a nationally designated collection that spans 600 years of history.
The gallery was created to provide a home for the Yorkshire Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition. When the exhibition closed, it was decided the space should become a permanent venue for the display of art.
In 2013 the Grade II listed Victorian building was closed so as an extensive £8m refurbishment project could take place. On its reopening two years later the transformed site boasted 60 per cent more exhibition space, a dedicated ceramic centre and an artists' garden and edible wood.
Among the interesting spaces within the gallery are The Lumber Room, a project by artist Mark Hearld which brings together his works with the items from the York collection that inspired their creation. Anthony Shaw's collection of ceramics meanwhile is displayed in a setting that was designed to mirror his own domestic interiors, featuring items of his furniture, books and paintings. Shaw also leads free talks about the works and allows visitors to handle some of them.
York Art Gallery was a finalist for Museum of the Year in 2016.
In 2017 the gallery ran a successful Art Happens to bring Doug Fishbone's cutting edge Leisure Land Golf art installation to their Artist Gardens. Fully playable, the course comprised of seven holes by artists John Akomfrah, Doug Fishbone, Ellie Harrison, Yinka Shonibare, Hetain Petel, Reactor and Eyal and Ines Weizman.
The more you see, the more we do.
The National Art Pass lets you enjoy free entry to hundreds of museums, galleries and historic places across the UK, while raising money to support them.
