Emma Welsh – charleshutchpress

July 18, 2026July 24, 2026

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 29, from The York Press

Danger, danger for a ranger at close quarters with a dinosaur’s teeth in Dinosaur Adventure Live: Danger On T-Rex Mountain at York Theatre Royal

DINOSAUR adventures and Knavesmire’s music showcase weekend, a not-so-sweet Transylvanian transvestite and a French farce promise variety aplenty in Charles Hutchinson’s week ahead.

Children’s show of the week: Dinosaur Adventure Live, Danger On T-Rex Mountain, York Theatre Royal, today, 2.30pm

SIXTY-FIVE million years in the making, Dinosaur Adventure Live brings a fusion of family-friendly storytelling, puppetry and roarsome science to the stage as the ancient world of dinosaurs crashes back to life for gasps, giggles and occasional jump-scares.

From a shadowy raptor on the loose to baby dinosaurs that you can feed (carefully!), Mike Newman’s show blends humour, thrills and hands-on learning into an interactive stage experience. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Liz Foster: Exhibiting her abstract artworks in Arnup Studios’ first collective show at Pyramid Gallery

Exhibition launch of the week: Arnup Studios at Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, today, 11am to 2pm, then running until September 27

CERAMICIST Hannah Arnup, landscape and natural world artist Michelle Galloway, abstract artist Liz Foster, plein-air and studio artist Kate Pettitt, British wildlife ceramicist Penny Phillips and handmade jewellery designer Emma Welsh will be on hand at today’s opening of Holtby-based Arnup Studios’ first collective exhibition at Pyramid Gallery. Gallery opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Justine Warner with exhibits from today’s showcase of experimental textiles and mixed media at Laburnum Cottage, Sheriff Hutton

Art showcase of the week: Experimental Textiles and Mixed Media, Laburnum Cottage Art Studio, West End, Sheriff Hutton, near York, today, 10am to 5pm

NORTH Yorkshire Open Studios textile and mixed-media artist, Landscape Artist Of The Year 2022 contestant, teacher and workshop tutor Justine Warner plays host to an exhibition of one year of student work, showcasing skills, workbooks and final pieces based on a wide range of experimental textile techniques that employ exciting and unusual materials in creative ways.

Look at how Bondaweb, Lutradur, soluble fabrics, metal, foils, gel printing, transfer printing, batik, tetra pack printing, block printing and heat-shrink can be used and speak with some of the students who experimented with them.

Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s introverted office worker Thomas struggling with his bothersome briefcase in Skedaddle Theatre’s A Brief Case Of Crazy

Silent love story of the week: Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, today, 2pm & 7pm

INSPIRED by the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mr Bean,Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Samuel Cunningham and Lennie Longworth’s physical comedy A Brief Case Of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart, told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.

Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy. His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover that what’s on the inside counts most? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.

Dominic Goodwin in a triptych of his myriad roles in Twice Nightly

Recalling variety’s golden days: Pyramus and Thisbe Productions present Dominic Goodwin in Twice Nightly, Friargate Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm

RYEDALE writer, performer and pantomime dame Dominic Goodwin is touring his first one-man comedy show, directed by York director and actor Thomas Frere.

Twice Nightly follows the story of struggling comedian Freddie Francis in 1956 as the final curtain hovers over variety. Many acts of the time are highlighted, including Norman “Over The Garden Wall” Evans (said to be an influence on Les Dawson) Stockton comic Jimmy James, wartime star Robb Wilton and the iconic Max Miller. Box office: York, 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.

CMAT: Songs of identity, grief and beauty standards at Scarborough Open Air Theatre tonight

Coastal gig of the week: CMAT, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, today, gates 6pm

CMAT, alias Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, burst on to the music scene six years ago with her debut single Another Day (KFC). The Dublin-born, County Meath-raised singer and songwriter has since released three bitingly humorous, emotionally honest albums, 2022’s If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, 2023’s Crazymad, For Me and 2025’s Mercury Prize-nominated Euro-Country, her exploration of identity, grief and beauty standards, exemplified by Take A Sexy Picture Of Me. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk.

Stephen Webb’s Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, doing the Time Warp again at the Grand Opera House next week. Picture: David Freeman

Musical of the week: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grand Opera House, York, July 20 to 25, Monday to Thursday, 8pm; Friday & Saturday, 5pm and 8.30pm

STEPHEN Webb leads the cast as Dr Frank N Furter on The Rocky Horror Show’s latest return to the Grand Opera House, joined by comedian Jackie Clune as the Narrator. Directed by Christopher Luscombe, Richard O’Brien’s outré musical tells the story of squeaky-clean American college sweethearts Brad and his fiancée Janet’s very frank encounters at the freaky doctor’s Transylvanian castle after their car breaks down.

Cue an adventure full of fun, frolics, frocks and frivolity, bursting with timeless songs and outrageous outfits as O’Brien combines science-fiction, horror, comedy and music while encouraging audience participation. Those audiences are sure to dress up in the most outrageous fancy dress. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Lenny Pearce: Techno for toddlers at York Barbican

Techno dance moves for children: Lenny Pearce, Toddler Rave World Tour Part 2, York Barbican, July22, 3.30pm

LENNY Pearce is a force in family entertainment, captivating a global audience as the pioneer of Toddler Techno. Driven from his passion as a father, and his strong commitment to his home life, Lenny makes songs and videos and performs live shows where he spins children’s favourites, remixed into modern hits that keep young ones and parents alike dazzled. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Andrew O’Neill: Looking to Escape at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York. Picture: Andrew O’Neill

Fringe shows of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, presents Joe Sellman-Leava in Copycat (Work In Progress), July 23, 7.30pm; Andrew O’Neill: Escape, July 24, 8pm

DOES AI spell the end of humanity, or the dawn of a new utopia, ponders Fringe First winner Joe Sellman-Leava. He might be a technophobe, but he is determined to find out by using innovative design and a whirlwind of uncanny impressions to tell the story of a teacher, a student, and a copycat dictator to examine the links between art, fascism and rapid technological change.

HOW do we get out of this mess, asks cult comedian Andrew O’Neill in his surreal, political show, Escape, about the ways in which we disagree with each other, while suggesting some ways we can find our way out. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Airline hostesses at the treble: Bethan Olliver as Gloria, left, Val Debenedetti as Gabriella Jorja Cartwright as Gretchen in Rowntree Players’ Boeing Boeing

Farce of the week: Rowntree Players in Boeing Boeing, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 23 to 25, 7.30pm

MARC Camoletti’s high-flying 1960s’ French farce Boeing Boeing is cleared for take-off in Hannah Shaw’s English-language production for Rowntree Players. Meet self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German and American fiancées, each one a beautiful airline hostess with frequent “layovers.”

He keeps “one up, one down, and one pending” until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris, and to Bernard’s apartment, at the same time. Shaw’s cast features Max Palmer as Bernard, Lizzie Lawton as Robert, Rebecca Thomson as Berthe, Jorja Cartwright as Gretchen, Bethan Olliver as Gloria and Val Debenedetti as Gabriella. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Craig David: TS5 DJ set at York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend next Friday

Outdoor concerts of the week: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, Craig David presents TS5, July 24, and Tom Grennan, July 25

SOUTHAMPTON singer-songwriter and DJ Craig David presents his TS5 DJ set on Music Showcase Friday’s double bill of racing and old-skool anthems, from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, plus current House hits, when he combines his song and MC skills.

Bedford singer-songwriter Tom Grennan is Saturday’s post-racing performer, drawing on such hits as Little Bit Of Love, Let’s Go Home Together, Remind Me, Here and How Does It Feel, plus songs from his number one albums Evering Road, What Ifs & Maybes and Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn’t Want To Be and top-five debut Lighting Matches. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.

Tom Grennan: Performing next Saturday’s Music Showcase Weekend at York Racecourse

July 16, 2026July 16, 2026

Arnup Studios artists to hold collective exhibition at Pyramid Gallery for first time

Hannah Arnup: Exhibiting tripod ceramic vessels at Pyramid Gallery from Saturday

ARTISTS Hannah Arnup, Michelle Galloway, Liz Foster, Kate Pettitt, Penny Phillips and Emma Welsh will be on hand at Saturday’s opening of Arnup Studios’ exhibition at Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, from 11am to 2pm.

“We are delighted to show a collection of works made at Arnup Studios, Holtby,” says gallery owner and curator Terry Brett. “Having worked with many of these artists and craftspeople individually, it’s a real honour to have them here as a collective for the first time.”

Liz Foster in her studio

Running until September 27, the exhibition in the 15^th century building features landscape and abstract paintings, ceramic wildlife sculpture, stoneware pottery and handmade jewellery, showcasing the diverse range of artists that works at the studios near York.

The connection between Arnup Studios and Pyramid Gallery goes back to the 1990s when the gallery first exhibited work by Hannah’s parents, renowned sculptors Mick and Sally Arnup, alongside sons Ben and Tobias and daughter Hannah.

Kate Pettitt at work in her studio. Picture: The Resilient Wanderer

After inheriting the studios, Hannah redesigned the buildings to create individual studios for artists and craftspeople.

She is proud to continue the artistic legacy of her parents: “Today, the studios are shared by five other artists and craftswomen, each working independently while benefiting from the camaraderie and support of the wider Arnup Studios community,” she says. “It is a truly special place.”

Gallery opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Michelle Galloway

Immersed In Nature, by Michelle Galloway, at Pyramid Gallery

Who will be exhibiting?

Hannah Arnup: Studied Fine Art Sculpture at Kingston School of Art and Post-Graduate Ceramics at Goldsmiths College. Exhibiting a range of tripod ceramic vessels influenced by the balance, beauty and intricate detail of early Chinese ritual bronze vessels and her ongoing fascination with antiquity.

Liz Foster: Studied painting at Glasgow School of Art. Exhibiting a selection of her contemporary colour-led abstract oil paintings exploring bold colour, form and gestural mark-making.

Wolf Head, by Penny Phillips, from the Pyramid Gallery exhibition. Picture: Dawn McNamara

Kate Pettitt: Studied fine art, illustration and graphic design in both Exeter and York. Exhibiting a selection of plein air and studio paintings.

Michelle Galloway: Exhibiting a selection of landscapes and closely observed paintings of the natural world.

Penny Phillips in her Arnup Studios studio. Picture: Dawn McNamara

Penny Phillips: Exhibiting a series of textural ceramic sculptures inspired by her love of British wildlife.

Emma Welsh: Traditionally trained goldsmith exhibiting a selection of her unique jewellery designs.

Studio website: arnupstudios.weebly.com.

Collector’s Locket, by Emma Welsh, from the Pyramid Gallery exhibition

March 4, 2022March 4, 2022

Six of the best artists from Arnup Studios go on show at Blossom Street Gallery

SIX York artists and makers are taking part in the Arnup Studios Group Exhibition at Blossom Street Gallery, Blossom Street, York, until March 28.

Arnup Studios, in Panman Lane, Holtby, near York, was originally the home and workplace of renowned painter and potter Mick Arnup and sculptor Sally Arnup. Now their daughter, potter Hannah, is continuing its creative story.

Exhibiting alongside her are Michelle Galloway, Emma Frost, Kate Pettitt, Reg Walker and Emma Welsh, who all have studio space in the village studios.

In Sally’s Studio, Hannah creates stoneware decorative pottery, handmade for everyday use and enjoyment, her pieces appealing to both practical and aesthetic values. She also enjoys making one-off sculptures and tripod pots that form a delightful addition to this month’s exhibition.

Working in the Pottery Studio, Michelle Galloway paints calm, harmonious watercolours, quiet and contemplative, atmospheric, yet gentle and light, punctuated by the intensity of her oil paintings. Her inspiration comes mostly from her interest in archaeology, architecture and man-made structures.

Landscape artist Emma Frost works in acrylic paint in the North Studio, where she conjures scenes that depict the world around her, exploring the constant presence of power lines and structures in her daily life, resulting in a body of work showcasing pylons, telegraph poles and such like. Work is nearly entirely created using palette knives, incorporating some large brush work.

Based in the Gallery Studio, Kate Pettitt specialises in studio and plein air paintings and drawings of the natural environment and the human form. She works in a variety of media from oil to charcoal, her work being elemental, instinctive and often textural.

Reg Walker constructs abstract sculptures, both contemplative and playful, mostly in steel and aluminium, in the Kiln Studio. He also makes small pieces for the hand, in bamboo, and distinctive collages in natural materials. For Blossom Street Gallery he has created a collection of paperbark collages from the natural shedding of the Japanese birch tree in his garden.

From the South Studio, Emma Welsh creates silver, gold and platinum jewellery. Each piece is hand-made individually using traditional techniques. For this exhibition she has assembled a fossil-themed collection inspired by happy days spent searching for ammonites along the coast.

Kate Pettitt and Reg Walker will attend a Meet The Artist event at Blossom Street Gallery, York, on March 12. Gallery opening hours are 10am to 4pm, Thursday to Sunday.

*Geometric fossil earrings, by Emma Welsh*

April 26, 2020August 25, 2020

No York Open Studios this weekend, but all that art and craft still needs a new home… DAY 28

TODAY should have been spent visiting other people’s homes, not staying home, on weekend two of York Open Studios 2020.

From tomorrow, art will be on the nation’s TV sets as Grayson’s Art Club “battles the boredom of Coronavirus lockdown by taking viewers on a journey of art discovery” in a six-part Channel 4 series.

From his London workshop, anything-but-grey artist Grayson Perry will encourage the British public to create their own art while in isolation, built around six themed shows that will climax with an exhibition of viewers’ art.

Been there, done that, will continue to do all that art-making, might well be the resourceful attitude of the 144 artists and makers at 100 York locations after the Covid-19 pandemic strictures turned York Open Studios into York Shut Studios.

Over the past four weeks, CharlesHutchPress has determinedly championed the creativity of York’s artists and makers. Each day, in brochure order, five artists who now miss out on the exposure of Open Studios have been given a pen portrait on these pages, because so much art and craft will have been created for the event and still needs a new home.

The last five are being profiled today, when you also can visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk to take your own Virtual Open Studios tour, wherein artists show their studios and workshops, favourite processes, answer your questions, and display pictures of their new work.

“Search for #YorkOpenStudios anywhere on social media or follow your favourite artists to see more,” advises the YOS website.

Anyway, time to discover more about…

Meg, oil on linen, winner of Shirley Hannan National Portrait Prize 2018, by Marcus Callum

Marcus Callum, painting

MARCUS is a British-Australian contemporary figurative painter and digital artist who specialises in realist portraiture.

“Fusing traditional techniques with a contemporary aesthetic, my work conveys a sense of psychological insight and is designed to provoke an emotional response,” he says. “Buddhism, meditation, hypnosis and our understanding of the subconscious mind are influences on my process and subject matter.

“Characters reflect on increasing anxieties over impending global crises and wonder if, by each of us becoming more conscious, we may discover individual and collective hope.”

Trained in Sydney and New York, Marcus won the Dame Joan Sutherland Award in 2014; Australia’s third richest portrait prize, the Black Swan Portrait Prize, in 2015 and the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Prize, Australia’s premier award for realistic portraiture, in 2018, when he also was a finalist in the Sky Portrait Artist of the Year.

Marcus previously worked between Sydney and London; now York has come into his life. He was long-listed for the Aesthetica Art Prize, whose 2020 exhibition opened at York Art Gallery before the Coronavirus lockdown, and he would have been exhibiting in York Open Studios for the first time. Visit marcuscallum.com for more info.

*Bratislavian Folk Memory, by Robert Burton*

Robert Burton, textiles

ARTIST and academic Robert tells stories in textiles, fibres and cloth, utilising print and found objects in narratives of people, lives and things.

“I explore themes of memory, loss and transformation through fibre, fabric making, print techniques, drawing and broad approaches to image making,” he says.

“My artworks cross the threshold of disciplines in a conceptual dialogue between the innovative use of analogue, contemporary and emerging techniques.”

Rob Burton: Themes of memory, loss and transformation

Rob’s work has been shown all over the world in solo exhibitions, biennial and group exhibitions, whether in Britain, the United States or Eastern Europe. Last year, he exhibited in Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine; Vilnius, Lithuania; Madrid, Spain, and Haachst, Belgium.

He regularly collaborates with the international screendance collective WECreate to produce costumes for video, dance and installations. Find out more at robertburton108.myportfolio.com.

Inspired by horizons: Jo Walton’s artwork

Jo Walton, painting

ARTIST, upholsterer and interior designer Jo’s paintings are abstract, inspired by horizons, whether rust-prints on paper and plaster, combining rusted metal with painting, or seascapes on gold-metal leaf.

Her artwork reflects her childhood in Australia and her days as a young woman spent sailing oceans, from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean.

After many years of travelling, Jo returned to England, studying fine art at Bradford University and now exhibiting all year round from her York studios, Rogues Atelier, an old tannery in Franklins Yard, Fossgate, that she shares with jeweller and fellow York Open Studios exhibitor Emma Welsh and textile artist Robert Burton.

Jo, whose work features regularly at Terry Brett’s Pyramid Gallery in Stonegate, would have been taking part in York Open Studios for a sixth successive year.

Jo Walton: Artist, upholsterer and interior designer

In her “other life”, Jo is an upholsterer, initially learning her skills from making cushions and sail covers for yachts in her time living in Greece. She gained her City and Guilds qualification in modern and traditional upholstery and has taught the subject for many years for City of York Council.

“Occasionally, my skills have the opportunity to blend into a ‘huge blank canvas’: interior design,” says Jo, whose first public design commission was for Space 109, the community arts centre she founded in Walmgate in 2006.

Her second was to convert three empty shops on Bishopthorpe Road into Angel on The Green, a bar and café and home to comedy nights and exhibitions that had to “flow with a solid theme throughout”. “It was quite a step to move on to a bar from a community bar,” she says.

In between, Jo created the Rogues Atelier studios, where she takes on upholstery commissions and runs upholstery and cushion-making workshops. Her latest design was for the interior of the Bluebird Bakery, in Kirkgate Market, Leeds. Complete the picture at whatjodidnext.com.

Emma Welsh, jewellery

EMMA, a professional jewellery designer with 11 years’ experience, is now a resident artist at the Rogues Atelier studios.

She designs traditionally made silver, gold and platinum pieces, her latest work exploring jewellery with a practical use in the form of vessels with various purposes.

Emma has a keen interest in developing her skills, embracing ancient principles as a means of deepening her relationship with the materials and tools she works with.

She completes bespoke commissions, repairs and re-modelling of existing jewellery into new designs and offers bespoke tuition in York, most notably her wedding-ring workshops. Head to emmawelshjewellery.uk for more details.

Deranged Poetesses, by Northern Electric’s Peter Roman

Northern Electric, multi-media

NORTHERN Electric received a York Open Studios 2020 multi-media bursary to present a tale of loss at the Arts Barge, Foss Basin, York, over the two weekends.

The bursary “enables artists to create experiences such as digital works, installations, films or performances as part of the Open Studios”.

Presented by York storyteller, performance poet and theatre-maker Katie Greenbrown and artist Peter Roman, with a score by Christian Topman and Chris Moore, their latest multi-media presentation “takes us back to when the Ouse teemed with working barges, you knew your place or else – and jazz was the devil itself”.

Artist Peter Roman and storyteller, performance poet and theatre-maker Katie Greenbrown

“We specialise in creating and delivering multi-media storytelling pieces that combine spoken-word poetry, art and live music,” says Katie. “Our recent work includes Magpie Bridge for Apples & Snakes to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing in July 1969; Green In Our Memory, for City of York Council’s First World War commemorations, and Rust for the 2019 Great Yorkshire Fringe, in collaboration with Arts Barge and York Theatre Royal.”

After the cancellation of York Open Studios 2020, what will happen next to the new Northern Electric piece? “We’ve completed it, so we’re thinking of trying to do a digital screening,” says Katie. “We just need to chat with Hannah [West] and Christian [Topman] from the Arts Barge about the possibility of doing that.” To keep on track, visit facebook.com/northernelectric.

TOMORROW: After York Open Studios/York Shut Studios 2020, the CharlesHutchPress art focus switches to the Blue Tree Gallery, in Bootham, York, now hosting an online exhibition in aid of the NHS.

Looking ahead, York Open Studios 2021 will run on April 17 and 18 and 24 and 25, with a preview evening on April 16.