Minster Flypast, retro digital print, by York Open Studios 2021 artist Lincoln Lightfoot
AFTER the Covid-enforced fallow year of 2020, York Open Studios returns at the weekend for its 20th festival celebration of the city’s creative talent
Preceded by Friday’s preview evening, the event will see 145 artists and makers open 95 studios, homes and workplaces on July 10 and 11 and July 17 and 18, from 10am to 5pm.
Among them will be 43 debutants, prompting CharlesHutchPress to highlight six newcomers a day over the week ahead, in map guide order, as York prepares for a showcase of ceramic, collage, digital art, illustration, jewellery, mixed media, painting, print, photography, furniture, sculpture and textiles skills this month.
Pennie Lordan: Exploring the theme of Edgelands
Pennie Lordan, painting, Greenwood Barn Studio, Moor Lane, Copmanthorpe, York
PENNIE’S oil paintings explore the stark contrast and parallels that exist between loss and hope, sensitivity and brutality, isolation and connectedness through the theme of Edgelands.
“My paintings are developed from studies that come directly from location sketches, often on pre-prepared grounds that reference a sense of composition and atmosphere,” she says.
“These studies then develop into oil paintings, built on varied prepared grounds and developed through the process of multiple thin layers of oil paint and cold wax, often applied, wiped back and re-applied.”
Pennie Lordan
Her work is painted on linen, incorporating subtle stitching, or canvas or disregarded found materials, such as pitched pine, board or aluminium.
Londoner Pennie runs two creative businesses in York with her husband, having arrived here with a background in animation, art and education. She has completed three years of studying landscape painting at Leith School of Art in Edinburgh.
Day Of The Dinosaurs, oil painting, by Lincoln Lightfoot
Lincoln Lightfoot, digital prints and oil paintings, 118 Brunswick Street, South Bank, York. First weekend only
LINCOLN’S surreal images draw on the B-movie imagery of the 1950s and ‘60s, his broad theme being ridiculous and surreal encounters with beasts that appear to us in recognisable locations.
Not so much King Kong climbing the Empire State Building in New York as a tentacled dayglo Creature From The Bottom Of The Ouse attacking a bridge in York, as the ancient city’s heritage resonates in the present day.
“Walking through York’s streets, your creative mind can just let loose and go to work,” says Lincoln Lightfoot
What does the city of York conjure in Lincoln’s mind? “It’s a story-book city, conjuring up tales of the past. Walking through its streets, your creative mind can just let loose and go to work. It’s not hard to imagine incredible things happening there because they already have.”
In his artistic response to walking those city streets, the Fine Art graduate from York St John University questions what might be in store for 2021.
So, Lincoln, what exactly is in store this year for you and the rest of us? “Aliens, man, definitely aliens,” he warns. “There are more influential individuals making statements and releasing information by the day.”
A textile design by Amy Stubbs
Amy Stubbs,textiles,51 Balmoral Terrace, York
RELOCATED to York in a return to her northern roots, pattern print designer Amy now works from the PICA Studios artist hub in Grape Lane.
This textile design graduate from Falmouth University draws inspiration “from a wealth of experience brought to her by her strong Yorkshire family heritage and the opportunity to experience varying cultures”.
Amy Stubbs: Strong mark-making, motifs and collaging
Consequently, Amy’s textile work combines manually drawn abstract elements with the aid of digital technology to create her surface pattern prints that feature strong mark-making motifs and collaging.
She will be sharing her York Open Studios space with Emily Stubbs, who creates hand-built sculptural ceramic vessels – cheeky, bright and full of life in character – that explore the relationship between colour, form and texture.
Two of Jilly Lovett’s one-of-a-kind dolls
Jilly Lovett, textiles, 212 Bishopthorpe Road, York
JILLY designs and sews one-of-a-kind dolls in a folk art style, using recycled felt, incorporating embroidery, applique and other vintage finds to create original works for display.
Since studying Fine Art at Edinburgh University, she has worked in creative industries variously as a botanical illustrator, editor, art director and now a textile artist.
Jilly Lovett: Creator of quirky, characterful dolls
Her main focus is on creating quirky, characterful art dolls with unique details, such as pearly kings with button-embellished coats and fearsome pirates armed with silver fish knives.
Private commissions give Jilly the chance to research new subjects and to experiment with different materials and patterns.
Joseph Rowntree Theatre, by Elliot Harrison
Elliot Harrison, illustration, 21 Finsbury Street, York
ELLIOT creates architectural illustrations, prints and posters showcasing iconic York buildings and views, favouring a vibrant colour palette inspired by Art Deco design and vintage 20th century travel posters.
His distinctive retro York portfolio has been catching the eye for the past five years, whether at Frankie & Johnny’s Cookshop, Blossom Street Gallery or O & M at Snowhome or in exhibitions at York Hospital and the Rowntree Park Reading Café.
Among his most popular illustrations are Rowntree Park, Bishopthorpe Road, the Blossom Street Odeon cinema, the former Clifton Cinema, the former Terry’s factory, the Joseph Rowntree Theatre and York Minster.
Elliot Harrison: York’s future of retro art
His commissions include illustrations for York Theatre Royal, The Piece Hall, in Halifax, York Bunny Trail and home and shop-front portraits.
Elliot, who gained a degree in art and design from York St John University, has expanded his repertoire to take in running medals, mugs, coasters, cards, Christmas cards, York calendars and hand-pressed lino prints of York architecture.
Demonstrations will be available over the two weekends. In the meantime, check out his work via elliot@york360.co.uk.
Nicola Lee’s work combines drawing, photography and folding
NICOLA has a quiet practice, wherein observation and encounter are fundamental aspects. She uses drawing, folding and photography, exploring through process and the inherent voice of materials to record, respond and evoke her experience of looking.
Her practice has drawn from notions of traditional Japanese aesthetics found in Tanka poetry. Under the shadow of these influences, she uses a digital camera, plays with camera-less photographic methods and creates series of drawings and artist books.
Nicola Lee: Drawn to line, pattern and shape occurring in peripheral space
“My visual interest lies beyond the object,” Nicola says. “I’m drawn to line, pattern and shape occurring in peripheral space. A space which is fluid, ambiguous and lacking in definition. A space in which the peripheral becomes the object.
” I use process and material to play with ideas of repetition, reduction and abstraction in order to explore my encounter with the space between.”
NEXT UP: Caroline Utterson, Rebecca Mason, Henry Steele, Sarah Cornwall, Laura Masheder and Silva Rerum.
Day Of The Dinosaurs, oil painting, work in progress, by Lincoln Lightfoot
INFLUENCED by the gloriously ridiculous B-movie imagery of the Fifties and Sixties, York artist Lincoln Lightfoot questions what might be in store for 2021.
You can see his humorously absurdist answers when 28-year-old Lincoln makes his York Open Studios debut this summer, after the 20th anniversary show was moved from April to July 10/11 and 17/18.
His digital-print images and oil paintings take the broad theme of surreal encounters with beasts that appear in recognisable locations: not so much King Kong climbing the Empire State Building in New York as a tentacled dayglo Creature From The Bottom Of The Ouse attacking a bridge in York.
Born in Hartlepool in 1992, the son of a school head of art & design, Lincoln was always fascinated by art, heading to York St John University to study Fine Art, whereupon the city became the centre of his work for those three years.
It continues to occupy that top spot in his art chart, his digital prints and paintings stalking York’s streets and passageways, our heritage resonating in the present.
Here, Lincoln discusses his name, his art, B-movies, 21st century Surrealism and his love of York with CharlesHutchPress.
York artist Lincoln Lightfoot: Making his York Open Studios debut in July
How did your wonderfully alliterative name Lincoln Lightfoot come about? “I have an American mother from Chicago, which people are often quick to assume is the reason for my name (Abe Lincoln). However, it was my father who came up with it.
“‘Lincoln’ is Old English, meaning ‘the place by the pool’, and I was born in Hartlepool, which has the same meaning. My Dad loves to explain this…and gets an eye roll from me!”
What were your first artistic steps? “When I was very young, as a family we would go to the beach and this would normally mean one thing: sandcastle building. We would build these embarrassingly big sandcastles with huge trenches around them.
“I was always fascinated by art. I loved to create and still do. My Dad was the head of art & design at my secondary school in Middlesbrough. This often meant staying late in the art department with my younger brother, creating and developing our GCSE and A-level Fine Art coursework. We’d make fantasy towers and giant killer plants. Exciting topics devised by my father.”
Describe those facilities…
“It was a large art department with four purpose-built art classrooms and a vast variety of exciting materials with exciting visual stimuli. There were masks from different cultures, stained-glass panels, tapestries, machine bits, musical instruments, giant shells, tropical plants and stuffed animals. No wall was left bare.”
“I’m in awe of York Minster, the intricate beauty of the architecture and our overwhelming insignificance next to it,” says Lincoln Lightfoot. This work is entitled Minster Flypast
What was your first experience of York? “My grandparents used to take me and my brother on caravan trips. I remember staying at Rowntree Park a number of times. I loved the untouched feel of the city, the idea that things within the city had been there for hundreds of years. I still can’t get enough of it.
“Every time I’m in town, I see something new, something that fascinates me. I’m often left saying, ‘How come I haven’t seen that before?’.
“I’m in awe of York Minster, the intricate beauty of the architecture and our overwhelming insignificance next to it.”
Why did you choose to study at York St John University?
“I initially applied to Edinburgh School of Art and Glasgow School of Art. At the age of 18, I was quite confident in my artistic ability. Probably too confident, seeing as I had decided there was no need to do a foundation year prior to applying. I didn’t put enough effort into my art portfolio and didn’t make the cut.
“The idea was to poke fun at the absurdity of mankind,” says Lincoln Lightfoot, explaining why he dressed as a ringmaster at the York Wheel . “I held a hamster cage with a hamster in it and talked nonsense to anyone who asked me what I was doing”
“My next choice was York St John. I’d chosen the university because I loved the city and I knew they offered a Fine Art course. Other than this, I didn’t know too much about the university itself, but I quickly realised I’d made a great decision and what followed were some of the best years of my life.
“York St John was a second home and a uniquely tightly-knit community. I joined the YSJ Basketball Club. I grew socially more than anything else, while falling more in love with the city. I enjoyed its history, its beautiful quad and ‘Archie’s days’ [a YSJ tradition at the end of every semester].”
When and where did you first exhibit in the city? “After initial exhibitions at York St John’s gallery spaces in my first year, inspired by the art of Futurist Performance, I dressed as a ringmaster in front of the Yorkshire Wheel: a giant Ferris wheel located in front of the Principal York hotel (from 2011 to 2013).
“The idea was to poke fun at the absurdity of mankind. I held a hamster cage with a hamster in it and talked nonsense to anyone who asked me what I was doing.”
What medium did you choose for your final project at York St John?
“Performance Art. In my final year, the York St John basketball team, a bunch of 6ft-plus young men, including myself, dressed up in black suits, with bowler hats and briefcases.
Towards The Metaphysical, a performance art piece by Lincoln Lightfoot, for his final-year project at York St John University
“We covered our faces with women’s black tights and did a ‘work commute’ at 7am. Flooding the city with faceless businessmen and getting escorted out of York railway station by the police for obvious reasons.
“This happening was documented and used for my 3rd Year degree show. My businessmen flooded the opening night, to the annoyance of my other peers.”
Where and when did you last exhibit in the city? “In Summer 2019, I exhibited a series of surreal prints at Spark:York. Prior to that, the work had made a debut at the Fossgate Social.
“I currently have the series of prints adorning the walls of Rehab Piccadilly and a giant Godzilla painting over the top of a Tour de Yorkshire poster in Micklegate Social.”
What does the city of York conjure in your mind, if you had to sum it up? “It’s a story-book city, conjuring up tales of the past. Walking through its streets, your creative mind can just let loose and go to work. It’s not hard to imagine incredible things happening there because they already have.”
They say that if you don’t leave York after three years, the city will have you in its grip and you will never say goodbye! True or a load of jackson pollocks?
“Completely true. I am testament to the statement.”
Artist Lincoln Lightfoot with his Tour de Yorkshire artwork, Godzilla, at Micklegate Social, York
York has to live with the chain of history around its neck: your work makes us look at it in a different way in the tradition of artists being outsiders. Discuss…
“Lots of artists are drawn to the city as a subject because of its historical architecture and picturesque views. It’s a path well-trodden. I’m currently playing around with a series of giant oil paintings that would strive to be similar to the style of [English Romantic painter, illustrator and engraver] John Martin’s biblical end-of-the-world scenes. I guess in some ways, if executed with a high enough level of skill, they could be seen to poke fun at high art.
“I love the stories of John Martin’s work; for contemporaries it would be like a modern-day visit to the cinema, maybe even more emotive. People would scream before them in horror. (Ironically his brother, ‘Mad Martin’, was a non-conformist who set fire to York Minster on February 1 1829).
“People often go in search of escapism, fascinated by unconventional ideas or elaborate fantasy worlds. That’s what makes B-movie poster art so attractive. To strip it back to a recognisable location can only make it more appealing.”
Is that what drew you to your distinctive subject matter of imposing B-movie imagery on familiar York landmarks?
“The city of York has such impressive views to inspire thousands of artists already. I’m fascinated by myths, legends, UFOs and other sightings of strange creatures; with these unlikely creatures in mind, I became consumed with surreal thoughts.
Minster Crafts, as depicted by B-movie enthusiast Lincoln Lightfoot
“My friends galvanised my thinking and would message me, ‘Hey, have you thought of this, what if….?!’. It ultimately brings you back to this child-like state of excitement and wonder.
“I find what makes it enjoyable for the public is if both landmark and mythical creature are well-known. I love it when my art gives people that moment of ‘closure’. In particular, when kids drag their parents over, pointing, ‘Look! Look!’. I sometimes think they get it more than the adults.”
Which Fifties and Sixties’ B-movies have inspired you and why?
“My home in York’s South Bank is full of key inspirations to my work. The first B-movie poster to grab my attention was Attack Of The 50ft Woman by Reynold Brown. I saw it in a vintage shop when I was in London. It was an A1 copy. My Attack Of The 50ft Rubber Ducky! paid homage to that.
“I love most of them, though my girlfriend has put a limit on the amount I’m allowed to hang around our house!
“I have Invasion Of The Saucer-Men and La Terra Contro I Dischi Volanti, which translates as something like The Earth Against Flying Saucers. These have inspired my own versions of Alien-style invasions.
Inspired by Reynold Brown: Attack Of The 50ft Rubber Ducky, by Lincoln Lightfoot
“I also love the 1996 film Mars Attacks! I have an It Came From Beneath The Sea poster, which inspired my Creature From The Bottom Of The Ouse! and The Corn Exchange Creature!, a giant coiling, twisting centipede.
“Then, of course I have the Attack Of The 50ft Woman poster, so I have now reached the limit of wall-space.”
What else is filling that space?
“David Blaine’s Beneath The Below poster; a Chicago World’s Fair from 1933, and an antique original tourist poster from 1907, Healthy Hartlepool, which reminds me of the golden age of North Eastern Railways.
“I love the poster for From Hell It Came, a movie about a giant killer tree. The movie trailer is hilarious. As Art & Design department lead at a school in Sunderland, it links to a GCSE project I do called Beware Of The Plants. A design entertainment crafts style project that ends with an installation of terrifying, organic, plant-like creatures in the school’s greenhouses.”
The Corn Exchange Creature!, wherein a centipede goes on the rampage in Leeds, by Lincoln Lightfoot
Far too many happenings/events/experiences are described as surreal but your work absolutely fits the description. How would you define surreal/surrealism today?
“Contemporary Surrealism addresses people’s worries and stresses and provides an escape into an alternative world and helps us cope with anxiety in safe and sometimes humorous ways in these times of isolation and stress.
“It differs from the pioneers of the 1920s and 1930s with the advances in film and graphic media. We have the tools to blur reality with fantasy even more convincingly.
“Freudian psychology, Giorgio de Chirico and Romanticism originally fed the ideas of the Surrealist movement, but the real spark to the zeitgeist seems to have been the horrors of World War One and born out of Italian Futurism.”
You create art of the absurd, the ridiculous, your art being playful yet playing on our worst nightmares too. Discuss…
“I’ve always believed that through the consumption of art, we can deal with nightmares and perceived dangers safely. As children, we confront and make sense of a dangerous world through fairy stories and nursery rhymes.
“Young people wish to be told of danger through anecdote and myth in a safe space. I attempt to continue this addiction and appeal to adults too.”
A spaceman adrift in York: Land Of The Lost, by Lincoln Lightfoot
You say “high art co-exists with popular culture” in your work. Does that make it 21st century Pop Art? It certainly makes it eye-catching to shoppers…
“Yes, it sits within the definition of Pop Art traditions, which, of course, began in London 1957, before New York. Ultimately, the smaller works use the ideas and graphicacy of Pop, though without advertising.
“I’m moving into more traditional techniques with oil on canvas that seek to blur the boundaries.”
How have you coped with life in Lockdown x 3? Has it had an impact on your work in these fear-filled times?
“Life in lockdown has been kind when contrasting with others. It has afforded me time to reflectand take stock of where I might be going as an artist and art educator.
“Walking around York, seeing the streets and alleyways otherwise populated with people, now deserted, has reinforced my practice in a profound way. Many of the documented photographs I took could lead to future ideas.
“Initially, it’s a time where the word ‘surreal’ may be justified. I’m still expecting to wake up in March 2020.”
You have been told: The Truth Is Out There!, by Lincoln Lightfoot
Does your own artwork influence your teaching of Art & Design in Sunderland?
“I’m creating art as much as possible and often use it to inspire my students, developing exciting and enriching programmes of study.”
Why did you want to take part in York Open Studios? What opportunities does it present to you?
“I’ve wanted to do it for a long time. It’s a fantastic opportunity to platform artwork and to meet new people. Only now am I happy with a body of exciting work and have space to exhibit it.”
More than 140 artists and craft-makers will be opening their doors for York Open Studios. How do you rate the York art scene?
“York’s art scene is forever growing, with an increasing number of creative spaces and events across the city. It’s alive, vibrant and has everything for anyone, regardless of age, background and appetite.”
“Watch out for more fantastical beings invading York’s ancient places,” warns Lincoln Lightfoot, creator of Micklegate Mayhem, Christmas
What’s coming next for you in the art world?
“Watch out for more fantastical beings invading York’s ancient places.
I’m now working on larger-scale oil paintings that use chiaroscuro not associated with Pop Art, but use blending and glazing. The best of these will be made into Giclee limited-edition prints.”
One final question: your York Open Studios profile says you “question what might be in store for 2021?”. So, Lincoln, what exactly is in store for 2021 for you and the rest of us? “Aliens, man, definitely aliens. There are more influential individuals making statements and releasing information by the day.”
Lincoln Lightfoot will be opening his doors at 118 Brunswick Street, South Bank, York, for York Open Studios 2021 on July 10/11 only; 10am to 5pm. For more information on Lincoln, go to lincolnlightfoot.co.uk; for details of all York Open Studios artists, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk.
Bridge attack: The Creature From The Bottom Of The Ouse!, by Lincoln Lightfoot
Flood, mixed-media monotype, by Lesley Birch, from Muted Worlds, her joint exhibition with ceramicist Emily Stubbs, running initially online and then at Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York
LOCKDOWN 3 plods on with no end in sight deep amid the winter chill, drawing Charles Hutchinson’s gaze to online events, a writing opportunity and the promise of live entertainment somewhere down the line.
Online lockdown exhibition at the double: Emily Stubbs and Lesley Birch, Muted Worlds, for Pyramid Gallery, York
CERAMICIST Emily Stubbs and artist Lesley Birch have teamed up for Muted Worlds, a lockdown exhibition of pots and paintings that has begun as a digital show from their studios before moving to Terry Bretts’s gallery in Stonegate, once Lockdown 3 strictures are eased.
Ceramicist Emily Stubbs: Muted Worlds exhibitor and York Open Studios participant
“This is a show with a more muted edge,” say Emily and Lesley. “Winter is here and with it, Covid, and another lockdown, so we feel the need for simplicity. We have collaborated to produce monochrome pieces inspired by the winter season.”
Looking ahead, Emily will be taking part in York Open Studios this summer, showing her ceramics at 51 Balmoral Terrace.
Rowntree Park: Hosting the Friends of Rowntree Park’s Words From A Bench project
Creative project of the winter season: Friends of Rowntree Park’s Words From A Bench project
THE Friends of Rowntree Park invite you to join the Words From A Bench project by submitting a short story or poem based around themes of the York park, the outdoors, nature and escape.
No more than 1,000 words in length, the works will be displayed in the park. Adults and children alike should send entries by February 15 to hello@rowntreepark.org.uk.
Mary Coughlan: Irish singer has had to rearrange her Pocklington Arts Centre concert for a second time
Gigs on the move: Pocklington Arts Centre re-writing 2021 diary
POCKLINGTON Arts Centre is re-scheduling concerts aplenty in response to the relentless grip of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Irish chanteuse Mary Coughlan’s April 23 show is being moved to October 19; the Women In Rock tribute show, from May 21 to October 29; New York singer-songwriter Jesse Malin, from February 2 to December 7, and Welsh singer-songwriter Martyn Joseph, from February 12 to December 2. Tickets remain valid for the rearranged dates.
A new date is yet to be arranged for the postponed February 23 gig by The Delines, Willy Vlautin’s country soul band from Portland, Oregon. Watch this space.
At sixes and sevens: The Gesualdo Six with director Owain Park (third from left, back row)
Early notice of online Early Music Day at National Centre for Early Music, York, March 21
THE Gesualdo Six will lead the NCEM’s celebrations for Early Music Day 2021 on March 21 by embarking on an online whistle-stop musical tour of York.
The Cambridge vocal consort’s concert will be a streamed at 3pm as part of a day when musical organisations throughout Europe will come together for a joyful programme of events to mark JS Bach’s birthday.
During their residency, The Gesualdo Six will spend almost a week in York performing in a variety of locations on a musical tour of the city that will be filmed and shared in March.
Monster and Minster beyond: A B-movie bridge drama on the Ouse by the alliteratively named Lincoln Lightfoot, one of the debutants in York Open Studios 2021, now moved to July
Better late than never: York Open Studios, switching from spring to summer
CELEBRATING the 20th anniversary of Britain’s longest-running open studios, York’s artists are determined to go ahead with York Open Studios 2021, especially after a barren year in 2020, when doors had to stay shut in Lockdown 1.
Consequently, the organisers are switching the two weekends from April 17/18 and 24/25 to July 10/11 and July 17/18, when more than 140 artists and makers will show and sell their work within their homes and workspaces in an opportunity for art lovers and the curious to “enjoy fresh air, meet artists and view and buy unique arts and crafts from York’s very best artisans”.
Midge Ure: Opening his Voice & Visions Tour at the Grand Opera House, York
Planning ahead for next year, part one: Midge Ure & Band Electronica, Grand Opera House, York
MIDGE Ure & Band Electronica will open next year’s Voice & Visions Tour at the Grand Opera House, York, on February 22, when the 67-year-old Scotsman will be marking 40 years since the release of Ultravox’s Rage In Eden and Quartet albums in September 1981 and October 1982 respectively.
Ure & Band Electronica last played the Opera House in October 2019 on The 1980 Tour, when Ultravox’s 1980 album, Vienna, was performed in its entirety for the first time in four decades, complemented by highlights from Visage’s debut album, as Ure recalled the year when he co-wrote, recorded and produced the two future-sounding records.
Tommy Emmanuel: York gig awaits for fingerstyle Australian guitarist
Planning ahead for next year, part two: Tommy Emmanuel at Grand Opera House, York
AUSTRALIAN guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, 65, will play the Grand Opera House, York, on March 6 2022 in the only Yorkshire show of next year’s12-date tour with special guest Jerry Douglas, the Ohio dobro master.
At 44, Emmanuel became one of only five musicians to be named a Certified Guitar Player by his idol, Chet Atkins. Playing fingerstyle, he frequently threads three different guitar parts simultaneously into his material, handling melody, supporting chords and bass all at once.
Steven Devine: Harpsichordist pictured when recording at the NCEM, York
Online concert series of the season: Steven Devine, Bach Bites, National Centre for Early Music, York, Fridays
EVERY Friday at 1pm, until March 19, harpsichordist Steven Devine is working his way through J S Bach’s Fugues and Preludes in his online concert series. Find it on the NCEM’s Facebook stream.
And what about?
STAYING in, staying home, means TV viewing aplenty. Tuck into the French film talent agency frolics and frictions of Call My Agent! on Netflix and Scottish procedural drama Traces on the Beeb; be disappointed by Finding Alice on ITV.
YORK Open Studios 2021 will be moving from spring to summer after a re-think over the prevailing Lockdown 3 guidelines with no end in place yet.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Britain’s longest-running open studios, York’s artists were keen to go ahead with the event this year, especially after a barren year in 2020, when doors had to stay shut in Lockdown 1.
Consequently, the organisers are switching the two weekends from April 17/18 and 24/25 to July 10/11 and July 17/18, when more than 140 artists and makers will show and sell their work within their homes and workspaces in an opportunity for art lovers and the curious to “enjoy fresh air, meet artists and view and buy unique arts and crafts from York’s very best artisans”.
“Our artists are more than happy to commit to the change and are very supportive of the reason behind our decision, so it’s all systems go for July,” says ceramicist Beccy Ridsdel, one of the York Open Studios organisers
Visitors will be welcomed by artists who will adhere to Government guidelines, keeping themselves and visitors Covid-safe throughout.
Many artists picked to participate last year remain on the list for 2021, complemented by new artists and makers, selected by an external panel of art professionals, to give regular visitors a chance to enjoy new work as well as meet their favourite creative talents.
Fresh additions for 2021 are: Rosebay, painting; Emma Crockatt, painting; Katie Greenbrown and Peter Roman, multi-media; Elena Skoreyko Wagner, illustration; Leesa Rayton Design Plus, jewellery; Carrie Lyall, printmaking; Kevin McNulty, printmaking; Pennie Lordan, painting; Lincoln Lightfoot, digital prints; Amy Stubbs, textiles; Tabitha Grove, painting; Michelle Galloway, painting, and Reg Walker, sculpture.
“Heavily influenced by ridiculous B-movie concepts from the ’50s and ’60s, I question what might be in store for 2021,” says York Open Studios debutant Lincoln Lightfoot
So too are: Jilly Lovett, textiles; Elliot Harrison, illustration; Caroline Utterson, textiles; Nicola Lee, drawing; Rebecca Mason, textiles; Sarah Cawthray, ceramics; Laura Masheder, jewellery; Sarah Cornwall, ceramics; Silva Rerum, jewellery; Henry Steele, ceramics; Mick Leach, painting; Pietro Sanna, ceramics; Charlotte Dawson, ceramics; Caroline Lewis, collage, and Lucie Wake, painting.
Further debutants are: Pamela Thorby, ceramics; Mark Druery, drawing; Nathan Combes, photography; Kate Akrill, ceramics; Lisa Lundqvist, mixed media; Nick Kobyluch, drawing; Lucy McElroy, painting; Liz O’Connell, glass; Fiona Lane, painting; Ealish Wilson, textiles; Amy Butcher, textiles; Joanna Lisowiec, illustration; Dee Thwaite, painting; Judith Glover, ceramics, and Here Be Monsteras (Kayti Peschke), ceramics.
The York Open Studios team are delighted with the line-up and the commitment to move to July. Sculptural ceramicist Beccy Ridsdel, one of the event founders, says: “We are grabbing the 2021 York Open Studios with both hands and channelling the optimism and enthusiasm from all our artists to ensure this year’s 20th show is one of the best.
“Rust takes us back to when the Ouse teemed with working barges, you knew your place or else – and jazz was the devil itself,” says Katie Greenbrown of her York Open Studios debut multi-media piece with Peter Roman, screening at the Arts Barge on July 10 and 11 at 10.30am, 1pm and 3pm
“Our decision to move from April to July this year gives us the opportunity for the stricter current Covid guidelines to relax and, with July giving us better weather, we believe the public will have more confidence when visiting artists’ studios.
“Our artists are more than happy to commit to the change and are very supportive of the reason behind our decision, so it’s all systems go for July.”
Beccy, who will be showing her work at South Cottage Workshop, Shipton Road, adds: “Artists and makers bring a diverse range of skills to the weekends, producing bespoke ceramics, furniture, glass, jewellery, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, wood carving and multi-media.
“There’s something for everyone and every pocket. The artists also love to showcase their work within their surroundings and really value the interaction, whether you’re a buyer or a burgeoning artist. It’s a fabulous way too to enjoy York and view extraordinary work. York Open Studios is a date worth saving.”
