
YORK creative collective Navigators Art launches the 2025 Micklegate Arts Trail today featuring works by 35 York artists on display in 14 shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants until June 15.
The launch day, running from 12 noon to 5pm, will present street buskers Joel Wilson (The Typing Poet), Borgia Trio, Jasmine Lowe and Nathan Kirby, along with music improvisations by Joe Allen, Desmond Clarke, Fin O’Hare, Tom Maynard (The Sounen Project) and Nick Walters at Holy Trinity Church, where Walters has coordinated the display of 3D sculptures and events.
Keep an eye out for the Extreme Knitting demonstration with giant needles by Hippystitch, alias Sally Stone in the church grounds. All these events are free.
Coordinated by Steve Beadle and George Willmore, Micklegate Arts Trail has expanded from last June’s inaugural Micklegate Art Trail – note the change from ‘Art’ to ‘Arts’ – to embrace music, film and poetry as well as art in a festival run in tandem with York Festival of Ideas that opens on the same day.
On show for the next fortnight will be works by:

Sinead Corkery: Work on show at No 84 Deli & Cafe
Raginie Duara at Lucius Books; Mark Kesteven at Old School Barber Shop; Barry Lewis, Desmond Clarke, Lu Mason, Nick Walters, Peter Baker, Richard Mackness, Sally Stone and Tom Maynard at Holy Trinity Church and Bill Oakey and Julia Leonard at Cads of Micklegate.
Look out for Nick Kobyluch, Sharon McDonagh and Sola at Skosh; Jane Dignum, Jo Rodwell and Lois Folkard at The Falcon; Chalky the Yorkie, Jasmine Foo, Jude Redpath and Sinead Corkery at No 84 Deli & Cafe; Susan Bradley at Divine Coffee Roasters; Fiona Kemp and Ali Hunter at Hudson Moody and Skulldog at Mack & Lawler Builders.
Isabel Bullon Benito and Marc Godfrey-Murphy (Marco Looks) can be found at Oxfam Bookshop; Chrissy Buse at Cafe Fleur; Elizabeth Smallman and Linda Combi at the Amnesty Bookshop and Melisaa Hill, Michael Campbell, Richard Thompson and Sarah Schiewe at The Hooting Owl in Rougier Street. Opening times may vary between venue.
“Micklegate Arts Trail is a rare community event of its kind in York,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “It’s been hard work to put it together, probably harder work than last year, because it’s not just an art trail now but we also have spoken-word and music events, taking place in three pubs, The Artful Dodger, The Falcon and The Hooting Owl.
“The great thing about the art trail is that all the work on show is chosen is chosen by the traders and shops themselves, and not by a panel. So the work is what they like and what suits their premises. That means there are no preconceptions about who will be chosen, and some quite big York names are missing out this year – the selection process is what makes it a true community event.”

Collage drop-in session at The Artful Dodger on June 8
Richard continues: “Our starting point for the festival is that Navigators Art likes Micklegate as a street, an historic street, but some people just see it as a cut-through, and some shops and traders are struggling, especially after the parking price increases, so we want to draw attention to what Micklegate has to offer.
“Hopefully the arts trail will attract pedestrians to visit the street. We’re very much doing this festival to support both Micklegate traders and the York artists they chose to display. That’s why it exists and we hope this second trail is a step to making it an annual event.”
Arts Trail events will include free live music sessions at The Falcon and The Hooting Owl on June 1, 8 and 15 at 2pm and 7pm featuring Andy Bowen and Liv Quigley, One Iota, Jasmine Lowe, Mike Amber and Will Martin.
Martin will return to The Falcon on June 4 and 11 at 7pm and further sessions will follow at The Hooting Owl on June 5 and 12 at 7pm.
The Falcon will play host to board game (in house or bring your own) on June 3 and 10. A spoken word, music and open-mic session will be held upstairs at The Artful Dodger on June 5 at 7.30pm when invited guests will include poets Janet Dean and Jessica Van Smith and singer Mike Amber. Bring your poem, an original song, guitar, or whatever, for the open-mic in a safe, supportive, non-discriminatory environment.

The poster for tonight’s YO Underground 3 bill of live & left-field music words & performance at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse
Experimental short films by Timothy Marvell, Nick Walters and Tom Walters will be shown in the Nativity hut at Holy Trinity Church on June 7 from 9pm to 10pm.
To coincide with the arts trail launch, Navigators Art presents YO Underground 3, a night of live new music and words at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, tonight from 7.30pm to 10pm.
Step forward Desmond Clarke, improvisers Joe Allen & Friends, Spartacus T ruth, University of York students Katie Laing and Dan Fishwick and The Jammingtons Experience (Tom Nightingale and Mark Stokes), purveyors of idiosyncratic songs that take an ironic look at life. Tickets are on sale at bit.ly/nav-events or on the door.
In the first art demonstration, George Willmore will hold collage sessions on June 8 at 1.30pm and 3.30pm upstairs at The Artful Dodger. Two days later, upstairs at The Hooting Owl at 7.30pm, artist Melissa Hill and poet-researcher Becca Drake will team up for Creative Arrangements, where Melissa will discuss her three vases on display for the arts trail that inspired Becca to write and perform her new work.
You are invited to draw or write verses in response to the vases, poetry and talk. Free materials will be provided at both demonstrations but you can bring your own too.
Further details will follow on two more Navigators Art contributions to the Festival of Ideas: the Making Waves art exhibition at City Screen Picturehouse from June 8 to July 4 and About Time Too!, a concert of music and words to complement a day of free talks celebrating ‘Time’ at St Olave’s Church, Marygate, on June 14 at 7pm.

Navigators Art’s music programme for the Micklegate Arts Trail
Navigators Art’s inclusivity policy
NAVIGATORS Art rejects racism, misogyny and other forms of bigotry. “We strive to achieve gender balance and across-the-board inclusivity at all times,” says co-founder Richard Kitchen.