York Open Studios is York’s longest-running arts festival.  Our selected artists open their workshops, studios, and homes over two weekends every year - a great opportunity for the public to meet artists and to really see how they work.

We pride ourselves on having an independent selection process and on supporting students, newly emerging, and established artists; encouraging a wider interest in the arts in York.

York Open Studios was founded by Anne Hutchison and Gail Fox and the first event was held in 2002 with 19 other exhibitors.  Since then we have introduced over 600 York artists to our visitors, including more than 60 higher education students, and have provided bursaries to more than 20 multimedia artists.