Artists and craftspeople who live within ten miles of York City centre who create original 2D and 3D work.

Midnight, 31st August 2021

You must submit five print-quality (300dpi) JPG images of the type of work you expect to show in April. At least three of these must be individual works but two may be detail or close-up shots.

Your images must be high quality and show your work clearly. They will be used by our panel during selection and then if you are successful they will be used on our website, marketing materials, social media. We do not expect professional photos but they should be polished, print ready and taken with a professional outlook. We reserve the right to crop your images.

We charge £110 for successful applications. Recent graduates (2 years) pay a reduced fee of £55.

Artists pay a commission of 10% on their sales over £250. We do not take commission on the first £250.

Artists can choose to have a public opening on Friday 1st April 2022 which will be published in the directory and on the website. Artists can also choose to have a private view but this will not be published.

Friday 1st April 6-9pm (optional)
Saturday 2nd April 10am-5pm
Sunday 3rd April 10am-5pm
Saturday 9th April 10am-5pm
Sunday 10th April 10am-5pm

Each artist will have a dedicated page on our website and will be showcased across our social media channels. We employ a PR agency who provide wide press and magazine coverage and we place adverts in local and national publications. A directory with images, venue address and contact details will be produced as well as a handy map with venues marked.

Yes, you must be present at your venue at all published times on both weekends.

Each artist will have a listing in our directory, printed map and their page on our website.

We employ an independent panel to select our artists.

You will receive a congratulations email and a further form to fill in to ask additional questions for your directory entry and confirm that you agree to our T+Cs. You will also be asked to pay your admission fee. The deadline for payment and provision of further details is 16th October 2021.

The work submitted should be original, consistent and show a clear 'Artists's voice'. While all the work is for sale, York Open Studios is not a craft fair. The panel are not looking for generic items, your work should be exciting and intriguing and demonstrate a clear direction and vision. The panel will use their knowledge and experience to arrive at a decision and consider qualities such as use and application of materials, originality and composition. The panel will look for work showing artistic commitment and a professional outlook. Decisions will be based purely on the quality of the applications submitted so make sure your images are high quality and show your work clearly. You are asked for a description of your work and you must make sure that the panel understands what they are looking at. Write about your materials, techniques, scale and inspiration and avoid flowery descriptions.

Artists who submit poor quality images or a too brief description are unlikely to be selected.

Non-selected artists may ask for feedback on their submission, but we will only be able to provide this where the panel have stated specific reasons.

Yes, you must attend a meeting on Saturday 9th October where we will introduce ourselves, welcome new artists and give you important information about the event. There will also be an optional meeting/social prior to the event where new artists and people who have exhibited before can get together to share useful hints and tips on how to get the most out of York Open Studios.

York Open Studios is run by a committee of volunteers.

Borrowed or hired venues are not permitted. You can use your own permanent studio, workshop, home, an educational establishment where you teach or where you are artist in residence. Up to five artists can share one venue as long as at least one artist uses the space on a permanent basis. If there are more than five artists who are all permanently resident in a venue then they will be permitted to show together.