Welcome to York Art Workers Association

The York Art Workers' Association is an eclectic group of craftsmen, artists, conservators, academics and others who share a serious interest in the arts. Members represent architectural craftsmanship, other applied arts, all fine arts, architecture and conservation. We welcome not only practitioners in these fields, whether amateur or professional, but anyone with a keen interest or appreciation of art and design. We exist to extend and share our knowledge and experience through a widely varied programme of monthly talks, normally on the first Monday of the month (doors open at 7pm, meetings start at 7.30). We also organise occasional courses, workshops, outings and social events. Our talks are open to anyone.

We meet at Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, York YO23 1NX. There is parking at the church, on nearby streets and in the local car park by the shops, a few minutes' walk away. There is cycle parking too and it is on a bus route. There is level access and the meeting room is on the ground floor.

Admission: members £3, non members £7.

There is no need to book, please feel free to just turn up! If you would like to know more about the association, please email info@yorkartworkers.org.uk, or come to the next meeting; we will be very pleased to see you.

Download a PDF of this year’s programme here - for more information on each speaker please see the Events Calendar

Monday April 13th

Andrian Melka

Andrian is a British-Albanian figurative sculptor. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana during the student revolts that sparked the fall of communism and was schooled in the socialist realist tradition. He found inspiration in the rich heritage of classical and Renaissance sculpture and is best known for his figurative work in marble and stone - most recently carving a bust of the Japanese ballet dancer, Fumi Kaneko, a principal with The Royal Ballet. Andrian will talk about his work to date and share his approach to modelling in clay when creating bronze and ceramic figurative sculptures in comparison with carving in stone and marble.

www.instagram.com/melka_sculpture/

www.melkasculpture.com

Monday May 11th

Richard Kitchen and Navigator Art

Richard is a York-based visual artist, poet and creator.

A qualified teacher of English, Literature and Drama, Richard moved to York from Madrid 2018, co-founding the local collective Navigators Art in 2019 and co-managing a weekly gallery at Piccadilly Pop Up in York's former tax office.

Initially a collage artist, Richard has always brought text, photography, painting and drawing into the mix: mostly his own but shamelessly borrowing as the moment demands.

Post-Covid, he began exploring digital treatments of original drawings. His writing and poetry often share ideas with his visual work. A number of his poems have been set to music by modern composers.

Navigators Art devises regular exhibitions and community events such as the Micklegate Arts Trail for the annual York Festival of Ideas, as well as hosting adventurous performance events at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse.

Richard Kitchen | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree

Come and Join Us

Where, when and how much?

We meet at Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, York YO23 1NX. There is parking at the church, on nearby streets and in the local car park by the shops, a few minutes' walk away. There is cycle parking too and it is on a bus route. There is level access and the meeting room is on the ground floor.

All events are on the first Monday of the month unless otherwise stated.

Events start at 7.30pm. Doors open at 7pm – please aim to be seated by 7.15pm.

Admission: members £3, non members £7. Half price for students. The fee for membership for 2025 is £22

Membership and programme enquiries to: info@yorkartworkers.org.uk