North Yorkshire is the largest county in England with the sea to the east and coastal towns such as Whitby and Scarborough then there are the Pennines to the west. We have two National Parks the North Yorks Moors and Yorkshire Dales – and many attractive Market Towns and the now unitary authority City of York at its centre.

It has a rich history of arts and culture with many professional artists and hundreds of voluntary arts groups, societies and clubs, providing opportunities for thousands of people to take part in voluntary arts activity every week. People join these groups because they’re fun, they meet other people with similar interests, and get the opportunity to explore and express their creativity, and maybe learn some highly technical skills. They do it because they want to - nobody’s forcing them - it is genuinely voluntary. In this predominately rural area the voluntary arts play a key part in allowing people access to the arts.

The results of all this creativity form a wonderfully rich tapestry of community life - with exhibitions, choral evenings, pantomimes and plays, displays and demonstrations, festivals and outings. No matter what the size or scale, this represents an enormous amount of commitment, enthusiasm, energy and technical skill. These organisations provide a wide range of arts opportunities across all art forms, make a real contribution to the cultural life of the sub-region of York and North Yorkshire and are an important part of the arts “infrastructure”.

York & North Yorkshire Voluntary Arts Partnership has been set up to provide a connection between these groups, offering support through this website, newsletters, meetings, training events and through being an advocate for the sector.

To join the Celebrate North Yorkshire website database you must be a voluntary or amateur group or organisation based in York and North Yorkshire. Under the Network Suppliers section we will accept individuals and organisations who provide services to voluntary and amateur artists and groups in York and North Yorkshire and ask that you list voluntary artists you have worked with so that references can be obtained. This eligibility criteria may be reviewed on a case by case basis and the final decision remains with the steering group of the York & North Yorkshire Voluntary Arts Partnership.

What is meant by the voluntary or amateur arts? The voluntary arts are those arts and crafts that people undertake for enjoyment, self improvement, social networking and leisure, but not primarily for payment. The range of art forms is wide and varied. There is a distinction between Voluntary and Community Arts:

• Community Arts is mainly where professional practitioners work in or with communities, whereas
• Voluntary Arts is mainly people doing it for themselves - although they may employ professionals.

York & North Yorkshire Voluntary Arts Partnership include representatives from strategic partners including main funders, Local Authorities, the voluntary arts sector, Local Infrastructure Organisations, other key stakeholders. Terms of Reference for the Partnership can be found in Documents & Templates along with minutes of partnership meetings.

The value of the voluntary arts sector has been recognised and this initiative has been adopted as a priority in North Yorkshire’s Local Area Agreement and will play a major part in increasing participation in the arts in North Yorkshire as detailed in National Indicator 11.

Information about professional arts activities in Yorks and North Yorkshire can be found on the Creative Industries website www.creativenorthyorkshire.com.

Information about festivals and events in York and North Yorkshire can be found on www.festivalsnorthyorkshire.org.uk.

This site has been designed by Media Vision of Whitby and is maintained by gillian howells creative consultancy for Arts in Richmondshire on behalf of the York and North Yorkshire Voluntary Arts Partnership.

Arts in Richmondshire would like to acknowledge support and assistance from a range of individuals and organisations in the development of this website including Gillian Howells, Kat Lloyd, Tina Poulson, North Yorkshire Forum for Voluntary Organisations, North Yorkshire County Council, and Voluntary Arts England.