About Us
An arts education is often elitest and expensive, so our mission since we opened in January 2020, has been to make creative learning easy to access without breaking the bank.
Every week, about 150 people come through our doors and get access to a range of classes, courses and workshops which enables a suck-it-and-see experience.
From life drawing and printmaking to ceramics and stone carving, our offer is bold and audacious and is actually, in real life, fostering a strong artistic community.
With a team of skilled self-employed tutors and a commitment to providing personalised, hands-on instruction, we have seen the impact and difference an arts education makes to people.
We even have a shop located at 33 St. Nicholas Cliff (just next to the Grand Hotel) which sells specialist art & craft books as well as magazines, calendars and a growing range of art materials.
We sell original works by our students, too, which also feature on our greeting cards and prints. These are great ways for everyone to take a piece of what we do home with them.
Our Venues
In 2023, North Yorks Art School started to offer courses and workshops at venues across the North East. By Spring 2024 we had people attending courses and workshops at 10 locations.
This expansion has given us a greater insight into what people want when they are booking. As a result, we will be reducing the number of venues in 2025 to just four key locations in Scarborough, Darlington, Knaresborough and at a brand new venue: Ampleforth Abbey.
NYAS Shop
The NYAS Shop, located at 33 St. Nicholas Cliff in Scarborough, first opened in May 2023 and was initially a way for us to promote, and sell the work of artists who attend North Yorks Art School.
Since then, we have expanded the range of products available. They now include:
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Art Materials
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Specialist Art Books
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Specialist Craft Books
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Art & Culture Magazines
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Calendars
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Greeting Cards
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Prints & Canvas Prints
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Gift Vouchers
Students who purchase one of our Pre-Pay Bundles are entitled to 10% off all purchases made in the shop.
Our Journey
2020
January: North Yorks Art School is created by Christopher Shaw. The website goes live on January 31.
March: First classes - Life Drawing and Painting - begin. Mike Tilling and Howard Britton are the first to book a class.
March: Numerous lockdowns follow
2021
June: Investment in new printroom with money made available through COVID business grants.
July: Pay-As-You-Go Printmaking added to timetable.
October: Andrew Perkins joins NYAS as Head of Operations.
December: First Student Review exhibition held.
2022
More Pay-As-You-Go classes added to timetable.
New Printmaking courses introduced.
November: First NYAS shop opens at South Street venue.
November: Second Student Review exhibition held.
2023
March: First workshops take place in Scarborough.
NYAS Shop opens at St. Nicholas Cliff Scarborough.
July: Pilot of workshops at other locations begin with a stint in Middlesbrough.
August: Our Town Postcard Competition opens. Elena Stogneva wins.
October: Workshops and courses begin at Hummersknott Academy, Darlington.
October: bookaclass.org booking platform created
October: VAT threshold met.
November: First Christmas Postcard Competition opens. Jane Greening wins.
2024
Jan-Feb: More locations added to timetable, including:
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Knaresborough
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Winteringham
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Bempton
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Botton Village
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Richmond
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Danby Lodge
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Beeforth Hive
February: Introduction of children's classes.
July: Our Town 2 Postcard Competition opens. Marion Mason wins.
September: NYAS Shop expands to sell art materials, books and magazines.
September: NYAS on track for 2000 people to attend 280 workshops and 30 courses across 10 venues.
