Artists invite visitors into their workplaces for York Open Studios 2026

This year there are several artists new to the event, 27 to be precise, an all-time high since it began back in 2002. Among those sharing their work for the first time with visitors to the Open Studios is photographer Esme Mai who has had a very successful career as a commercial photographer for over a decade working for a range of clients. More recently she has also been working on her own creative photographic projects exploring the beauty and transience of botanical forms.

“About two years after losing my mum to cancer I had a real moment of reflection about how short life is and what really matters,” she says. “I wanted to find the joy of times when I felt happiest and I started to create photographs for myself; I had moved into a place with quite a big garden where I began growing things and I knew that I wanted my personal photographs to focus on nature.” Her beautiful close-up colour prints capture the delicate detail of the plants and flowers she photographs. The images have a meditative quality about them that invites the viewer to slow down and reflect. “I think of this collection of photographs as a study of nature,” she says. “I like the idea of people taking the time to look at them and thinking about something they might otherwise take for granted.” Mai is looking forward to being part of the Open Studios. “I have attended the event as a visitor and been hired to take photographs of it in the past; I feel so excited to have been accepted as an artist and to be given the opportunity,” she says. “It’s really helped to grow my confidence and having a platform and a deadline gives the work a purpose, which is invaluable. I’m really excited to see how people respond to it.”

Another first-time Open Studios participant is painter Kareem Barqai who has also worked in the commercial sector for many years as a graphic designer in branding and packaging, including for Taylors of Harrogate, having trained at the London College of Printing. “I have been working in that area for over 35 years, mainly based in London, Amsterdam and York and about a year and a half ago, I decided to take a break from that and get back into painting,” he says. “I really missed mark making and I was interested in getting back into the analogue. I grew up with the digital revolution and I wanted to counter that and make sense of issues and themes that concern me.” A recent visit to Berlin with his wife, and a day trip from there to the Bauhas School of Art in Dessau where the 1920s modernist Bauhaus art movement began, also provided inspiration. “It was interesting to reflect on the world in the 1930s, the Weimar Republic and where we are now. It was brilliant to see how avant garde, inquisitive and fearless the artists were.” Working mainly in acrylics, charcoal and oils, Baquai is also doing printmaking, and typography still plays an important role in his work. Over the two weekends he will have a range of work on display including canvases and prints. “I try and do something in my studio every day, it is important as a routine,” he says. “I am also reading and researching and going to as many exhibitions as I can. I have been used to working to a tight brief in the commercial sector, so it is nice to be able to explore ideas and themes and create work for myself. I am curious to see people’s reactions and responses to the work. ”

Part of the reason that the Open Studios are so popular with artists and visitors is that unique opportunity for direct connection between the public and the creatives. Sculptor Janie Stevens is particularly looking forward to meeting people in her studio and talking to them about her work. “I love that part,” she says. “It is always lovely to engage with people and discuss your creative processes and inspirations.” Working mainly with natural materials, Stevens makes sculptures out of stone and wood alongside aeroply pieces, made out of lightweight birch, and more recently she has also been working in steel, making garden sculptures. “I was absolutely delighted to be selected for the Open Studios. I will have a lot of my stone sculptures, which are carved out of locally quarried stone from Tadcaster, on display. I have always loved working in stone, for me it is a very organic and emotive process, and I like the tactility of the material. That is important to me – I want people to touch the works; to have the soothing experience I have creating them.” Recently Stevens has also started painting and will have some of her canvases on display too. “It will be the first time I have shared them; I’ll be interested to see what people think.”

Ceramicist Danny Aitken creates wheel-thrown ceramic vessels and urns that are inspired by, and incorporate elements of, prehistoric art from the European Mesolithic and Neolithic period. His work is very distinctive and has an ancient authenticity about it – they look like pieces you might see in the British Museum. Aitken completed an MA in Material Culture and Experimental Archaeology at the University of York in 2024 which informs his work. “Taking inspiration from prehistoric archaeology is fun and I find it fascinating and liberating, it is a real privilege to be able to do it,” he says. “I have always been interested in the human drive to create and to conceptualize in an artistic way. That period was when humans really started to engage in creative expression.” During the open weekends Aitken will be showcasing around a dozen of his larger vessels and around urns and smaller pieces such as candlesticks and incense burners. Most of his works are fired with ash glazes that he makes himself, composed of locally sourced materials. “The Open Studios seems like a really nice community,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to the weekends and being part of the event. It feels like a bit of a rite of passage.”

York Open Studios 2026, April 18 & 19 and 25 & 26. For details about all the artists and venues and to access an interactive map, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk

Alternatively, a free printed directory is available from tourist hubs and artist locations throughout York and the wider city region