Families at York Art Gallery

York Art Gallery is family-friendly and we aim to be as inclusive as possible.

There are activities, events and workshops available throughout the year. Please click on the links below for further information.

Activities to download, print and use on your visit;

Arts Heroes Fact Sheets

Help younger visitors to find out more about artists whose work is on display in the gallery, with activity suggestions to extend experience and research skills. Why not print out these sheets, bring them with you and use them on a family gallery visit? They can also be used in the classroom to support the delivery of Arts Award Discover, Explore or Bronze.

Felicity Aylieff

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham

Sir Anthony van Dyck (please note there are currently no works by Sir Anthony van Dyck on display)

Sir Jacob Epstein

William Etty

William Alfred Ismay

Gwen John

Laurence Stephen Lowry

Paul Nash

Grayson Perry

Dame Lucie Rie

Paul Robeson

Explore York Art Gallery Worksheet
This activity, although developed to support schools delivering Arts Award Explore or Bronze, can be used by families on their visit to help younger visitors find out about what the gallery does as an arts organisation, enabling room to write and draw. Download it here.

Curious-Create-Colour-Explore
At York Art Gallery, we actively encourage curiosity, creativity and getting hands on. Pre-print any, or all of the below to use as part of your visit to get things started. Just try not to forget them-or your pencil! We suggest you also bring your colour pencils too if you have them. It’s good to live life in colour. Unfortunately felt tips are discouraged as we have to take extra care of our collections, so pencils are preferred.
York Art Gallery colouring page
York Art Gallery how to fold a Zine instructions
York Art Gallery Colour Zine
York Art Gallery Black and White Zine

Facilities for Families

  • Fully accessible indoor and outdoor spaces (please find details here)
  • Online events listings so you can plan ahead
  • Baby changing facilities in the accessible toilets on both the ground and first floor
  • Spacious lockers for visitors to use on the first-floor

Click here for online Visitor Information.

The Studio

The Studio is a practical workshop space where you can get hands on with art materials under the gentle guidance of our trained staff. You can check whether the Studio will be open on any particular day on our Events page or by contacting us.

Teen Takeover

We want everyone to feel welcome and inspired by the gallery. We offer opportunities for older children and teenagers to get involved and discover their creative abilities.

  • Older children with an interest in art will find plenty of opportunities to engage with our exhibitions and collections, from our Vanitas drawing unit to our digital interactives (currently closed due to COVID-19 regulations).
  • Teenage Art School – held annually during the summer, the art school offers young people aged 11 to 17 the chance to work with artists to create their own work and exhibition.

Kids in Museums Family Friendly Award 2016

York Art Gallery were awarded the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Award for 2016. Kids in Museums is an independent charity, working UK-wide to support museums to better welcome and include children, young people and families – in particular those who haven’t visited before.

Dea Birkett, Creative Director of Kids in Museums, said:

“We’re thrilled to announce York Art Gallery as the winner of the Family Friendly Museum Award. It was a tough year – with a ten-strong shortlist – so to shine out to families and children as the most welcoming is a great achievement.

“Our undercover family judges were particularly impressed at how the gallery aimed to make all ages feel welcome – from tiny babies to teenagers. There’s no typical family, so museums need to include all of them, whatever ages, whatever sizes. York Art Gallery excels at this.”

Click here to read more about our award.