Vision

Connecting and inspiring people with the stories, history, art and culture of York and North Yorkshire. 

Mission

Championing curiosity, inspiring creativity and creating opportunities for people to flourish as we collaborate to tell stories about our collections and places.  

Values

• We value curiosity, creativity, generosity and responsibility equally and together.
• We are curious – We ask questions, we don’t assume, we learn and we encourage different perspectives to be heard.  
• We are creative – We have fun being creative, driving positive change and exploring potential.  
• We are generous – We care for people, collections and places inviting everyone to develop knowledge, to take delight in and enjoy our spaces.  
• We are responsible – We make informed decisions today for a better tomorrow and for a sustainable future.    
• We are supportive – We collaborate and seek connection to grow a thriving community where we celebrate one another, cheer on progress and are heartfelt with feedback. 

Priorities 

Building and sustaining a flourishing organisation by: 

• Delivering innovative public programming supporting an audience-focused, inclusive, visitor-first approach;    
• Driving visitor income, meeting and exceeding enterprise and fundraising targets, managing expenditure; 
• Identifying, developing and delivering a Masterplan and associated capital projects, to provide the best care for our collections, places and business; 
• Investing in our people ensuring we recruit, retain and develop a high performing team which celebrates diverse experiences and voices. 
• Tackling and adapting to climate change, understanding our carbon footprint and making incremental changes towards a net-zero future. 
• Raising our profile through cultural leadership and partnerships working locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

Outcomes

• We have a sustainable business model for the future and have sufficient resources to thrive.    
• We attract and welcome large numbers of people regardless of background and engage with them all in some way. York and North Yorkshire communities and visitors are inspired to be curious and creative.    
• Our employees, volunteers, contractors and creative practitioners have positive wellbeing and better reflect the diversity of the population - we provide a platform for people to develop their potential.    
• People, businesses, local government, key stakeholders, customers and funders invest in us.    
• City of York collections and buildings are managed and cared for into the future and become environmentally sustainable. They support new programming, participation, knowledge and research.     
• People who visit or work with us feel engaged with art, culture and a sense of place/identity.