Connecting and inspiring people with the stories, histories, cultures and art of York and North Yorkshire      

We recognise that our museums, galleries, collections and spaces have not always been available to all our communities and haven’t represented them. Community participation and engagement activities allow us to open up, share our collection and create space for diverse voices and histories. We are working to change and develop all our activity and programming into socially engaged practice to combat and reduce inequalities and deprivation in our city and region, and to contribute to our civic duty, vision, mission and values. Activities are not just what we display or share with audiences, but are also inward looking to ensure our strategies, policies and procedures do not contribute to inequality, deprivation or discrimination. 

This page highlights our current projects, schemes and initiatives for increasing participation with our communities. 

Get Involved 

Are you part of a local community or organisation that would like to get involved with York Museums Trust? Get in touch by emailing participation@ymt.org.uk  

We are currently working on a strategy and framework for community participation and engagement to understand what we can offer and how we can support organisations in their work. We are consulting our partner communities with this and if you want to be involved, please get in touch.

Community Participation Scheme  

As an independent not-for-profit charity, we reinvest our income back into the city’s cultural offer to care for York’s collections and interpret them for our residents and visitors. We receive funding from Arts Council England and City of York Council, but our most significant income comes from entry fees and paid for activities. Although all sites have a pay barrier, YMT is committed to ensuring that as many people as possible have access to our sites and collections. 

The Community Participation Scheme allows us to build relationships with communities and enable free entry for groups who would not otherwise be able to access our sites. Working with a group of core community partners since 2021, we issue cards to community organisations and facilitators, which they can then use to organise a group visit or loan to their service users to use independently. 

Co-curated Projects 

Our collections of objects, artworks, places and spaces can provide opportunities for people to connect with themselves, wider communities and people across time and from places far away.  

Co-curation is a way of working where museums partner with individuals and community groups to produce a project or exhibition together. This collaborative way of working allows communities to become more involved in the museum, promotes meaningful engagement, and often produces results far beyond what the museum would have been able to create independently. 

We have co-curated a series of exhibitions with our communities at York Castle Museum and York Art Gallery.  

• Queering the Burton 

• Isolation Art 

• York’s Jewish History: 1170 to present day  

• HERStory.York: 100 Changemakers 

• Celebrating York’s Gypsy and Traveller Heritage 

• 70 Objeks and Tings 

• Sugar, Skill and Shiftwork 

Heritage Hunters 

York is famous for Romans, Viking, Medieval architecture, Georgian streets, and Victorian industries, but parts of the city have been overlooked. Heritage Hunters works with residents in areas of York that have a wealth of history but have been little researched. The project is not about uncovering new histories. Instead, it supports those who live there to find out more about their surroundings and to share it with their friends and neighbours. We also bring organisations and charities together to support residents and build further connections with the past to share their research. 

We’re currently working on issue 5 of Heritage Hunters, focusing on Clifton. Click below to see past issues and our research guide. 

• Research Guide 

• Issue 1 – Hull Road 

• Issue 2 – The Groves 

• Issue 3 – Acomb and Westfield 

• Issue 4 – York Museum Gardens 

Creative Conversation Boxes   

Our Creative Conversation Boxes were created to support meaningful interactions for individuals experiencing memory loss or social isolation. Each box is filled with engaging multi-sensory items (such as photographs, objects, textures and music) and activity suggestions that are designed to stimulate conversation, evoke memories, and encourage joyful connection with carers, friends, or neighbours. The items in each box are not part of our museum collections, allowing for greater freedom to handle and explore them. Alongside these objects, you’ll find ‘Collection Cards’ that connect to related pieces in our museums and galleries, as well as suggestions for places you might like to visit. 

Whether you’re a family member, care professional, or community group leader, our boxes provide a simple yet powerful way to start conversations, reduce feelings of loneliness, and create moments of shared understanding.  

These boxes are perfect for:  

• People living with dementia or memory loss  

• Individuals at risk of or experiencing social isolation  

• Caregivers and community volunteers looking to spark engagement  

You can choose from:  

• At Home in Yorkshire 

• Childhood 

• Fashion 

• History of York 

• Holidays 

Each box is easy to use and comes with clear guidance—no prior experience or specialist knowledge is required. The boxes are free to borrow and can be used at home, in care settings, or within community groups. To send a booking enquiry, please fill in this form. 

Sugar, Skill and Shiftwork: York’s Confectionery Workers 

A Community Stories Exhibition by York Museums Trust 

Have you or someone in your family worked at Rowntree’s, Terry’s, Craven’s or other sweet factories in York? Did the smell of chocolate shape your memories of the city? We want to hear from you. 

The exhibition will uncover and share the voices of factory workers, engineers, designers, packers, social organisers, and anyone who helped keep the industry going.

To participate in the project, please complete the online form where you can share any York confectionery-related information and images. If you have any questions, please email participation@ymt.org.uk. 

Click here for more information