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

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

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, do get in touch.  

This page highlights our current projects, schemes and initiatives for increasing participation with our communities. To get more information about any of these projects, please contact our Community Participation Manager, Philip Newton philip.newton@ymt.org.uk  

Community Participation Scheme 

As an independent not-for-profit charity, we reinvest our income back into the city’s cultural offer to care for Yorks’s collections and interpret them for our residents and visitors. We receive funding from the Arts Council 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 relationship with communities where free entry can be used as an incentive or part of a project. The card is designed to mirror our Patron and Supporter schemes and gives total access as a visitor to our sites without the need for payment, prebooking, or handing over any personal information for the individual. Cards are given to community organisations and facilitators loan them to individuals and families they support. We have piloted this programme since 2021 with our core community partners and are looking at ways to expand the project.  

Co-curated Exhibitions  

We understand that 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. By using these assets as conduits for experience, and importantly empowering communities and individuals to make decisions on their care, display, use and future, we will contribute to participatory practice. By using our ethical considerations, we can use collections to support our practices. We believe that there are priorities for participation when our collections respond to the following.   

• A community is reflected in or connected to an object, piece of art or spaces but do not have a voice in YMTs interpretation, presentation or preservation and care – communities of origin  

• A community who make up a part of our population or audiences but are absent from our collections or stories – underrepresented, seldom heard or marginalised community  
• Individuals who can share their lived experiences to better interpret our collections and buildings but may not have a direct connection to an object or space – Socially Engaged Practice  

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

Heritage Hunters

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, music, and activity suggestions, 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 enquire please use the form here. 

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

Our Current Partners 

York Travellers Trust  

York City of Sanctuary  

York LGBT Forum and York Pride 

York LGBT History Month  

Welcome to York Programme  

The Good Organisation  

York Human Rights City  

York Local Area Coordinators  

Kyra Womens Project  

Refugee Action York  

SASH