Dates: Sunday 15 February 2026–Monday 23 February 2026, 10:30 am-4:00 pm
Venue: York Castle Museum

Sunday Sounds 

Sunday 15 February 2026 

Performance times: 10.30am, 12.30pm, 3pm and 4pm 

Drop-in, included in general admission 

 Enjoy live performances of songs inspired by travelling and changes of transport through time as you explore Kirkgate. This upbeat duo will have your toes tapping before you know it! 

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Dates: Monday 16 February 2026–Sunday 22 February 2026, All Day
Venue: York Castle Museum

Cells Talks 

Daily 

11.30am and 2.30pm 

Included in general admission 

Discover the history of York Castle prison and some of its notorious inmates. 

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Dates: Monday 16 February 2026–Sunday 22 February 2026, All Day
Venue: York Castle Museum

Creative Studio 

Open daily 

Drop-in, self-led activity 

 Sketch out your dream Victorian outfit using the fabrics, hats, shoes and dresses on display for inspiration. 

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Dates: Monday 16 February 2026–Sunday 22 February 2026, All Day
Venue: York Castle Museum

Kirkgate Talks 

Daily 

11.30am and 2pm 

Included in general admission 

 Learn about the creation of the Victorian street, Kirkgate, one of the oldest recreated indoor streets of its kind in the world. 

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Dates: Saturday 21 February 2026–Sunday 22 February 2026, All Day
Venue: York Art Gallery

Open Studio 

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February 2026 

Suitable for all ages | Drop-in, included in general admission 

 Drop into our Studio during your visit and discover fun, self-led creative activities inspired by our exhibition Harold Gosney: Materials and Making.  

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Date: Sunday 22 February 2026, All Day
Venue: York Castle Museum

Cells Talks 

Daily 

11.30am and 2.30pm 

Included in general admission 

Discover the history of York Castle prison and some of its notorious inmates. 

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Date: Sunday 22 February 2026, All Day
Venue: York Castle Museum

Creative Studio 

Open daily 

Drop-in, self-led activity 

 Sketch out your dream Victorian outfit using the fabrics, hats, shoes and dresses on display for inspiration. 

View event >

Date: Sunday 22 February 2026, All Day
Venue: York Castle Museum

Kirkgate Talks 

Daily 

11.30am and 2pm 

Included in general admission 

 Learn about the creation of the Victorian street, Kirkgate, one of the oldest recreated indoor streets of its kind in the world. 

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Dates: Sunday 22 February 2026–Monday 23 February 2026, 10:30 am-4:00 pm
Venue: York castle museum

Sunday Sounds 

Sunday 22 February 2026 

Performance times: 10.30am, 12.30pm, 3pm and 4pm 

Drop-in, included in general admission 

 Enjoy live performances of songs inspired by travelling and changes of transport through time as you explore Kirkgate. This upbeat duo will have your toes tapping before you know it! 

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Date: Wednesday 25 February 2026, 6:30 pm-7:30 pm
Venue: Tempest Anderson Hall

The National Gallery: A Growing Collection, a talk by Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director at National Gallery
Wednesday 25 February 2026 | 6.30pm – 7.30pm
£15 per person | Book Now
Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum 

Come and listen to this fascinating talk as part of the Friends of York Art Gallery lecture series. Sir Gabriele Finaldi will give a talk on the National Gallery’s collection, followed by a conversation with Professor Charles Martindale, Chair of the Friends, about his career and role as Director of one of the greatest galleries in the world.

The National Gallery has been much in the news recently. On May 10 2024 it became 200 years old, and the bicentenary celebrations continued into 2025, including the National Treasures exhibitions across the country (York receiving Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond). Its redisplay of the entire collection was received with great enthusiasm by art critics and public alike. The Sainsbury Wing entrance has now been remodelled as the Gallery’s principal entrance, and a new Members House has been designed. More recently it has won very substantial funds for further exciting capital developments, including space for 20th-century art and a research centre. And all this at a time of massive financial challenges in the cultural sector as a whole.

Sir Gabriele has been the principal architect of these successes. His doctoral thesis at the Courtauld was on the Spanish baroque artist Ribera. In 2002 he was appointed Deputy Director for Collections and Research at the Prado in Madrid, and he has a special association with Spanish art (including Velázquez, Zurbarán, Murillo, Sorolla, Picasso). As a curator he has taken the lead in numerous exhibitions in the UK, Spain, Italy, and Belgium. He was appointed Director of the National Gallery in 2015, and knighted in 2025 for services to art and culture.

Don’t miss this is a rare opportunity to hear this major art-world figure.

This event is ran in collaboration with Friends of York Art Gallery.

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