A POPULAR York outdoor event says its first weekend has ‘surpassed expectations’ as hundreds flock to the banks of the River Ouse to browse art.
York River Art Market (YRAM) has celebrated a successful first weekend (August 1 and 2) – one of three – in Dame Judi Dench Walk, next to Museum Gardens in York.
The event, which sees stalls line the riverside from Lendal Bridge to Scarborough Bridge, was taken over by potter Caroline Turner this year after original owner Charlotte Dawson found herself unable to host the event due to work commitments.
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Caroline said that whilst she had been nervous in the run-up to the event, the weekend had “surpassed all her expectations so far”, with great reactions from visitors and vendors alike – with a mix of artists attending each of three weekends that the market takes place.
She said: “Yesterday was so busy - the weather was lovely and the footfall was pretty insane. It was so busy and that was great to see. I even saw a sale being made at one minute past 10 when we first opened.
“So far, Sunday has been a bit slower in the morning, possibly because the 10K was on, but it’s really starting to pick up again going into the afternoon.”
This year was the first time that the market had been held on both sides of the river path – something that vendors had said they ‘really enjoyed’ and allowed them to get creative with their displays, as well as further immersing visitors in the event.
Caroline enjoying her market
(Image: Alice Kavanagh)
Caroline added: “Everyone’s got a great big smile on their face, sales are going well, and people are chatting to the artists to find out about their art. It’s raising the profile of art in the city and it’s a lovely, calm experience. Everyone’s having a really lovely time.
“There’s a complete range of different mediums and we’ve even got a drop-in workshop today. We’re going to encourage artists to do more workshops and work from their stall, because people love the process, and we hope to open more pitches in future.”
One trader who was joining the market for the first time was Catherine Lines of All About Words Designs, who had travelled down from Sedgefield after visiting the city last year prompted her to want to get involved.
Catherine Lines at All About Words
(Image: Alice Kavanagh)
She said: “My husband and I came here at Christmas to stay over and we walked down the path here to get to our hotel. I must have seen the market advertised online and I just thought in the summer, that’s going to be amazing.
“I’ve never actually done anything further away than Middlesborough, but I thought I really wanted to try out a market in Yorkshire, so I created all the York and North Yorkshire designs specifically for this.
“It’s gorgeous and I’m really enjoying it down by the river – the atmosphere is so different to the community centre events that I’ve done in the past.”
Geraldine Pattinson of Bean Creative
(Image: Alice Kavanagh)
Also attending from the North East was Stockton based Geraldine Pattinson of Bean Creative who, alongside selling her own silver and copper jewellery, hosted ring making workshops that are set to return to the market for the next two weekends.
The workshops, which are priced at £7 each, are suitable for people of all ages and abilities – allowing them to make their own custom copper jewellery from scratch in around 20 to 30 minutes.
Sheri Scrunton (left) and Jackie Maidment (right) are regulars to the event
(Image: Alice Kavanagh)
There were also a number of local York based creatives at the event including friends Jackie Maidment and Sheri Scrunton, who shared a pitch to sell their ceramics together and said that the weekend had been ‘fabulous’.
Sheri said: “It’s our second day here today and we’ve done really well so far. We’ve been regulars here for about eight or nine years now and we tend to just do the one weekend.
Jackie added: “It’s just such a fab venue, it’s so lovely and you meet so many nice people. It’s great. We usually have a contest to see how far our work can travel from here, because so many tourists come along. I think the furthest that my work has travelled in the past is to Tazmania!”
The York River Art Market will take place over the next two weekends (August 8 and 9, and August 15 and 16), with stalls open from 10am to 5.30pm each day.