Exhibition Gallery Archive
Since Skipton Town Hall reopened in June 2021 after it’s major redevelopment programme, our Exhibition Gallery has shown an ambitious programme of exhibitions from local, national and international artists and crafts people. We have showcased community projects and hightlighted exciting stories from the Craven Museum collection.
This archive allows you to look back through past exhibitions and events in the Exhibition Gallery.
If you are interested in finding out more about a particular exhibition, or applying to exhibit with us, please contact the Exhibition Team at arts.cra@northyorks.gov.uk
2026
Belonging
by Pioneer Projects
17th January – 11th April 2026
What does it mean to belong?
For each of us, belonging takes a different shape; a feeling, a memory, a moment of connection. It might be found in the places we call home, in the people who make us feel seen, or in the small acts of creativity that remind us who we are.
This exhibition brings together work created by participants from across Pioneer Project’s Creative Health programmes and community; people living with long-term mental ill health, disabilities, memory loss, or simply seeking new ways to connect. Through painting, textiles, collage, sculpture, music, performance and mixed media, they have explored identity, pride, reflection, and connection. At its heart, Belonging celebrates creativity as a bridge – between people and places, between past and present, between self and community. Each artwork holds a story: of courage, of expression, of nothing or something, of finding joy and meaning through making.
This exhibition is both a celebration and an invitation to pause, to look closely, and to feel part of something larger. Because when we create, we connect. And in connection, we belong.
Sturnidae
SHELFIES: Up close and personal
15th September – 24th December 2025
A Yorkshire-based collective of six artists explore the creative potential of everyday objects – old or new, found or made, gifted or borrowed. Through temporary installations and curated “SHELFIES,” each artist presents a personal collection that has inspired a series of responsive works including paintings, drawings, and sculptures.
The Sturnidae Artists are: David Ashby, Carine Brosse, Jacquie Denby, Chris Murray, Tony Stephenson and Philippa Troutma
2025
My Nana’s Cabinet
31st July – 27th August 2025
Inspired by the contents of a china cabinet belonging to her grandmother, Nelson uses silk fabrics and intricate hand embroidery to meticulously recreate each object, exploring the fragility of memory. Nelson will be working in our Exhibition Gallery throughout August to complete My Nana’s Cabinet.
The accompanying exhibition will explore her research and development for this piece. At the core of Nelson’s practice is storytelling and the murkiness of the “truth” of one’s own recollections. Her practice embodies vulnerability through a combination of object (primarily hand embroidery), text and film.
Nelson is a contemporary conceptual artist based in Essex. She graduated from the Royal College of Art (2023) and featured in Skipton Town Hall’s exhibition ‘Emerging Yorkshire Artists’ in 2024.
Designed For War
The graphic power of Second World War posters
9th June – 23rd July 2025
Marking the 80th Anniversary of VE Day, this exhibition explores the power of design in shaping public perception and fueling the war effort. Highlighting a wide selection of posters donated to Craven Museum by W.W Holgate which were collected during the war itself alongside objects from the museum’s collection, it connects national narratives to the local histories of Craven and beyond.
2024
Curiosity – Contemporary Lace by 98 Lace
14th September – 23rd December 2024
Showcase of contemporary lace by the group 98 Lace. Artwork displayed will show a range of exciting projects the group have undertaken in recent years, including pieces inspired by items from the Craven Museum collection and a special collection of pieces created to celebrate 78 Derngate, Northampton, the only house in England designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
98 Lace are creative lacemakers with varied textile backgrounds, united by the common goal of giving modern lace a more vibrant public profile and making it more accessible to audiences. The group was set up in London in 1998 and now has members based throughout the British Isles, including here in Yorkshire.
Yorkshire’s Emerging Artists
15th June – 2nd September 2024
Showcasing the artwork of thirty-eight artists, this exhibition brings together exciting work by emerging talent living in, studying in, or from Yorkshire. Featuring sculpture, painting, film, textiles, and photography, the exhibition follows an open call for submissions from early career artists earlier this year.
Yorkshire’s Emerging Artists explores topics such as the environment, identity, social issues and activism. Visitors will get the opportunity to explore and purchase work from a variety of early career artists.
The gallery is open Mon-Sat, 9.30am-4.30pm. Entry is free.
Some artwork in this exhibition are available for sale, please ask at the front desk if you have any further questions.
Exhibiting artists: Jack So, Nick Smith, Maddy Salgado, Eve Frances, David Kenney, Grace MacFarlane, Lucy Cross (LUCE), Phee Jefferies, Jessica Swift, Khloe Baker, Pippa Foulds, Jemima Spence, Elliott Howard, Murniah Skinner, Ella McBride, Amy McGurk, Nelson, Jonathan Little, Zoe Maxwell, Zoe Phillips, Alexandra Müller, Adam Shaw, Hannah Archer, Alison Sayers, Lisa Power, Rory Williams, Tristian Felix, Nicola Rawnsley, Nicholas White, Ruth Heaton, David Collins, Jasmine Foo, Zahra Massey, Andrew Fitzgibbon, Jamie Avis, Rebecca Buchanan, Jamie Avis, Gemma Bailey.
Artwork featuring work by: Ruth Heaton, Jemima Spence, Ella McBride, Lucy Cross (LUCE) and Nicola Rawnsley
Soundscapes
14th March – 1st June 2024
Skipton Camerata presents Soundscapes, an immersive audio-video installation created by projection artist Michaela French and composer Ben Crick showcasing the diverse scenery of the Yorkshire Dales. Projected inside a purpose-built hemispherical dome, Soundscapes combines 360° videography with a symphonic soundtrack inspired by the landscape.
The story behind the music-and-nature installation, the design and construction of the dome, and the health and wellbeing reasons that motivated the project are told in the enclosing exhibition.
Soundscapes is funded by Arts Council England, Skipton Building Society, the Tarn Moor Estate and Northumbria University.
A Year: Creativity, Connection & Community
15th January – 26th February 2024
Pioneer Projects present an exhibition of exciting and beautiful artworks that document a year of creative collaboration across Craven.
Celebrating positive change for mental health and wellbeing through community connections.
2023
Contemporary Craft: Threads of Tradition
2nd October – 23rd December 2023
This unique exhibition brings together contemporary crafts by talented makers alongside our own Craven Museum objects, which delve into the rich tapestry of crafts throughout the ages.
From early jewellery pieces created by our Bronze Age ancestors to the cutting-edge creations of today’s artisans, Contemporary Craft: Threads of Tradition explores the enduring and evolving spirit of craft.
This exhibition highlights ceramics, woodworking, textiles, metalworking, and jewellery.
Our museum objects spotlight crafting through different time periods, offering insights into the ways people used their skills to create functional and artistic objects. From ancient pottery to mid-century woodwork, these objects tell stories of innovation and tradition.
Artists and makers continue to push the boundaries of creativity. Mirroring the types of craft exhibited from the museum collection, the contemporary work displayed celebrates the diversity of talents and materials employed by today’s artists. From intricate sculpture to sustainable textiles – the fusion of tradition and innovation is explored. The examples displayed in the exhibition are by contemporary makers living and working in Yorkshire.
We hope to celebrate contemporary craft and how artists are both honouring and reimagining traditional practice.
North Yorkshire Open Studios Showcase
5th July – 16th September 2023
This summer gallery exhibition featured the selected artwork of thirty artists and makers from across North Yorkshire, that opened up their studios to the public in June 2023.
Visitors to the exhibition had the chance to discover everything from sculpture and oil paintings, to textiles and ceramics – as well as purchase pieces on display. The exhibition highlighted diverse artwork from artists from the coast to the moors, dales, and beyond.
Sidor Avoda
From the Kibbutz to the Calendar Girls’ Yorkshire
23th March – 17th June 2023
Celebrating twenty years since the release of the ‘Calendar Girls’ screenplay, we presented a unique exhibition displaying photographs from a reimagined calendar from Israel.
The Sidor Avoda (meaning ‘Work Schedule’) exhibition came about when members of the Shaar-Hagolan Kibbutz, 2600 miles from Craven, saw the 2003 film ‘Calendar Girls’ and started a conversation with a local designer.
The creative project evolved and connections were made between the past and the present, the young with the elderly, traditional core values with those of the modern-day kibbutz environment.
As well as looking at the Israeli project the exhibition will delve into the Craven Museum collection, showcasing objects related to the original Calendar Girls story, 24 years after the original ‘Alternative WI Calendar’ was released by the members of Craven based Rylstone Women’s Institute.
We were delighted that members of the Kibbutz travelled all the way to Skipton to join us at the exhibition launch and had the oppotunity to meet some of the original Calendar Girls.
2022
Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me:
Emily, the moors, and the landscape of creative Craven
8th October – 23rd December 2022
We are teaming up with upcoming film “Emily” for this exciting new exhibition.
“Every Leaf Speaks Bliss to Me: Emily, the moors, and the landscape of creative Craven” will look at the world of creativity inspired by the amazing Craven Dales landscapes. At the heart of the exhibition are exclusive items from upcoming theatrical release, “Emily”.
The iconic dress worn by lead actress Emma Mackey made by Academy Award winning costume designer Michael O’Connor – will be displayed alongside film stills and behind-the-scenes interviews with cast and crew.
As well as delving into the creative process behind the film and some of it’s filming locations here in Craven, the exhibition will showcase other great examples of the landscape weaving its magic into creative practice, drawing on Craven Museum’s extensive collections of fine art, natural history, literature and music to tell the tale.
Transient Treasures
by Ekaterina Sheath
9th July – 17th September 2022
Illustrator Ekaterina Sheath presents an innovative exhibition and explores Craven Museum’s unique ephemera collection, challenging our interpretation of an item’s ‘value’ and how this changes over time. Bespoke illustrations accompany the ephemera objects on display, seeking to bring to life the stories hidden behind each item.
Whether it is tales of hidden mice or social dances for mill workers, Craven Museum is full of stories.
The Roebuck Collection
Dale, City & Sea
20th Century Landscapes
19th March – 5th June 2022
Dale, City & Sea is a showcase of 20th century landscape work from the Roebuck Collection. The Roebuck Collection is 145 paintings, watercolours, prints, drawings and sculpture, all collected by Clement Roebuck. He left the collection as a bequest to Craven Museum & Gallery which is now its permanent home.
Visitors are invited to get creative by adding colour and detail to three large scale community landscape pieces.
Colours of Nature – Rotary Young Photographer Competition
15th January – 5th March 2022
The photography of over 70 entrants to the Skipton Rotary International Young Photographer Competition, was displayed in a colourful exhibition in our gallery.
Young people aged 3 to 17 from a group of schools and community organisations across Craven took part in the contest, responding to this year’s exciting theme of ‘Colours of Nature’.
The Rotary International Young Photographer Competition takes place in Great Britain and Ireland every year. It aims to encourage young people to experiment with photography, develop creative skills, interpretate the topic and respond to their surroundings through the medium of photography.
Alongside the young people’s photography work, visitors were able to see a selection of work by the competition judge, Juliet Klottrup. Klottrup is an award winning Artist combining photography and filmmaking, based in North Yorkshire. Her work explores themes of youth, community, rural living and the relationship we have with our landscape.
2021
Kitty North: A Yorkshire Vision
8th November – 23rd December 2021
Kitty North’s solo exhibition ‘A Yorkshire Vision’ showcases works created during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. North was entirely absorbed in her art during these times. She was to be found up hill and down dale, sketchbook in hand, documenting the peace and beauty of the natural world and the creatures within it.
Kitty North’s work has been widely exhibited and collected around the world. Recent years have been full of many different projects across the UK, including multi-part works for Salts Mill, Chatsworth House and Bolton Abbey.
Echoes: Material memories of inhabited space
13th September – 30th October 2021
Cononley-based artist Barbara Greene uses contemporary artworks, prints, cyanotypes, artist books and 3D installations to give new insights into our local history.
Barbara explores some of the mix of arts and sciences, events and discoveries, which influenced the growth and development of 400 years of life along the Aire valley. An exhibition for the curious.
Celebrate!
21st June – 2nd September 2021
In Celebrate we wanted to explore how individuals across Craven celebrate some of the important things in life – birth, marriage, family get-togethers, festivals and galas.
The exhibition also celebrated the reopening of Skipton Town Hall showcasing ‘before and after’ pictures of Craven Museum, the Concert Hall, Education Room and the Visitor Information Centre – now our Grade II listed building has been revitalised into a cultural hub for Craven!
For this exhibition we received lots of creative input from individuals who worked with Pioneer Projects; through Yesmien Bagh Ali talking to and working with members from the Pakistani, Chinese, Turkish, Syrian, Indian, Swedish and Polish communities in Skipton; and contributions from the Skipton Stitchers embroidery group.
