Key Information
Counties:
North YorkshireYear of Inscription:
2014Link to Website:
www.guildofmediaarts.com
York UNESCO City of Media Arts
Time does not stand still in York. Two thousand years of history offer a glorious backdrop to the best in contemporary culture. Excellent universities and colleges support world-leading media arts companies and grassroots cultural venues thrive alongside renowned theatres and museums to inspire visitors and residents. York’s UNESCO status as a City of Media Arts is unique in the UK. International exchange shapes the city’s festivals, helping to secure creativity in the heart of York, now and in the future.
What makes this UNESCO Designation special?
As a walkable city, bounded by its famous walls, York holds surprises at every turn in its ancient streets. The medieval Mystery Plays are still performed from the top of farm wagons, while promenade theatre performances, digital light projections and street art pop up regularly.
As part of a global network York collaborates with other creative cities. You may find York’s children taking part in the global ‘Draw with Denmark’ campaign, or artists from Gwangju (Korea) or Cali (Colombia) showing their work in collaboration with York’s community of media arts.
Well established festivals enliven the city in every season. The Festival of Early Music was established in 1977, the BAFTA-accredited Aesthetica Short Film Festival has grown in influence since 2011, and the Jorvik Viking Festival has attracted an international audience since 1985. Each year the University of York offers the Festival of Ideas as a forum for public debate and inspiration.
York’s leading media arts companies have credits for global film productions, games and the apps on our phones and TVs. Their cutting-edge technology brings the past and the future to immersive life for the visitor to experience; whether feeding a dinosaur, or living in the Stone Age, interacting with digital creativity, or meeting artists in their open studios.
