Members of the public can now explore all four floors of the exhibition in Low Ousegate for free.
The Vandals at Work street artists group (formerly known as Bombsquad) is behind the exhibition which displays work by more than 30 artists.
“It’s the third year in the trilogy – it had to be better than last year,” said Sharon McDonagh, one of the artists taking part and a Vandals at Work Member.
Sharon McDonagh, one of the artists taking part and a Vandals at Work Member (Image: Dylan Connell) She admitted that completely redesigning the building was a “daunting” task but said: “We’re lucky that a lot of artists asked us to come on board.”
These included local artists and others from as far as the Netherlands.
The exhibition is once again raising money for youth homeless charity Safe and Sound Homes (SASH).
Sharon said it was a “real honour” to be working with the charity.
It aims to highlight that not every child has their own bedroom, Sharon said. “It’s a thing that we take for granted so that resonates better with visitors. That’s very moving.”
Youth homeless figures are displayed on the bedroom’s walls, such as SASH providing 67,174 beds in the past five years across its North and East Yorkshire network.
The young people who helped create the bedroom display “really benefited” from the project, Aimée added. “They make friends and it boosts their self esteem.”
It also resulted in one of these young people displaying their own artwork at the wider exhibition.
Aimée pointed to an artwork by the young person and said: “To see them from day one to now, their confidence has improved so much.
“They now want to work with us to help fundraise.”
‘An amazing use of an empty space,’ says mayor
The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, was among those in attendance at the exhibition’s launch on Thursday evening (July 10).
“It’s an amazing use of an empty space,” he said. “We have so many artists in York.
“You think it’s this old medieval city, but if you scratch beneath the surface there’s this incredible art scene.
“We need to do a better job of promoting York as a creative place.”
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The mayor added: “The artists all know York as a place to come and do this sort of artwork.
“We have a job to do more – a lot of the time people don’t see their high streets and cities as being a place for them.
“But when you see stuff like this, it’s a very much part of the community. It’s a very good way to see the work.”
The Vandals at Work exhibition takes place in Low Ousegate from 11am to 6pm over the weekends of July 11 to 13, July 18 to 20, and July 25 to 27.
