AN ART show "with a difference" is on its way to York Racecourse next week. The three-day festival art&York 2017 is run by a team of three creative talents with the aim of making art accessible and affordable.

Formerly known as The Art Market, the show is not only a place to see established and up-and-coming artists but also a place to learn about art at daily demonstrations and talks and interactive areas, where festival visitors have the chance to "get hands on" with clay.

Behind the October 27 to 29 event and the art& organisation are ceramicist Emily Stubbs, sculptor Brendan Hesmondhalgh and artist Victoria Robinson.

Their vision for the show has seen it grow over the past decade from a small event hosted in Holmfirth to its move three years ago to York Racecourse. Visitor numbers have increased year on year, doubling at last year’s event.

"Our vision when we first started was to create the kind of show we wanted to be part of," says Emily. "We wanted to make buying and selling original art as easy, fun and accessible as possible, with potential new collectors able to own an original piece at an affordable price." Those prices range from £10 to £10,000.

York Press:

Lucy Pass in her studio

"As we're Yorkshire artists, we're passionate about the county having a strong platform for artists, buyers, collectors and art enthusiasts to meet, as well as creating a place where buying art is accessible to everyone,” adds Emily.

This year’s event will feature more than 120 artists exhibiting work in every kind of medium, while ten installations promise to give visitors food for thought and three hour-long daily workshops will be open for anyone wanting to try something new. Emily Stubbs will be leading mark making on clay, while two of the art& Raw Talent artists, Jessica Grady and Buttercrumble, will lead mixed-media embroidery techniques and portrait illustrations respectively.

"The workshops are a great opportunity for visitors to have a go at something completely different," says Emily. "Who knows, they may find a new passion or at the very least have a lot of fun. There's no need to book or bring anything with them; just turn up."

Look out for the artwork by art&’s Raw Talent Award winners, a showcase prompted by art&'s awareness of the difficulties faced by emerging artists. Under this mentoring scheme, the 12 developing artists given the Raw Talent award receive guidance and business advice from the three organisers and space at the three-day show.

“Over the years we've been putting on art events, emerging artists have been asking for advice on the same key areas such as presentation, pricing, trade, and marketing," says Victoria. "Creating the award grew out of not only our own experiences, but also the real need of artists, and culminates in the opportunity to exhibit their work at the show.

York Press:

The face of art: Lucy Pass

"Developing the Raw Talent Award, and our purpose to help other artists make their passion a career, is the reason we decided to change our name from The Art Market to art&. We've become more than an art show, which our name now reflects; we're also art&Mentoring and art&Courses."

The search for the Raw Talent Award winners began six months ago when the art& organisers interviewed more than 30 emerging artists, shortlisted from 60 applicants.

"From this shortlist, we selected 12 amazingly talented artists across a wide range of art forms to receive a free stand at the show plus mentoring and support in producing a cohesive collection, stand design, pricing, presentation, promotion and business," says Victoria. "art&York is the perfect opportunity to meet the winners in person and buy or commission their work."

The chosen 12 are Angus Vasilis, exhibiting bold, bright and colourful prints inspired by traditional and contemporary architecture; Buttercrumble, Live Art: utilising the windows and walls to produce a large-scale mural; Clare Phelan, printmaking using 19th and early 20th century artefacts, such as textile jacquards and pianola rolls; Dawn Ridsdel, hand-built ceramic vessel and cloud forms hinting at open spaces, skies, seas, stars and planets; Gabriella Petruso, illustration using coloured inks to create characters with a whimsical feel, and Jessica Grady, contemporary embroidery creating tactile, abstract patterns.

Kate McLaughlin will exhibit jewellery inspired by architectural volumes, voids and negative spaces; Kevin Threlfall, atmospheric paintings using colour and texture, inspired by the Pennines; Ralph Shuttleworth, wood sculpture utilising coloured stains, metal leaf and carving; Rosemary McGarr, ceramic sculpture inspired by the natural and urban environment; Tori Tipton, semi-abstract seascape paintings of distant memories and recent observations, and Zoe Stainton, figurative sculptures in felted wool of local wildlife and farm animals.

York Press:

art& organisers Victoria Robinson, left, Emily Stubbs and Brendan Hesmondhalgh

As part of their growing portfolio, the art& team has been busy developing their new courses, available to buy online at the art& website, artand.co.uk. "These courses are designed to reflect our ethos of helping artists develop their talents and learn more about creating art and taking part in shows," says Victoria.

"The wonderful thing about art& is it's constantly evolving and we're finding new ways to support up-and-coming talent. The online courses mean we can offer that help in a really accessible way, no matter where an artist is based."

Doors open at 10am at the Knavesmire Stand of York Racecourse on all three days with next Friday's closing time at 8pm, next Saturday, 6pm; next Sunday 4pm. Tickets cost £6.50, concessions £5.50, children under 14 free; three-day tickets are available too at artand.co.uk