THE art gallery at Ryedale Folk Museum is hosting an exhibition of works by organised by the Scott Creative Arts Foundation (SCAF).

‘Figuratively Speaking’ features paintings by the late Michael Scott and commissioned works by the Foundation’s artists in residence, Lucy Saggers and Peter Spafford.

Dr Sue Armstrong, one of the founding trustees of SCAF, which is based in Boroughbridge, said “We have hosted open days for our exhibitions at Ornhams Hall, which is where the charity is based, but this is the first time we’re taking out our collections into the wider community, and we’re incredibly excited to have been invited by Ryedale Folk Museum to display the ‘Figuratively Speaking’ collection throughout the autumn.”

The Scott Creative Arts Foundation was set up by Sue, a close friend of Michael and Eileen Scott, who was keen to provide a lasting legacy from their prolific creative works, which include paintings, novels and recordings. Following Eileen’s passing, and with Michael suffering from a terminal illness, Sue encouraged Michael to write narratives on as many of the works in the collection – which includes over 1,000 paintings – and sort them into collections. In total, over the next seven months, he completed nearly 500 narratives before he died, shortly after the charitable foundation had been established in 2016.

“This is the second of the collections which we have ready and available to tour, and we’re currently curating a further three which we’re hoping will be displayed in traditional and unusual spaces around the region,” adds Sue. “We have an amazing collection of artworks at our fingertips, and it would give us great pleasure to share these with as many people as possible – whether that be libraries, care homes or other public spaces.”

The opening of the exhibition also saw the launch of a new annual Emerging Artists Award, supported by SCAF, which will give a platform for up-and-coming artists of all ages living in Yorkshire to have their works feature in a touring exhibition, with cash prizes of between £100 and £1,000 for the ten successful artists.

Figuratively Speaking is open daily until December 2 with free admission. For more information go to www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk/art-gallery