Yorkshire is full of gorgeous art spaces and opportunities to appreciate a wide range of artwork. So whatever artistic mood you’re in, there will be something you can enjoy.
So, as the weather gets colder and wetter, take shelter in a gallery and take in some arts and culture in Yorkshire this autumn. Here’s some of what’s happening:
Helios at Fountains Abbey
Helios is a seven-metre sculpture of the sun by artist Luke Jerram that “combines light, solar imagery and sounds recorded by NASA to bring the sun’s intricate details to a new light”. It will be at Fountains Abbey in Ripon this autumn for two weekends only: 4-5 and 11-12 October.
The National Trust say, “Fountains Abbey will make for an unforgettable backdrop for the large, glowing sun underneath the natural skies and surrounded by the bright colours of autumn in the landscape. To the monks who founded this special place, the sun was a vital part of the cycle of their lives.
“Luke Jerram’s innovative installation is illuminated from within and has a detailed surface made up from solar imagery. One centimetre of this impressive sculpture represents 200km of the sun’s surface. Together with the soundscape created from NASA recordings, this immersive experience allows you to explore the intricacies, power and scale of the sun’s surface in a way you never have before.”
Echoes of Yorkshire: The Museum Illuminated at York Museum Gardens
Ok, so I said that seeing art was a good way to shelter from the rain, but why not wrap up warm and check out this “extraordinary light and sound installation created by internationally acclaimed Luxmuralis”.
From 24 October til 2 November 2025, attendees can “experience the gardens’ history from the Roman period to its time as an Abbey, and discover the Yorkshire Museum collection spanning 60 million years from the Jurassic, the Mesolithic, through to the Romans, Viking, Anglo-Saxon and Medieval. Luxmuralis is all about fine art, light and sound reflecting closely on the history and heritage of places and weaves together the contemporary and the ancient, making York Museum Gardens the perfect location for such a show!”.
Caroline Walker: Mothering at The Hepworth Wakefield
Caroline Walker “is known for her accomplished paintings which offer a lens into the everyday lives of women” and this exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield, which is on until 26th October, displays her portrayals of themes of motherhood and caring for children in their early years.
“Through her large canvases, intimate panels and ink sketches, she portrays diverse female subjects in settings that blur the boundaries between public and private. Her works reveal the complex social, cultural and economic experiences of women living in contemporary society.”
Liliane Tomasko: The Psyche of the Portrait at the Millennium Gallery
Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery is home to The Psyche of the Portrait by Liliane Tomasko until 12th October. Tomasko is known for colourful and bold abstract paintings and in The Psyche of the Portrait, she “respond[s] to examples of portraiture from Sheffield’s Visual Art collection with her own abstract vocabulary. Shedding light on the ever-changing human psyche, the exhibition presents new work by Tomasko directly responding to portraits”.
By responding in this way to portraits by artists such as Frank Auerbach, Pierre Bonnard, Kees Van Dongen, and Eduardo Paolozzi, she draws parallels between the original works and psychology. As a result, in this exhibition, “Together, they question the psychological power dynamics of artist and sitter, query the role of the subconscious in the creative act, and reimagine parables in the context of our 21st-century anxieties”.
Vision and Labour: Making Comics exhibition – The art of Avery Hill Publishing at Mercer Art Gallery
Harrogate’s Mercer Art Gallery will be home to a collaboration with Avery Hill Publishing for an exhibition showcasing some of the most exciting comic creators from 18 October to 26 April 2026.
“On display will be original artwork by 16 diverse artists, shown alongside their finished books, and filmed interviews. The exhibition will give insights into the creative process of making comics, and the different working practices of each artist, ranging from meticulous ink drawings to spectacular, digitally-created imagery.”.
Ghosts in the Gardens at York BID
If you’ve got an affinity to the spooky, from 19th September to 2nd November you can see a display of translucent 3D sculptures made from narrow gauge wire mesh in what is reputed to be one of the most haunted cities in Europe.