Enriching lives and connecting communities with workshops,
performances and community projects
Join Us!
The Courthouse is open: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm.
The Courthouse Café is open!
Office hours: Tuesday – Friday, 9am – 5pm.
Rural Arts is a charity that delivers inspiring and inclusive creative opportunities that enrich lives and connect communities.
We provide over 400 events and activities each year at our community arts centre in Thirsk, which is also home to an award-winning café, an artisan shop and rooms to hire.
We programme 70 performances per year in rural venues and lead a range of wellbeing and employment programmes to support vulnerable people.
Through work like this, we hope to achieve our vision: creativity at the heart of every community in North Yorkshire.
ON Tour Autumn 2023 Announcement
The new season of Rural Art’s exciting Rural Touring scheme arrives on doorsteps this September. Rural Arts is working with 40 village halls and community
Rural Arts 30th Anniversary Exhibition
On Tuesday the 6th of June Rural Arts, a North Yorkshire-based Arts Charity, will be showing a 2-week long exhibition to celebrate its 30thAnniversary which
Rural Arts Welcomes New CEO
Rural Arts, a North Yorkshire charity delivering inspiring and inclusive creative opportunities that enrich lives and connect communities, today welcomes its new CEO, Ian Read.
Rural Arts 30th Anniversary Exhibition Callout
Rural Arts turns 30! Share your memories of Rural Arts to be displayed in our upcoming exhibition. In June 2023, Rural Arts will be hosting
Free activities for children and young people this Christmas holidayAll children and young people across North Yorkshire can get involved in a range of activities, with free places and a free meal for eligible children and young people, thanks to funding from the Department for Education.
If your child is eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals or is made eligible by exception (see the website FAQs for details), you will receive a voucher from their school. This will enable you to book school holiday activities that are part of the FEAST programme for free, using the online platform HolidayActivities.
To see all the fantastic activities on offer and learn more about how to claim a free place, visit the FEAST website.
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There are so many ways you can get involved with Rural Arts
From taking part in a creative wellbeing project to promoting a live performance in your village, from booking a workshop at your school to volunteering at The Courthouse – there are so many ways you can get involved with Rural Arts!
Home of Rural Arts, The Courthouse is a friendly, vibrant community arts centre located in the beautiful market town of Thirsk.
Book your place on one of our workshops, indulge yourself in our café, or browse our shop, where you’ll find unique items made by independent artists.
