NEW VISUALITY
Holgate ward, York CREATIVITY LEADS TO CONFIDENCE
COMMUNITY PRIDE VIA ART AND MEETING THE LORD MAYOR
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WORKING WITH ST POPPLETON ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL
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From the Director Holgate’s Collage of Advocacy turned the ward’s priorities into photographs, slogans, paintings and digital art, bringing everything together in one collaborative community artwork. The project celebrated Holgate’s distinctive past as well as the neighbourhood it had become. Around 50 years on from the height of its railway heritage, the area still carried traces of the busy residential suburb that grew around it: local shops, familiar streets and important green spaces. While places such as Stafford Place and Eagle Street had disappeared, Hob Moor had become an increasingly valued space for recreation, wildlife and community life. Through after-school clubs at Poppleton Road Primary School and creative sessions at Poppleton Road Memorial Hall, young people explored what made Holgate feel like home. They photographed their surroundings, created artwork, developed slogans and looked at the importance of local businesses, parks, biodiversity and shared community spaces. The sessions also gave local families a welcome break while young artists spent time creating with an experienced, fully DBS-checked team in familiar venues within walking distance. At the heart of the project was a simple idea: to celebrate what was already good about Holgate while giving young people the chance to add their own voices to its story. The finished collage was exhibited at Poppleton Road Memorial Hall and Poppleton Road Primary School — a shared portrait of Holgate’s heritage, creativity and community pride.
Greg McGee Co-Director, Greg McGee
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SUCCESS / ENJOYMENT /COMMUNITY / SAFETY
Poppleton Road Primary School’s values of Success, Enjoyment, Community and Safety ran naturally through the project. Young people were encouraged to try new things,
MAKING ART OUT OF VALUES IMBUED BY POPPLETON ROAD PRIMARY IN HOLIDAY ACTTIVITIES AND SCHOOL VISITS
enjoy being creative and take pride in what they achieved, while working alongside others in a supportive and welcoming environment. The sessions with pupils and ex-pupils also gave artists opportunities to think about their local area, community spaces and the people around them. Much of the work reflected those values in practice: building confidence, encouraging cooperation and helping young people feel connected to Holgate. The finished artwork celebrated not only individual creativity, but also the importance of belonging, wellbeing and having safe, positive opportunities close to home.
“It’s always good to work with Greg, he always gets the best out of the children. We’re looking forward to welcoming him in October 2026.” Ellie Dawson, Headteacher
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INTRODUCING: NEW VOICE PROJECT, HOLGATE
THE WARD’S ANIMATORS AND FILMMAKERS: NOAH, JIM, GRACE, URIEL, BAILEY. 18 YEAR OLD HOPE LEADS THE CHAT.
What would you like to do in the future? We want to keep going out with New Voice Project and finding more interesting places around Holgate. We have already been taking photos at West Bank Park, the Iron Bridge and the allotments. West Bank Park was great because there was loads to photograph — trees, birds, paths and all the different little corners. The Iron Bridge looked amazing in photos because of all the metal, shapes and shadows, and it made us think about how important the railway has been to Holgate. The allotments were completely different because they felt really quiet and green, even though they are so close to Holgate Road. What kind of art do you make? We have been using photography, drawing and mixed media to show the places we visit. Sometimes the best thing is just noticing stuff you would normally walk straight past. At West Bank Park we were looking at wildlife, trees and details in nature. At the bridge we were more interested in the huge metal structure and getting unusual angles. The traffic is interesting to capture too. The allotments were good for colour, plants and all the little handmade things people have added to their plots. It has made us realise there is actually loads to photograph and draw around Holgate once you start properly looking.
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What inspires your work? The Iron Bridge is probably one of the coolest things we photographed in Holgate because it is completely functional, but it also looks like something from a film. It is this massive structure of steel, girders and rivets carrying the road over all the railway lines. From underneath, especially, it hardly feels like York. It looks more like something you would expect to find in New Jersey or another old industrial American city. We loved photographing all the different angles, shadows and shapes. Some of our pictures made it look quite dark and dramatic. We actually joked that if Batman ever came to York, the Iron Bridge would definitely have to be in the film! New Voice Project were recognised by the Lord Mayor of York herself. She praised the young people for their creativity, enthusiasm and contribution to the community, thanking them for sharing their artwork and representing Holgate with such pride.
“It’s been fantastic to see Holgate’s New Voice Project recognised for its creativity. They’ve grown in confidence, developed their skills and really taken ownership. They thoroughly deserve to have their ideas and achievements celebrated.” — Greg McGee
Do you think getting out around Holgate and exploring local places helps people feel more connected? Definitely. Going out with a camera gives you a reason to walk around. I’m not sure if it was our imagination but litter seems a lot less of a problem in 2026. There was more smiling, and sharing and caring in the attitudes of cyclists and cars. It’s a good sign for the future! That links closely with Holgate Ward’s priorities around resilient communities, connection and access, and green and community spaces. Do creative projects help with that too? Yes. Projects like New Voice give young people something positive to do together and help us feel more involved in the area. We all agreed that we’re all sometimes guilty of taking things for granted. It’s not until you actually walk around West Bank park that you realise just how lovely it is, and how grateful we should be, to be honest.
The ward also wants to protect and
Why do you think locally funded activities
improve green and community spaces. Has
like these are important?
working on this project changed how you
Because they give young people something
think about Holgate?
creative to do close to home and help them
Yes. Spending time around places like West
feel more connected to where they live.
Bank Park and the allotments made us think
Not everyone can travel across York or pay
more about why green spaces matter to ALL
for expensive activities, so having sessions
of us just the people growing things.
in local community venues makes a big
When you are taking photographs or making
difference. It also helps young people meet
artwork, you start noticing more — trees,
others, build confidence and feel that
wildlife, paths, buildings. Even how cars and
places like Holgate’s parks, halls and
bikes are careful around each other in busy
neighbourhood spaces belong to them too.
places. St Pauls do an amazing job with
What would you like to improve next?
traffic awareness.
We want to keep improving our photography
Our New Voice sessions took place at
and art skills, but also get better at telling
Poppleton Road Memorial Hall and Dalton
stories about Holgate itself.
Terrace, separately from our award-winning
That might mean experimenting with
Art Camp. The only crossover was that we
different kinds of photography, trying more
employed some young people with Holgate
drawing and mixed media. We have started
postcodes as Art Advocates, giving them
thinking about using drones. Rowan, one of
the chance to help support younger
the assistants, showed us a quick look.
participants and take on more responsibility.
Holgate looks amazing from the air! So a big
Holgate teenagers are a credit to the ward.
yes please to drone footage.
New Visuality / Holgate Ward
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MEETING THE LORD MAYOR
“Holgate is a beautiful and busy area of York. New Voice Project do a wonderful job in capturing that in their art and I look forward to seeing their work in more places in the future.” The Lord Mayor of York, August 2026 “Lily loved using a professional camera. Meeting the Lord Mayor was really special — she answered their questions, signed their artwork and made them feel proud of Holgate.” — Rachel, parent “Sam loved trying proper camera equipment and meeting the Lord Mayor. She was really welcoming, answered their questions and signed their work. He came home very proud.” — David, parent “Mia really enjoyed the photography and art. Meeting the Lord Mayor was a highlight — she was kind, welcoming and interested in their work. It made Mia feel proud of her school and the friends she meets to lay in the park. I was really impressed
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with the artwork too!” — Claire, parent
BY URIEL FOMEKONG, TEENAGE ADVOCATE FROM HOLGATE
RE DRAW ING MAPS We used AI to augment young people’s original artwork “Grace’s drawing was fantastic, and we loved
and reimagine Holgate through new illustrated maps. West Bank Park, the Iron Bridge, the Fox pub, Holgate
how other young people
Road, Acomb Road and the railway all featured alongside
from Holgate added their
the area’s houses, trees and green spaces.
own ideas too. I was
The technology helped extend rather than replace the
really proud to help turn it
children’s ideas, turning familiar Holgate landmarks into a
into a new map
colourful picture of the place they know. It also
celebrating the area and
encouraged them to think about the ward’s railway
the places that matter to us.” Uriel
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heritage, community spaces, wildlife and the importance of feeling connected to where you live.
Making Art based on the area for sale online
POPPLETON ROAD MEMORIAL HALL
We spent time working from Poppleton Road Memorial Hall, a community venue on Oak Street just off Poppleton Road in Holgate. The hall has its own important story: it first opened in 1946 as a living memorial to local people who lost their lives during the Second World War. Its original building was made from a former RAF barrack hut, with recycled bricks from a demolished air-raid shelter used in the foundations. The present brick hall opened in 1990. That history made it a particularly fitting place for the project. It was not simply somewhere to hold creative sessions, but a building created around ideas of community, memory and local people coming together. From the hall, we began looking more closely at Holgate itself — its railway heritage, West Bank Park, the Iron Bridge, the allotments and the streets around Poppleton Road. Young people discussed what made the area distinctive and how familiar local places could become the starting point for photography, drawing and collaborative artwork. The strongest direction became a shared creative response to Holgate: something shaped by young people, local landmarks, memories and community pride, and something that could celebrate the area through both physical and digital artwork.
BY ISLA MCGEE / 18
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THANK YOU HOLGATE WARD!
DESIGN BY HOLGATE’S NEW VOICE PROJECT BASED ON THE HOPES AND DREAMS OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF THE WARD The finished collage brought the project full circle, returning to our original mission: to celebrate Holgate’s success stories through the eyes of
CELEBRATING A COLLABORATIVE COLLAGE CREATED BY HOLGATE’S NEW VOICE PROJECT AND PUPILS FROM POPPLETON ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL, BRINGING TOGETHER YOUNG PEOPLE’S IDEAS, ARTWORK AND PRIDE IN THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY.
young people. Created collaboratively by Holgate’s New Voice Project and pupils from Poppleton Road Primary School, the final piece combined photography, drawings, slogans and digital artwork into one energetic portrait of the ward. West Bank Park, the Iron Bridge, Poppleton Road Memorial Hall, local streets, community spaces and Holgate’s railway heritage all found their place within it. Just as importantly, the collage celebrated the people behind those places: young creatives, families, community venues and the networks that help make Holgate feel connected. What emerged was more than a collection of individual artworks. It became a shared statement about resilience, access, green spaces, creativity and local pride. The young people did not simply document Holgate; they looked again at familiar surroundings and showed us what was worth valuing, protecting and celebrating. The result was colourful, collaborative and unmistakably Holgate — a
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community telling its own positive story, together.