All members are invited to our 2026 AGM in York where they will be able to hear from our President Hilary Kay, and visit the Yorkshire Museum renowned for its collections of archaeological material and scientific specimens on Yorkshire.

This year’s AGM will be taking place on Thursday 25 June 2026 at the Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum, Museum Gardens in central York, YO1 7FR.

Programme for the Day:

Arrival and Registration - from 10am

Morning Session - 11.15am

• Welcome and Presidential Address by Hilary Kay
• Presentation of the Marsh Awards for Volunteering
• Old Craft, New Art - Illustrated talk by Helen Whittaker 

Lunch break - 12.30pm

Afternoon Session - 2pm

• Annual General Meeting

The day will begin with an address by our new president Hilary Kay, and the presentation of the Marsh Awards for volunteering. We will host our AGM in the afternoon with the opportunity to ask questions.

We are also delighted to be joined by Helen Whittaker MBE, an award-winning designer and maker of stained glass windows and metal sculpture from the Barley Studio in York. In her illustrated lecture Old Craft, New Art, Helen will talk about her inspirations and influences, the challenges in creating new stained glass and some of the collaborations she has enjoyed with other artists and craftspeople.

Helen has over 30 years of experience in stained glass creation and has created over 100 commissions in ecclesiastical and secular buildings, including two collaborations with Royal Academists for Westminster Abbey. Helen is Upper Warden of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers, a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters (FMGP), a Craft Scholar of the Prince’s Foundation and a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild, London.

As part of our booking with the Yorkshire Museum, we will be able to provide free tickets for delegates wishing to visit the Museum on the day. The tickets will enable access between 10am and 5pm and we can organise visits in groups before the morning session begins and during the lunch break.

Registration and attendance

There is no charge to attend the AGM but please could we ask that you register in advance so that we have numbers for the venue. Please register by 11 June 2026 using this Google form.

The agenda and papers will be circulated to Society voting representatives ahead of the meeting. We do hope to see many of you at the AGM.

If you have any queries regarding registration and attendance please email Jenny Gimpel on jenny@theartssociety.org.

Travel costs

The involvement of all our societies in the governance of The Arts Society is important to us. We will therefore be helping with travel costs for those societies that are further away and do not have the financial resources to support an attendee. To ensure this remains affordable and manageable the terms of this assistance will be: 

• One member per society (Chair or person nominated by the Chair)
• Return train (standard class), boat, or airfares (economy) only
• Member or own society asked to pay the first £25
• Maximum claim £200
• Other terms as per The Arts Society expenses form