York Art Gallery

York Art Gallery is a spectacular venue for a drinks reception, dinner or a gathering for colleagues and friends. The gallery is available for private hire outside of opening times – any evening from 6.30pm or during the day on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The gallery features a regularly changing exhibition found in the ground floor Madsen Galleries, a Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA), and accessible facilities including new toilets and a lift. The gallery is home to an impressive collection of paintings which span more than 600 years.

York Art Gallery is guaranteed to provide an inspiring and unique setting for your special event, and can host evening drinks receptions for up to 150 people.

Our established partnerships with Bradshaws and Sketch make it easy to organise a delicious range of food and drink for you and your guests.

The ground floor foyer and reception area can be completely transformed into a dining space, either as an informal buffet or canapé hour, or as a more formal seated meal. The upstairs Burton Gallery is also available for drinks receptions, with the option of serving guests their canapés, surrounded by the art collection. Indoor hire prices start from £650 + VAT for the evening.

Our new rooftop balcony with a private bar opened in summer 2024, which overlooks both the ancient city walls and Museum Gardens. This rooftop terrace is available to hire either as part of a larger event, or as a stand-alone hire for smaller events of up to 50 people. The balcony can be hired independently of the interior gallery at a rate of £450 + VAT for evening hire.

All private hire events at the York Art Gallery help to financially support the collections, historic buildings and continued cultural programming for the city.

Please contact us to find out more about availability and packages, or to arrange a viewing of the York Art Gallery.