Langwith Arts: a blank canvas for enterprising York students

Painting by Richard Barnes, from exhibition entitled "Reflections on a Voyage"

Langwith Arts is the brainchild of Dr John Issitt, Provost of Langwith College. In a bid to redevelop his college as a dynamic and cultural hub, 2006 saw the first Langwith Arts Festival – a series of student-organised events over a May bank holiday weekend with a theme, ‘movement’. A varied programme incorporated Dance, Pantomime, Afro-Caribbean and Juggle Societies, a Jazz band, a Barbershop quartet and a group of break dancers. It was novel and well attended, and Issitt’s hopes seemed to be coming into fruition.

But since then, things have begun to snowball.