Looking up at an art installation. This is part of Attending the Swarmgate Launch. It consists of black hexagons attached to the brick wall. Resin bees are attached to the hexagons.

Attending the Swarmgate Launch: Exploring Walmgate’s New Art

11th December 2025 - New Experience Number 34.

Jump to 'Try it yourself'

Attending the Swarmgate launch was a follow-up to the previous new experience I’d had: contributing to a community art project.

Heading to the opening night of the exhibition, artwork, and trail, this was another new experience to tick off towards my 52 new things challenge.

Firstly, What Is Swarmgate?

Walmgate is one of York’s historic streets, known for its mix of small businesses and rich history. But is often overlooked by visitors. It’s an area I am familiar with, as I walk along it to get to town, and often visit some of the utterly delicious independent eateries.

The University of York and York Creatives worked together to launch a project called ‘Walmgate Reframed’. The overarching ambition was to shine a light on the street recognising the area’s past, strong sense of community and creative spirit.

A screenshot of an Instagram advertising the Swarmgate Launch, There is a lot of white text on an orange background and it is outlining the times that things are happening for the launch of the Swarmgate project.
The launch event advert showed there was a lot going on

Swarmgate is the name given to the art installation. Created by local artist, Gemma Wood, she playfully combined the street name Walmgate with a nod to the beekeeping history of the area.

There had been numerous workshops giving the local community the opportunity to get involved, and activities had taken place within the local schools and businesses. Tonight was the launch event  bringing it all together.

Visiting The Exhibition

Art of Protest is an independent contemporary art gallery on Walmgate. They hosted a drop in exhibition about Swarmgate and that’s where I began the evening.

Walmgate-inspired pictures hung on the walls. Using a variety of mediums, a selection of artists captured different interpretations of the same area.

Stuck onto notice boards were poems written by residents, and photographs from the workshops; I even spotted myself in one of them!

I scanned a QR code and moved my phone around the room. It revealed virtual 3D models made by local schoolchildren during a graphic design session for the project.

A notice board with poetry and photos from previous workshops stuck onto it.
Poetry and photos from the workshops were on display
A screen shot of a virtual pink box on a light coloured vinyl floor.
One of the 3D VR designs from the children

Hanging in the hive-like mesh of wire, were some of the hexagons that people had decorated. And there it was! The bee that I had drawn! It may have been a tiny contribution, but I was buzzing to spot it.

One of the resin bees from the official art installation sat on a small plinth. It allowed us to get up close to a piece of the sculpture – a rare opportunity, since the main installation was high on a wall.

A painted resin bee on a plinth. There is a sign next to it which reads 'please feel free to touch;
A resin bee up close
A hexagonal perspex shape, with a bee painted on to it. As see when attending the Swarmgate launch.
I spotted the bee I made a few weeks earlier!

The Main Event - Attending the Swarmgate Launch

Hidden from the main road and tucked between flats, The Early Music Centre had been taken over for the evening. I entered the main building where drinks were being served, and saw several familiar friendly faces from the workshop. Outside, a marquee hosted the formal proceedings where I met local residents and business owners.

Challenge Fifty-Two, a white woman with dark hair. She is outside and wrapped up warm. She is standing next to a sign that indicates she is attending the Swarmgate launch event
Following the signs to the launch event

The launch officially began with speeches in the marquee. We heard from,

  • Gemma Wood, the artist behind the Swarmgate art installation.
  • York Creatives who had been the glue of the project.
  • The University of York who had collected rich research into the area.
  • The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith. He is a big champion of using the Vibrant and Sustainable High Street Fund to do good things.

Hearing from everyone who had been involved was a great insight into all of the hard work and collaboration that had gone on behind the scenes. It made me feel really proud that the area was getting some attention it deserved.

Performances From Local Artists

Next we heard from three spoken word artists who portrayed very different perspectives about the area.

  • Olga Szawa, a masters student and Polish immigrant, evocatively shared how many of the businesses along Walmgate reminded her of home.
  • Betty Powdrill, a Yorkshire poet and creative arts practitioner took us on a warming and nostalgic journey through the area with her words.
  • Lara McClure, a story teller who has firmly planted her roots in York, delivered a mesmerising tale that brought the history of Walmgate to life with human connection. Based on real stories, she told the tale of a young girl who had travelled to York from Ireland with nothing, and how she found her way on the street which vividly described the grit and resilience of the community from years ago.

Although I know the street well, I know it from my point of view. It was really interesting to hear about it from different angles. The audience were hooked to the prose as we travelled through time and space on the carefully crafted descriptions.

Looking along a wet street. There are brick buildings along either side, the ground floors are all shops or restaurants. This is Walmgate.
Walmgate - a street I know well, but discovered so much more about it

Visiting The Glowing Art Installation

After being captivated by the performances, we stepped outside to experience the Swarmgate installation in all its glory. Apologies as my photos don’t really do it justice.

Bees on hexagons on one wall glowed warmly in the dark of the evening, whilst the hive of coloured perspex hexagons almost glimmered as they gently moved in the breeze.

It was delightfully different and definitely made people stop and look, as a group of children all pointed up at the display.

Swamgate art installation by night - it consists of black hexagons on a brick wall in a residential area. There are resin bees attached to the hexagons and they are glowing in the dark.
Swarmgate at night. Apologies it's not the best picture!
Swamgate art installation by day - it consists of black hexagons on a brick wall in a residential area. There are resin bees attached to the hexagons.
Swarmgate by day
Looking up at a brick building. There is a hexagon on the side, and there are orange and yellow hexagons within it. This is the hive part of the Swarmgate art installation
The hive part of the art installation

An Interactive Trail

As well as the art installation which was at one end of Walmgate, there was an interactive trail.

Encouraging visitors to explore more of Walmgate, the trail consisted of painted wooden hexagons in local business windows.  Each featured a QR code linking to a locally inspired recording.

A wooden hexagon with a QR code on it. It is hanging in a window and there is some light reflecting on it.
One of the hexagons from the interactive trail
A knitted post box topper. It is a multicoloured work, which shows a bee hive with knitted bees on it and knitted flowers too
There was even a bee post box topper for the occassion

New Experiences Can Be Quiet And Valuable

New experiences don’t always have to be active and hands-on to help us grow.

Sometimes simply putting yourself into a situation you wouldn’t usually find yourself can show you different perspectives, and introduce you to things you never previously knew about.

If you start to seek out new experiences, you’ll start to uncover all sorts of things happening that you could easily have missed.

I loved attending the launch of Swarmgate. It was such a nice way to bring a community together, to showcase some incredible talent, and I’d like to think my very small contribution may have helped to bring a little bit of awareness to the area.

Want To Try It Yourself?

  • Swarmgate was a one-off, so I can’t signpost you directly to that. However, if you’re in York, it’s worth keeping an eye on what York Creatives are up to as there may be things coming up that you can get involved with.
  • If you’re not in York, keep an eye on local facebook groups in your area. See if any projects or creative initiatives are being launched.
  • Local newspapers, (or their websites or social media pages) often promote launch events in the local area, so it’s worth keeping an eye on them.
  • Launch events are often advertised on eventbrite, why not take a look to see if anything is happening where you are?

Cost Of Experience

  • The Swarmgate launch was free to attend.
  • Depending on the launch event you attend, there may be a cost involved, and the prices may vary depending on the type of event.

Recommendations

  • Keep an open mind. It’s easy to brush something off thinking you’re not going to be interested. But how do you know you won’t enjoy it if you never try it? You never know what you might discover or what ideas it might spark.
  • Discover your local community. Events such as the Swarmgate launch, are brilliant ways to find out more about your local community. 
  • Let me know. If you go to a launch event I’d love to know how you get on.

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