York St John students project visions of the future for Vespertine

Based on the theme ‘Yorktopia 2026’, students have collaborated with My Future York using archive materials and rare film footage presented with music and photography to envision what York will be like in ten years’ time. The utopian slide projections will be on display at St Anthony’s Hall (formerly the Quilt Museum) where futuristic soundscapes accompanying the projections have been composed by Jonathan Lee Toas, who recently completed his MA at York St John and now works as a DJ and producer.

Visitors will also have an opportunity to see film of the Hungate area, restored and presented by Yorkshire Film Archive and screened in Hiscox, one of York’s most futuristic buildings. The footage was donated to the archive on hand made film reels in a well-loved rainbow biscuit tin and gives a glimpse into the past of Hungate showing the street parties and houses there in the 1930s.

Yorktopia 2026 ends at The Black Swan, where historians and futurists alike are invited to a future folk party set in the year 2026!

Vespertine is a series of twilight events in some of York’s most stunning spaces and places of heritage.

Yorktopia 2026 takes place on Wednesday 23 November. More information is available on the Vespertine website.