BEYOND: Bi-monthly Artist Social Gathering - 5th August 2026
Beyond The Mainstream is YVAN's bi-monthly artist social gathering which will be led by multi-disciplined artist Michael Barnes-Wynt
ers.
We’ll be sharing alternative ways to plug into a sea of creativity and provocations. This is an open and safe space for artists and arts workers to make connections, friendships, request feedback on recent work and a place to share resources whilst being encouraged to test out ideas or shared experiences from the creative sector, to find peer support and brainstorm challenges.
The next meeting: Wednesday 5th August, 6-7:30pm on Zoom. Sign up for free here!
About this session
This month's Beyond welcomes guest speakers Daniel Syrett who will be introducing his Northern Embassy project and Michael Barnes-Wynters who will be updating us about Hotel Zimmer, a hybrid arts project exploring AI from the artists perspective. As June's session had to be cut short we are re-welcoming Daniel to this August meeting.
Daniel Syrett
Daniel has had an eclectic career in the creative industry ranging from club culture to fashion, as a designer and stylist to artist, curator and gallerist.More recently he’s been working as publisher and editor of a Paris based fashion and culture magazine, IRK.
Dan’s latest project is the Northern Embassy a new promotional business association. The North has no shortage of talent what it has is a marketing problem. Its aim is to solve this, with a digital first web magazine, a regular newspaper and a mobile app.The app is similar to a dating app but for consumers and businesses. Which utilises a combination of curated knowledge, geolocation and user preferences to deliver Northern talent, art and design to a wider audience both locally and nationally.
Hotel Zimmer is a bold new interdisciplinary art project, launched in autumn 2025 and offers audiences a chance to check into a virtual hotel where each room is a portal into AI-inspired art. Presented as a hybrid live, online, 3 x city performances ( Hull, London, Plymouth) and digital art installation, Hotel Zimmer explores how artificial intelligence is impacting artists and ordinary people — particularly those often excluded from the mainstream AI discourse.https://hotelzimmer.art/
More about our BEYOND facilitator, Michael Barnes-Wynters:
Having recently relocated his studio to The Old Lifeboat Station on Bridlington's South beach, Michael is a multi-disciplined taste maker, audio visual artist, mentorist, mischief maker and instigator. Originating from Bristol of Jamaican parentage, his long-term artist collaborations broadcast at the intersections of immersive experiential film installations and provocative durational action performances. He is a passionate ambidextrous user of analogue and digital technologies which he employs to explore his childhood sensory experiences.
Being a cultural connector and enabler, working with people from all walks of life and abilities is at the heart of Michael's activities. He continues to use socially engaged, performance and participatory-based strategies to make work that explores historical narratives and omissions, especially from his African diaspora, working class communities and migrant experiences in the UK.
Accessibility
We operate a Safer spaces agreement during all meetings and events: Safer Spaces doc. Captions/transcripts are available to access from the menu in Zoom. This meeting won’t be recorded. If you would like to make us aware of any access needs or have any questions please email info@yvan.org.uk or complete this accessibility form.
About YVAN
YVAN is an infrastructure body for the visual arts in Yorkshire and the Humber. We are founded on the creative vision of individual artists and arts organisations. We prioritise individual practitioners, artists networks, small-scale initiatives and the artist-led.
YVAN are one of nine regions that make up Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN) England who are part of a national alliance of visual arts networks from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We look forward to having conversations with you and connecting!