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Simon Thackray with The Books: Photo
© Mary Thackray
Simon Thackray was born in Ryedale, North Yorkshire
in 1960. He left school at seventeen to work in the family business
of agricultural engineers and held his first one-man show of
ink drawings at York University in 1978. He went into his shed
in 1987 to make sculpture, paintings, drawings and prints. In
1992 he photographed his shed door and founded The
Shed.
The Shed is a pint-sized arts
venue on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors, renowned for
presenting world-class music and poetry - from Katia Labeque
to Carol Ann Duffy, Les Murray to Lau - and Simon Thackray's
own unique live-art events that are the 'essence of Shedness':
The Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race ®,
The Fish and Chip van tour,
and Lol Coxhill in a skip are
just a few of his 'weird and wonderful' gigs entertaining audiences
from across the UK.
He conjured the words, music
and participatory knitting spectacular,
'HAT', (written and performed by Ian McMillan
and Billy Jenkins) and invented the knitted
Elvis wig (now a world-wide accessory worn by artists in
New York and bin men in Wakefield). Simon's special projects
have toured to the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Union Chapel and Victoria
& Albert Museum, London, and venues in Halifax, Leeds, York,
Newcastle, Gateshead, Sheffield, Belfast and Cork.
"He's a strange'un alright,
but the art world could do with more of his kind of far-reaching
woolly thinking."
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph.
Alan Tomlinson and the River Seven
- a new art event by Simon Thackray.
Sunday 21 March, 12 noon, Dale Head Farm, Rosedale. Duration:
30 Minutes.

Alan
Tomlinson and the River Seven. Art event copyright Simon
Thackray. Photo: Tony Bartholomew
"His enthusiasm seems
to light up the street. I muse on the idea of future cultural
historians citing a shed door as the fulcrum of a rural arts
renaissance."
Ian McMillan, BBC Radio 3
"He could, if he chose,
make a bigger splash in the art world than he does here - which
acts more as an extension to his shed." Yorkshire Post
Painting Over The Cracks (Tate Modern).
A phone film by Simon Thackray.
Simon Thackray co-founded the
Pied Piper Project with Sarah Derbyshire MBE in 1997 to bring
professional musicians and poets to North Yorkshire to work with
young people in youth centres, village halls and schools. Annie
Whitehead, Jan Kopinski, Gwyneth Herbert, Snake Davis, Jackie
Kay and Ian McMIllan are all former Pied Piper workshop leaders.
The Shed (with Pied Piper) is supported by Arts Council England
and Ryedale District Council.

Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race Photo
© Tony
Bartholomew
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
The Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race is a registered trademark of
Simon Thackray.
"For the past 18 years,
The Shed, near the market town of Malton, has been responsible
for some of the smallest and most inspired art events in the
country" Alfred
Hickling, Guardian

Lol Coxhill in a skip
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © Tony
Bartholomew
Simon put the maverick saxophonist
Lol Coxhill in a skip. Lol
Coxhill in a skip was the launch event of FuseLeeds06,
broadcast on Jazz on 3 and Pick Of The Week on BBC Radio 4.

Mrs Boyes' Bingo
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © davidxgreen.com
Mrs Boyes' Bingo featuring Mark
Sanders was premiered at The Shed in 1999. It was performed at
FUSELEEDS04 and recently
as part of The Shed's
Greatest Hits. Mrs Boyes' Bingo and the Fish
and Chip Van Tour (see below) entertained delegates at the
international art and science conference 'Rules Of Engagement'
at the National Centre For Early Music in 2005. Mrs Boyes' Bingo
was invited to perform at Belfast Festival in October 2009.

Fish and Chip van tour
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © Tony
Bartholomew
"Intrepid arts explorer...
pioneer of improvised arts events"
Yorkshire Evening Press
Simon propagated the rare species
of Yorkshire pudding flower
and invented the knitted Elvis wig
for the first North Yorkshire Elvis
Bus Tour. Knitted Elvis wigs are appearing across the world
- from Wakefield allotments to the 'Day Of Dada' parade in New
York City!

Knitted Elvis Wigs
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © Tony
Bartholomew
"I muse on the idea of
future cultural historians citing a shed door as the fulcrum
of a rural arts renaissance"
Ian McMillan

Ian McMillan - HAT -
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © Tony
Bartholomew
"soon it'll be like Woodstock:
people will pretend they were there - people will want to say,
'I was there when it all started'"
Independent
on Sunday.

Home Of The
Small White Bird 1989 wood / steel / toy elephant Photo ©
David Sample
Hat 2001 Knitted Sidar wool by Janet Kopinski - Photo ©
Simon Thackray

'Untitled' 1989 Carved stone
/ found objects H. 600mm Photo © David Sample

Tom's New Beginning -1990 Oil
on canvas (Private collection) Photo © Simon Thackray
Alternative
arts manifesto - Simon's
bit in The Guardian!
The Shed media success:
Simon's creations have been featured
on Front Row, Sky News, Big Breakfast, Channel 4, BBC 1, BBC
2, ITV, Channel 5, ARD (Germany), BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 and BBC
Radio Scotland, BBC Radio York, Humberside, Sheffield, Newcastle,
Cleveland, Leeds, Minster FM, BBC North FM, Yorkshire Coast Radio,
Armed Forces Radio, Newsbeat, Newsround, Three Counties Radio,
Steve Wright in the Afternoon, Mo Dutta, Wogan, Sarah Kennedy,
Classic FM, Brian Hayes, Take A Break, Guardian, Daily Telegraph,
Independent, Dalesman, Daily Express, TES, Independent On Sunday,
Yorkshire Life, Vogue Knitting International, BBC Music Magazine,
Richard and Judy Show, Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire Evening Post,
Yorkshire Evening Press, Gazette & Herald, Ryedale Mercury,
Scarborough Evening News, Radio Times, Northern Echo, Children
In Need, The Week and Sunday Times...and Pick Of the Week!
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