New vision for creativity in Sheffield to be influenced by local people

Image by Stanhope Photo

Sheffield residents are being asked to have their say on what art and culture should look like for the city in the future.

Local people, from all of Sheffield’s communities, are to be asked to make their contribution to a new Culture Strategy for the city, and what the focus of the strategy should be.

They’ll be asked how culture should be celebrated for the benefit of local people and visitors alike, as well as what changes, skills and knowledge are needed to ensure the arts sector, and people apart of it, can flourish.  

The city-wide consultation forms part of the Sheffield Culture Strategy 2024, which is being developed to address some of the long-standing obstacles faced by creatives living and working in the city.

The overarching ambition of the strategy is to develop Sheffield’s cultural offer and ensure the city is creative, prosperous, diverse and full of opportunity for its residents.

It is being championed by the Culture Collective and Culture Consortium, and funded by Sheffield City Council, the University of Sheffield and Arts Council England.

Councillor Martin Smith, Chair of the Economy, Skills and Development Committee at Sheffield City Council, said:

“We want to ensure that everyone who lives, works and visits Sheffield can benefit from all of the wonderful arts and culture we have here.

“We want our culture sector to thrive. This includes celebrating Sheffield and promoting all we have to offer to the rest of the country, and beyond. It also means ensuring this is a city full of opportunity for inspiring musicians, makers and other creatives.

“To do this, we need to hear from Sheffield people, and find out what they want to see from this strategy, from the Council and from all of the partners and organisations involved in creating this new vision.”

Joe Kriss Director of Sheffield-based social enterprise, Opus Independents, who are part of the strategy team, added:

 “Sheffield has a really exciting cultural offer but there is much more we can do together if we create the right opportunities for new collaborations and growth. We hope this work will lay the foundations for a new path forward for the city's creative communities.”

Sheffield’s creative sector have already had their say on the new vision. In the first phase of its development a short survey was launched aimed at local makers, musicians, artists, and designers.

A baseline audit of the city’s cultural sector has also taken place, which highlighted areas of growth and opportunity for the city as well as challenges to overcome.

The audit, along with the outcomes of both consultations with public and Individuals working in the sector, will be used to inform the new strategy, which will be launched later this year.

The city-wide consultation will run until June 2 2024, Have your Say on the new Culture Strategy 2024, here.