georgina@artspace.org.uk

2019-20: Darnall Community of Culture Phase 1

In partnership with Ignite Imaginations, Darnall Well Being and Tickets for Good, we ran a creative community research project in Darnall, to find out the kinds of creativity that local people would like to see more of; to consider how empty shop spaces could find new uses; and to find ways to link communities with city centre opportunities. 

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2017-19 Cultural Destinations 2

Arts Council England funding to reposition culture as a key part of the visitor offer and local economic growth plans in Sheffield.  CD 2 built on the learning from CD1, drawing on the city’s distinctive cultural strengths of festivals, street art, beer, music and visual art. Our Favourite Places continued to be supported, with city marketing campaigns linked to both OFP and Marketing Sheffield. Three special events to bring people to the city were curated: Lush Spectra in 2017 by Mark Fell, in the Samuel Worth Chapel. Strong Language by Tim Etchells in 2018, in association with Off the Shelf Mausoleum of the Giants by Phlegm in 2019. www.mausoleumofthegiants.co.uk

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2016-2019 Making Ways Ambition for Excellence project

Arising out of Sheffield Year of Making, the Consortium received £550,000 from Arts Council England for a programme to support and develop the careers of artists and makers in Sheffield; to listen to the voices of artists (including through an Artists Panel), develop audiences, and raise Sheffield’s profile as a nurturing centre of excellence for visual art.  Throughout the programme, 531 artists were supported; 887 young people participated; there were 45 new commissions; 329 workshop/education sessions; and 665 performance or exhibition days reaching audiences of 96,347.  A Visual Art Statement, Making Our Way, was drafted with wide consultation with the sector.

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2016: Sheffield Year of Making

www.sheffieldcityofmakers.co.uk The Consortium coordinated Sheffield Year of Making, to celebrate all forms of making in the city, from advanced manufacturing to theatre, art and design, coding and bread making.  The Year of Making celebrated Sheffield’s past, present and future as a City of Makers.

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2014 onwards: What Next? Sheffield partnership support

What Next? is a national movement to make new alliances between arts, culture, education, politics, health and business. The Culture Consortium supported What Next? Sheffield at various stages since 2014 to hold open meetings for the sector, to make connections across the city and to report back on the Consortium’s activities. A writing group drawn from What Next? Sheffield participants steered the successful Arts Council bid for Sheffield Creative Guild (2015-2022).  www.whatnextculture.co.uk

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2014-17 Cultural Destinations 1

Arts Council England funding to reposition culture as a key part of the visitor offer and local economic growth plans in Sheffield. Understanding the audience We worked with &Co to create visitor data to assist targeted marketing and promotion, to help visitors to come more often, stay longer and enjoy more. Creative signposting The project funded an expanded version of Our Favourite Places, to present the city’s cultural offer in an informed, independent voice and improve visitor information.  http://www.ourfaveplaces.co.uk/ Enhancing the destination We provided business support for a number of Sheffield festivals to help them become more sustainable and attract wider audiences.  Originally working with 5 festivals, the Sheffield Festivals Mentoring network has continued and expanded beyond the lifetime of the project, and now includes more than 20 festivals across the city.

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2014 Tour de France Small Commissions

The Culture Consortium obtained a £50,000 grant from the Arts Council in Autumn 2013 for Small Art Commissions for the Tour de France Yorkshire Festival (March – July 2014).  This was designed to highlight Sheffield-based artistic talent on a world stage. 30 commissions were made, involving more than 170 artists and performers, ranging from choral folk music to giant cycling puppets, brass band music, a unicycle display team, giant fabric flowers, poetry, land art and circus skills. 

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2021: Freelance Arts and Cultural Workers in Sheffield Fund

The Freelancers Fund was a response to the serious impact of Covid-19 on creative freelancers in Sheffield.  The first round was funded by the City Council and Culture Consortium members: Sheffield Theatres, Site Gallery, Sheffield Hallam University, the University of Sheffield and Museums Sheffield. A second round was funded through Sheffield City Council Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) and the South Yorkshire Mayor’s Fund for Culture. 158 artists and 5 support organisations were funded, with grants totalling £297,000.

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Ongoing: Sheffield Festivals Mentoring

Growing out of the Cultural Destinations programmes below, the Sheffield Festivals Mentoring Group met twice-yearly (pre-Covid) to provide peer support and develop best practice, including a joint Safer Festivals policy.  During Covid, the Festivals Mentoring Group have held weekly or fortnightly Zooms, sharing expertise on digital festival production and contributing to University of Sheffield research.  If your festival would like to join in, contact Rebecca.maddox@sheffield.gov.uk

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2020: Making our Way Visual Art Panel

To help implement the Visual Art Statement, Making our Way, (which came out of the Making Ways project), we have set up a Visual Art Panel selected by open call, including arts organisations and visual artists in the city.  More information here: https://visual-arts-sheffield.com/making-our-way-visual-arts-panel/ 

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