Where better to evangelise about Sheffield’s present than in a huge monument to its past?
Kelham Island Industrial Museum, where they still forge surgical instruments over glowing coals, and hand-craft Sheffield’s world-famous knives, was chosen for our Culture Club ‘People and Spaces’ Showcase - an event for the city’s creators and organisers to take the stage and tell everyone what they’re up to.
MCs for the night were provided by the museum’s Living History actors, who presented characters from the area’s industrial heyday to the World War II.
Among the presenters hoping to tease some custom or collaboration out of the 100+ crowd was Martin Hogg, an acoustic artist whose book, HÖRT_OHÖRT, uses soundmapping to provide a sonic guide to audible curiosities in and around the City of Umeå, Sweden, an idea which he wants to bring to Sheffield.
There were presentations from ‘a research laboratory for art, philosophy, dialogue, practice and praxis‘ (Occursus), an open studios collective (Open Up), and a design studio (Dust). As well as an independent creative space (CADS), and a digital art festival (Lovebytes), the museum’s cavernous upper gallery heard from artist and Methodist minister Richard Scott. His Soul of Sheffield project involves ordinary people going along to Milton House, on Charter Row, to help build a cardboard model of the Sheffield, and share their favourite memories of the city.
Richard said: “Participants can choose a building or a part of the city significant to them, that is part of their story. They can make it as simply or elaborately as they like and then put it in place along with everyone else’s creation.
“In this way, the piece of art will grow and evolve with our different stories just as the city itself has. The model city will develop in unpredictable ways as we interact with each other and offer our unique contributions reflecting the diverse communities that make up our city.”
The next Culture Club Showcase will be on Wednesday 19th September 2012, and will be the launch event for The Festival of the Mind. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter – @thenorth, and #sheffculture for the latest information.