We today announce Together in the City: a venture to enable and support 19 individual creative projects across 26 project groups in and around Sheffield. The projects have been progressing over the last few months, with each developing different art forms, concluding with an on-stage sharing and celebration event on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 April in the Crucible. Through exhibitions, installations and workshops in the Crucible foyer, as well as performances on the main stage, we will create a celebratory community takeover of the theatre across these two days.

The projects include:

At the Arbourthorne Centre, work is being undertaken to restore the centre’s stage which is currently used for community creative writing, singing, karate, young carers and a youth group. In addition, Mindful Arts and Crafts group are working to restore and embellish the stage curtains, whilst the The Arbourthorne Arts Women’s group are running a creative course to direct and produce a short play to stage on the re-opening of the Arbourthorne Centre.

In Burngreave, we have partnered with DINA Arts Venue to work with Reach Up Youth; a group of 15-20 year olds who are interested in the performing arts and music industry. They are developing a series of workshops, to be a part of DINA’s RISE UP Festival, running until May 2022.

Having previously partnered with Sheffield Theatres for Little Amal’s visit to Sheffield in October 2021, Stand & Be Counted Theatre, the UK’s first Theatre Company of Sanctuary, are working with a group of 45 Syrian and Afghan families via weekly, creative, people-led sessions at The Montgomery Theatre, which focuses on co-creating live performance and celebrating the power of communities that come together.

ark sheffield is inviting people from across the city to join a conversation about climate change. Working with not-for-profit organisations (Blend Kitchen, Foodhall, Heeley City Farm, SADACCA, and Open Kitchen) and interdisciplinary design collective RESOLVE, ark explores our fears, and frustrations, as well as tactics, and strategies to find better ways to live together. The conversation will culminate in a large-scale event at the Crucible. ark sheffield has been initiated by Sheffield Hallam University Lecturers Dr Tom Payne (Humanities) and Dr Julia Udall (Natural and Built Environment) with Dr Alex De Little (Goldsmith’s Centre for Sound Practice Research), with additional funding support from UK Research and Innovation and Sheffield Hallam University.

Also city-wide, Element Youth Group and Forced Entertainment work with us to present Element: 12 young people form a performance group, running a series of six workshops that will build up to a sharing of work. Sessions are supported by theatrical practitioners and give an insight to the theatre backstage.

At the Terry Wright Hall in Gleadless, eight creative drop-in sessions are running until the end of March, with a final showcase at the sharing event.

Before Christmas at the Heeley Institute, Sheffield Theatres ran a Young Creatives project with members of Heeley Youth Group, which gave young people experience in several creative workshops and trips, from visiting a recording studio to a visit to the Lyceum Panto. Following on from this project, the group are now taking part in a podcast-making workshop with Hybrid Studios called Storybomb, and a weekly film club to create a film to be shared at Heeley People's Park and at the Crucible.

There are Community Training Opportunities for five community members to engage in projects in their local areas. We are working with two assistants at Manor Top, one in Pitsmoor, one in Highfield and one in Upperthorpe to deliver this creative work.

At the Spires Centre in Manor Top, a Men’s Photography Project meets weekly to explore themes of home, identity and space. The project will culminate in a photography book and exhibition.

In Sharrow, Shipshape are also running a Men’s Group Photography Project, exploring the heritage and invaluable contributions that different cultures have made to the working landscape of Sheffield from the 1960s onwards, particularly in the city’s steelworks. They re-visit factories, explore stories, identity and heritage through spoken word and photography to end in a portrait exhibition.

At Temple Park Centre at Manor Top, two more projects: Pinders Dance School work with three dance groups, varying in age from 4-15. Showtime! sees groups of 15 young people, working on developing a range of performing skills. Both sets of sessions will culminate in a variety show to be performed at Temple Park Centre, the Arbourthorne Centre and Together in the City. All of the young people will receive their Arts Award certificates for taking part.

Shadow Play runs at Pitsmoor Adventure Playground and Highfield Adventure Playground. Groups develop narrative, characters and shadow puppetry to create their own show and share with the other groups via live performance or video, and finally at the Crucible.

Side by Sideis a theatre company for all, including people with disabilities, refugees and asylum seekers, from age 8-80. At Sharrow Community Forum, performances are made from stories and/or experiences from the group to develop a new project over a 12 session period around the title 'Awakening', with the intention of bringing a new hope for the new year.

Textiles Together runs at Shipshape, The Furnival and Abbeyfield House in Burngreave. Community groups will design and create a textile display about growth, spring, new beginnings and home. This project takes elements from the former Little Amal workshop in Tudor Square back in October 2021; groups will re-purpose fabric panels children decorated during Little Amal’s visit to create a patchwork with embroidery, beading and fabric printing. Members of the group are encouraged to draw on their heritage by bringing in their own fabrics. The display will be exhibited and hung in the Crucible foyer for Together in the City.

Tales From The Playgroundand the Zest Centre in Upperthorpe are hosting a creative writing youth' group to develop and deliver workshops and public installations, co-created by young people and installed in their local community. These pieces will respond to local landscapes and local people’s creative ideas.

Sally Wilson, Project Manager at Sheffield Theatres, said:

‘What better way to celebrate the creativity and diversity of our local communities than with a fusion of art, performance and culture in the Crucible. We’re so excited to see the range of co-designed projects with our communities coming to life, to be shared and celebrated with the people of our City. There’s something for everyone over the two-day celebration, from family-friendly workshops on 5 April to empowering debate for older audiences on 6 April. We will come together to see the world through the eyes of others and enjoy collectively the creative talents of Sheffield’s people.’

All the projects will culminate in a sharing of work at Sheffield Theatres’ Together in the City, held at the Crucible on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 April. Both days aim to celebrate the creativeness of the city and create a joyful, uplifting atmosphere. The event is a drop-in event which is free to attend.Together in the City is the culmination of a year-long programme of activity supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation, whose funding has enabled wider development of Sheffield Theatres’ participation projects within local communities.