This website uses cookies. Read more about our cookie/privacy policy.

Accept and Close

The Sheffield culture guide written by in-the-know locals

Festival of the Mind

Amazing work goes on behind university walls. New ideas constantly bounce from one laboratory or seminar room to the next. With a little help from Sheffield's creative community, that work and those ideas are let loose in the city throughout the Festival of the Mind.

Every other autumn, academic and creative minds from Sheffield come together to host exhibitions, talks, screenings, performances and more, in venues across the city. Past editions of Festival of the Mind have also brought to town a Spiegeltent, a glorious 18th century structure that's acted as the festival's hub.

Come back soon to find out what's in store for the next Festival of the Mind in autumn 2026.

In the meantime, keep an eye on the festival's Facebook page for updates.

You might also like...

Spinning Discs

This Meersbrook shop boasts an eclectic mix of genres and a constant turnover of records to keep you satisfied, with local bands on the racks alongside the likes of Bowie.

Society of Explorers

A curious, enthusiastic and creative collective of 14-to-19-year-olds, chatting, making and curating art from their Site Gallery base.

Yorkshire Artspace: Persistence Works

Over a hundred artists have made their home at Yorkshire Artspace. Once a year, its two sites become galleries for Open Studios weekend, a fantastic opportunity to see inside the workspaces of some of Sheffield’s creative residents.

Pesta Babi: Colonialism in Our Time + Q&A

Sun. 27 September 2026

Showroom Cinema

A powerful documentary on Indigenous Papuan struggles to protect ancestral lands, forests, communities and ways of life in the face of extractive development and colonial violence. Followed by a Q&A.