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

Migration Matters 2024, photo by Smart Banda

In 2007 Sheffield became the UK’s first City of Sanctuary – a place that welcomes asylum-seekers and refugees, that offers a hand to people in need of safety. Held around Refugee Week each June, Migration Matters Festival is a celebration of diversity and the positive impact migration and refugees have in Sheffield.

The festival launched in 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum and Syrian refugee crisis. Each year the Migration Matters programme brings communities together over fantastic, globe-spanning variety of theatre, music, dance, workshops, exhibitions, and more.

Come back soon for dates and details of Migration Matters 2026.

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Double Somersault

A playful and dramatic public artwork by William Pye, sitting at the entrance to Weston Park Museum.

Yuen Fong Ling

An artist whose work uncovers hidden histories and connect past figures with autobiography – currently exploring the Sheffield legacy of writer, poet, activist and socialist Edward Carpenter (1844-1929).

Powerlines

Sat. 20 September 2025

Crookes Social Club, Mulehouse Road, S10 1TD

A new independent metal festival for 2025 – by the fans, for the fans. Showcasing a lineup of local homegrown artists and national acts, open to all ages and types of metalheads.

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.