Sheffield is brimming with things to do, but when you’ve just moved to the city, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of new places to go. That’s why I’ve narrowed down some of the best venues to visit if you’re interested in experiencing all that Sheffield has to offer regarding arts and theatre.f
My current favourite art gallery, and a recent find of mine, is Fronteer Gallery in Castlegate. It’s a recently established, independently run gallery with two lovely owners, having opened in the cursed year that was 2020. The gallery space is small, with one main room upstairs and a basement below, but it is well utilised and always packed with artwork. There are usually at least two exhibitions, which change monthly. The opening night showings are my favourite time to visit; there’s free wine, and all the artists attend to talk about their work. It’s also surrounded by an ever-changing display of graffiti and is conveniently located near the start of the Five Weirs Walk if you’d like to make a day of it.
Not far from Fronteer Gallery is a café and queer-safe space called DINA. The café doubles as a gallery space and venue for a range of events, including queer poetry nights, drag shows, art exhibitions, multilingual open mic nights, Queer Writes nights and more! It also happens to be situated across from my favourite art shop, Fred Aldous, in case you need to pick up some art supplies on the way to one of their workshops.
Of course, we can’t discuss the Sheffield arts scene and not mention the independent Showroom Cinema. With £4.50 cinema tickets for under 27s, plus a fantastic range of films you won’t find anywhere else, what’s not to like? From anime summer specials to box office hits, there’s something for everyone. I’ve visited many times over the summer and seen a variety of films in different languages – Norwegian, Persian, Irish Gaelic and French – so it’s great for multicultural cinema.
And just around the corner from Showroom is Site Gallery, another small art gallery with an attached café. They change exhibitions regularly and display a wide range of international artists, specialising in moving images and performance art. The art continues outside too, as you’ll see some mosaics and one of my favourite pieces of street art in Sheffield – Jo Peel’s ‘Growing City’, combining living plants with cityscapes – just on the front door.
A more well-known location to visit is the Millennium Gallery. Situated inside the Winter Garden, it makes for a fun day out. Alongside their two permanent exhibitions, displaying a variety of metalworks and avian paintings, the gallery also shows several shorter-term exhibitions covering various topics and artists, with the occasional art workshop available too.
Across from the Winter Garden, right in the heart of the city centre, is Sheffield’s theatre quarter. It’s here that you’ll find Sheffield’s three famous theatres: the Lyceum, the Crucible and the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse. While the Crucible is most well known as the location for the World Snooker Championships, there are also many performances to see, ranging from The Woman in Black to Cluedo, and even School of Rock. It’s worth stopping by the Central Library and Graves Gallery while you’re here too, as they’re just around the corner.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the history of Sheffield and its role in the industrial revolution, head down to Kelham Island Museum. They have replica steam engines at work, a hydraulic press, and an extensive tools collection. Learn about the Sheffield floods and see the steel city come to life in the industrial quarter. While you’re here, there’s plenty more street art to enjoy and lots of great places to eat, such as Cutlery Works, Peddler Market, Church: Temple Of Fun and Piña.
My final recommendation is the newly opened (as of August this year) South Yorkshire Natural History Museum. I haven’t had the chance to visit yet myself, but it’s top on my to-do list. The dramatic opening ceremony can be viewed online, with a dinosaur claw being used to officially open the museum. If you’re interested in dinosaurs, fossils or geology, this is the place to go. And if you really like it, you can even volunteer at the museum.
There are so many places to visit that I couldn’t possibly fit all of them onto this list. But if you’re looking for other places to explore, you could try the National Emergency Services Museum, Bloc Projects outdoor billboards, Weston Park Museum or Fired Arts pottery painting café. Or you could even go on your own walking street art tour of Sheffield. And make sure to check out what’s on at the City Hall. Hopefully that’s enough places to explore while you start making friends and settling into your home for the next few years. Good luck, and enjoy your time in this wonderful city!