Culture fund boost to attract more tourists to Sheffield

The cash injection will be used to promote and strengthen the city’s renown for art, music and fine beers.

Arts Council England awarded Sheffield Culture Consortium the Cultural Destinations funding to draw more tourists to the many festivals and other major arts events the city hosts.

As well as advertising Sheffield’s more obvious cultural attractions, the grant will help publicise it as a mecca for modern architecture.

Sarah Maxfield, Arts Council England’s north area director, described the announcement as ‘fantastic news for the north’ and said it would help capitalise on the area’s ‘rich variety of arts and culture’.

The consortium, whose members include the council and Sheffield University, said the money would enable it to bring together arts providers from across the city to promote ‘joined-up’ and ‘authentic’ Sheffield experiences.

Listings website Our Favourite Places will expand to spread the word about Sheffield’s five ‘cultural strengths’, namely: street art, festivals, modernist architecture, music and beer.

Three major projects will also be commissioned from the Sheffield-based electronic musician Mark Fell; illustrator Phlegm, whose street art has won him international acclaim; and the artist and writer Tim Etchells.

The latest grant follows the first phase of Cultural Destinations funding for Sheffield, which helped spread the word about the city’s cultural attractions through Our Favourite Places.

Kate Dore, chair of the consortium, said she hoped the new investment would ‘drive more people to come and enjoy our vibrant and exciting city’.