'Emerging creative talent whose contributions to Sheffield are both powerful and invaluable' - Roger Bateman
Roger Bateman, Director of Sheffield Creative Industries Institute at Sheffield Hallam University, talk about the city’s City of Culture bid and how student splay their part...
Two weeks ago, Sheffield’s thriving cultural scene finally got the national spotlight it deserves when the city was shortlisted for UK City of Culture 2029.
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Sheffield is home to more than 2,000 cultural and creative businesses, providing around 9,000 jobs and generating almost £1bn of economic impact annually.
The key theme of Sheffield’s bid is “From grassroots to global” showing how the city paves the way from independent creativity, right through to international influence and celebrating the culture and creative spaces from the ground up.
At Sheffield Hallam University, we can trace our roots right back to 1843 when the Sheffield School of Design was founded to provide skilled designers to support Britain’s industry.
And as Director of the Sheffield Creative Industries Institute at the University, I see first-hand the nurturing and development of the emerging creative talent whose contributions to Sheffield’s cultural scene are both powerful and invaluable.
Every year we educate around 3,500 students in the creative and cultural industries, with many of our graduates staying in the city and contributing to the diverse creative sector that continues to grow.
Our students don’t just perfect their talent in the university, they gain highly relevant industry experience throughout their time at Hallam thanks to the connected and collaborative support from the city’s cultural institutions, businesses and third sector organisations.
Since the 2023 our Future Now projects have engaged 1,000 students annually, across 58 courses, in over 100 projects, generating student research, development and insight for our partners. These projects connected our students with local government, charities, research centres, cultural organisations, schools, social enterprises and businesses.
This year our filmmaking students have worked with the English Touring Opera, who recently relocated to Sheffield, to create a short film of a chamber opera titled The Knot.
They filmed this across iconic locations in Sheffield including Park Hill Flats and the partnership gave the students industry-level experience and the opportunity to apply their skills in a live production environment.
Our Packaging Professional degree apprentices recently worked with Deliveroo to design new sustainable packaging solutions for restaurant chain, Pho. This annual competition run by Deliveroo with Sheffield Hallam brings together academia and industry to develop new and practical solutions to sustainability challenges in the industry.
Next year we will welcome the first cohort of our new Musical Theatre degree, a unique partnership with Sheffield Theatres which will see students benefit from the talent and experience of practitioners at Sheffield Theatres, the largest producing theatre complex in the UK, as well as from the skills and research from Sheffield Hallam staff. Working with Sheffield Museums, staff from our Creative Industries Institute support young people aged 13-16 to develop their skills at the free Art and Design Saturday Club at the Millennium Gallery, showing them what’s possible in a career in the creative industries.
We’ve showcased the talents of our Institute at No Bounds, the city’s innovative festival which spans music, visual arts, and technology. No Bounds has been a vital platform where students, academics, artists and audiences come together to imagine new possibilities.
Our annual Festival of Creativity, one of the biggest degree shows in the north of England showcases the work of our graduating artists, designers, filmmakers, animators, writers, architects, and performers. Every year the festival launches the careers of around 1,500 Hallam graduates and attracts the attention of leading national figures in the creative industries as well as art lovers from across South Yorkshire.
You can see the impact of Hallam graduates both regionally and nationally. Striking street art by Illustration graduate Peachzz across Sheffield and in Pound’s Park. The illustrations of Fine Art alumnus Tom J Newell which have been commissioned by big-name brands and musicians as well as independent Sheffield businesses. And the work of Mark Herbert, Hallam filmmaking graduate and CEO of the Sheffield based, award-winning Warp Films.
We are already a city of culture but to be named City of Culture 2029 would be a huge accolade for Sheffield, providing us now with an opportunity for established creatives, emerging talent, local businesses, communities, and cultural institutions to come together to create an exceptional programme and showcase of Sheffield Culture for 2029 and establish a legacy for many years to come.
Roger Bateman, Director of Sheffield Creative Industries Institute at Sheffield Hallam University