Councillor says City of Culture status should be for "the whole city" as Sheffield awaits shortlist decision
“The bid is built on local people, communities, artists, makers, performers, all of those amazing venues and cultural organisations that we've got”
A councillor who worked on Sheffield's City of Culture bid is "really excited" to hear whether Sheffield has made it to the shortlist.
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The ‘longlist’ for City of Culture 2029 was released back in March, with Blackpool, Inverness, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Swindon and Wrexham revealed as the contenders alongside the Steel City.
The shortlist of up to four cities is expected to be announced this month and comes with a £125,000 grant.
The winning city would receive £10 million in prize money.
Councillor Ben Miskell, chair of the economic development, skills and culture policy committee at Sheffield City Council, supported partners and officers to draw up the bid, but said it had been put together by the whole city.
“What was nice about the bid process was it brought so many different people together and shows what we've got in our city already.
“The bid is built on local people, communities, artists, makers, performers, all of those amazing venues and cultural organisations that we've got around our city.
“It's not coming from scratch, it builds on that creativity and talent that Sheffield already has.”
He said everyone involved is "really excited to hear about it".
Sheffield’s City of Culture bid has five “key pillars”: neighbourhoods, culture without barriers, outdoor city, city of makers and city of sanctuary.
Coun Miskell said that while the Crucible is “doing incredibly well,” the ‘neighbourhoods’ pillar makes sure that the bid reaches beyond the “core cultural organisations” to communities outside the city centre.
He gave the example of Parkwood Springs lantern festival, which took place on Saturday, October 17.
“You've got people from all across the city and the local area coming together, celebrating, being part of making lanterns," he said.
“It’s children, it’s families, it’s young people, new migrants to our city, it's absolutely everyone and it's so lovely to see.”
Coun Miskell is a teacher by trade and said it was nice to see how young people have been a "really integral part" of the bid, and hopes that City of Culture status could improve creative education.
“We know the great stuff that's happening down at Harmony Works in the city centre to really create that musical hub, that space for the next generation of talent to come through," he added.
Coun Miskell said Sheffield is a “really proud” city of sanctuary.
“We're an inclusive city. We've been shaped by the people who moved here over the years and their stories, it is a really important part of our culture. It makes us much more vibrant as a city," he said.
“City of Culture status will really help us to amplify that message, but also show the cultural offer that the whole city has. I'm really excited about that too.
“I represent Park and Arbourthorne ward, which is one of the most economically deprived parts of our city. It's really important that what we do is inclusive for absolutely everyone and recognises culture throughout the city."
He explained that the city council could have created the bid themselves, but it wouldn't have had longevity.
Instead he says the team "were really mindful" about bringing more people into the process.
“I want to make sure that working class kids, young people in Park and Arbourthorne can access everything that may well come about through City of Culture status," he said.
“That's baked into our bid, this wider participation about moving financial barriers, about it being inclusive for everyone.
“I see culture as being a really big driver to support and grow our economy, to bring in more jobs and business into the city, to attract investments, but also to attract investment into communities and to improve people's quality of life."