Cultural summit showcases vital role of arts in Sheffield and South Yorkshire

The inaugural Cultural and Creative Industries Summit brought together an invited audience at the Showroom Cinema, Sheffield, and launched the South Yorkshire Cultural and Creative Industries Network.

It will provide an opportunity to unlock and regularly engage with the region’s creative talent, operate as an entry point for creative newcomers and be a way to assist young talent to build a network.

Over the next 12 months, the network will develop a programme of events intended to open a dialogue with all creative talent and businesses within the region. It will also aim to galvanize opinion and a collective voice across the sector.

The network launch also coincided with South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s Dan Jarvis’ million-pound investment announcement for the arts, culture and heritage sector. It is part of South Yorkshire’s Additional Restrictions Grant which has so far provided businesses with over £45m of support during the pandemic.

Mayor Jarvis also announced a new partnership with Creative England to deliver bespoke support for creative industries, offering mentoring and advice.

He said: “It’s steeped in every part of our region, and the creative industries will be a crucial part of the story that we tell the world. It’s time for us to tell it with passion and with confidence and to step out the shadows of others.

"So, with the spotlight shining on Sheffield and South Yorkshire – thanks to the huge success of Everyone’s Talking about Jamie - let’s seize this opportunity to forge a renewed, collaborative, and successful creative sector in our region. I’ll be doing all I can to support.”

At the summit, Caroline Norbury, the Chief Executive Officer of Creative England and Creative Industries Federation, outlined the importance of making creative and cultural industries a strategic priority for the UK to bounce back better after Covid.

She said: “Creativity is sewn into the fabric of our country and should be flourishing in every corner of the UK. Not just in London or metropolitan centres, but on every village green and town square, binding our communities together."