City of Culture 2029 - Get involved!

Creative Assemblies are spaces for shared thinking, learning and action, bringing together people from different sectors, communities and disciplines to imagine what Sheffield could become.

They are directly linked to areas of focus for our bid, which will need to set out clear methodologies and approaches for delivering ‘culture-led social transformation’. Join us at one of the assemblies below so you can tell us what you want to see in Sheffield's bid:

• Sheffield Creative Assembly: City of Wellbeing - 23 June 2026 - This Creative Assembly will focus on how creativity can support connection, belonging, health and quality of life across Sheffield.
• Sheffield Creative Assembly: City of Artists - 15 July 2026 - This session will explore how artists, makers, producers, collectives and creative orgs can contribute to an ambitious vision for 2029.
• Sheffield Creative Assembly: City of Nature - 16 July 2026 - This session will focus on how culture can respond to climate challenges, deepen connections with nature and imagine regenerative futures.
• Sheffield Creative Assembly: City of Future Generations - 21 July 2026 - This session will focus on the City of Future Generations. We want the creativity of young people to be at the heart of our thinking.
• Sheffield Creative Assembly: City of Neighbourhoods - 30 July 2026 - This session will explore how culture can support participation at a local level, strengthen community connection and create opportunities.

• City of Sanctuary update - City of Sanctuary is also a predominant theme in this process, and an extensive consultation has already been carried out by the Sanctuary27 team. We'll therefore be drawing on this existing information for the bid. If you want to find out more about Sanctuary27 or feed into this theme, click the above link.

  
  We're looking forward to getting everyone galvanized around these themes!

A framework for organisations to run their own workshops with artists, cultural workers, creative networks and organisations to help inform Sheffield’s bid for City of Culture 2029.

Sheffield has been longlisted to become UK City of Culture 2029.

As part of the bid process, we're inviting artists, creative practitioners, producers, freelancers, cultural workers, creative students, emerging leaders and cultural organisations to share their ideas, experiences and ambitions.

Sheffield already has a shared vision for the future, captured in Sheffield’s Culture Strategy and in Sheffield’s City Goals. Our City of Culture bid will sit within that vision, helping to bring it to life. Together, these imagine a city that is creative, connected, welcoming, sustainable and full of opportunity.

This toolkit is designed to support conversations within cultural organisations, creative networks, artist communities, creative courses, studios, collectives and other cultural settings.

We're interested in understanding how culture can contribute to Sheffield's future, what opportunities City of Culture could unlock, and what role artists, creatives and cultural organisations might play in shaping that future.

What do we mean by culture?

Culture means different things to different people.

It includes arts, heritage, festivals, museums, galleries, music, literature, theatre and performance. It also includes grassroots creativity, digital culture, making, design, fashion, food, sport, gaming, neighbourhood activity, social practice, community action and the many ways people express themselves and connect with others.

We're interested in both professional and everyday creativity, and in the relationship between culture and wider issues such as wellbeing, nature, young people, communities, inclusion and the future of the city.

Facilitator Guidance

This conversation can be delivered:

• As a team discussion

• As part of an artist development programme

• With students

• Through a network meeting

• Within an existing workshop or event

Suggested duration:

• 60 minutes to 2 hours

Participants do not need detailed knowledge of the City of Culture process but full information is available here.

The aim is to create a space for reflection, discussion and idea generation.

You do not have to discuss every question, feel free to pick just one or two if you’d like to have longer discussions around a specific topic.

Toolkit and enquiries

Thank you for contributing to Sheffield's City of Culture 2029 journey.

Your ideas will help shape a vision for Sheffield that reflects the city's creativity, ambition, communities and future aspirations, while contributing to the wider conversation about what kind of city Sheffield wants to become. We can’t promise that your ideas will make it into the final bid, but we can promise it will be read and carefully considered by the bidding team.

You can access the toolkit here.

Once you have completed the tasks, please fill in this form.

The deadline for completion is 24 July 2026.

For enquiries, please contact culturesheffield@sheffield.gov.uk.

This is a framework for organisations to run their own workshops with communities to help inform Sheffield’s bid for City of Culture 2029.

Sheffield has been longlisted to become UK City of Culture 2029. The UK City of Culture is a designation awarded every four years by the UK Government to a specific city, town, or region. Winning areas host a year-long program of cultural events and festivities designed to stimulate economic growth, attract tourism, and build local community pride.

As part of the bid process, we're inviting people across the city to share their ideas, experiences, hopes and ambitions for Sheffield's future.

Sheffield already has a shared vision for the future, captured in Sheffield’s Culture Strategy and in Sheffield’s City Goals. Our City of Culture bid will sit within that vision, helping to bring it to life. Together, these imagine a city that is creative, connected, welcoming, sustainable and full of opportunity.

This toolkit enables community groups, schools, youth groups, cultural organisations, neighbourhood networks and other local groups to hold their own conversation and contribute ideas to the bid. There are no right or wrong answers.

We're interested in hearing what matters to people, what makes Sheffield special, and what they would like to see happen in 2029 and beyond.

What do we mean by culture?

Culture means different things to different people.

For some people it might mean music, theatre, festivals, museums, galleries or heritage. For others it might mean sport, food, faith, community celebrations, local traditions, nature, gaming, making things, storytelling, volunteering, neighbourhood activities or spending time with others.

When we talk about culture in this conversation, we mean all the ways people express themselves, connect with others, celebrate what matters to them and shape the places where they live.

We're interested in professional culture and grassroots culture, city-wide events and neighbourhood activities, established organisations and informal community initiatives. If it helps people come together, share experiences, create something, celebrate something, care or imagine a better future, then it is likely relevant to this conversation.

Facilitator Guidance

This conversation can be delivered in as little as 45 minutes or extended to a full two hours, depending on the time available.

Facilitators do not need specialist knowledge of culture or City of Culture although full guidance on the bidding process is here.

The aim is simply to create space for conversation where people feel able to speak honestly, listen to each other, capture what matters and ensure that a wide range of voices are heard and can be included in the bid.

For shorter sessions, choose 3 - 4 activities. For longer sessions, work through all activities and allow more time for discussion and creative exercises.

Participants can contribute through discussion, writing, drawing, mapping, photographs, post-it notes or any other format that works for the group.

Where possible, use people’s own words. Memorable phrases, stories and examples can carry more meaning than a polished summary.

Toolkit and enquiries

Thank you for helping shape Sheffield's City of Culture 2029 bid.

By taking part, you're contributing to a city-wide conversation about Sheffield's future and helping ensure that the ideas, experiences and ambitions of people across our neighbourhoods and communities are reflected in the bid. We can’t promise that your ideas will make it into the final bid, but we can promise it will be read and carefully considered by the bidding team.

Together, we're exploring how culture can help Sheffield become an even more creative, connected, welcoming, sustainable and opportunity-rich city for everyone.

You can download the toolkit here.

Once you have completed the tasks, please fill in this form.

The deadline for completion is 24 July 2026.

For enquiries, please contact culturesheffield@sheffield.gov.uk.

A framework for organisations to run their own workshops/discussions with young people to help inform Sheffield’s bid for City of Culture 2029.

Sheffield is one of 9 locations bidding to become UK City of Culture 2029. If we win, Sheffield will host a year of culture (events, projects, and experiences) that could change what it feels like to grow up here.

What happens in a City of Culture? Imagine a year-long celebration of all the brilliant things about Sheffield, full of fantastic events and opportunities in every community across the city.

As part of writing the bid, we want to hear from as many people as possible about what they want Sheffield’s City of Culture to look and feel like. In July, there will be a meeting focusing specifically on children and young people’s experiences, and we want the people in that room (artists, organisations, decision-makers) to hear directly from young people across the city about what matters to them.

That’s why this toolkit exists. Your answers will inform that meeting.

What do we mean by 'culture'?

Culture means different things to different people. It’s not just theatres and galleries.

Culture is anything people do together that matters to them - music, food, sport, making stuff, hanging out, faith, gaming, volunteering, storytelling, family histories, heritage etc….

Culture helps people express themselves, connect with others, and make a difference to the place they live.

How to use this toolkit

You can access the toolkit here. This works as a group session (45–60 minutes) led by a facilitator.

There are no right or wrong answers. You can write, draw, record a voice note, or take a photo - whatever works best. If you're doing this as a group, capture the conversation: quotes, ideas, disagreements all count.

You don't have to do every section - pick the ones that generate the best conversation for your group.

At the end, fill in the online form on Have Your Say or email responses to: sophie_hunter@icloud.com.

Responses received by 5th July will help to shape the wider Community Assembly focused on children and young people’s involvement in the Capital of Culture bid. Responses received before 30th July will still be considered and help to shape the bid.

Thank you for your input!

On top of the survey, creative assemblies and external community/cultural conversations, we will be conducting interviews with key cultural and community leaders.

These conversations are designed to help us understand Sheffield's strengths, opportunities, partnerships and ambitions. We want to hear people's perspectives, ideas and insights about what could make Sheffield's City of Culture journey meaningful, ambitious and distinctive. What is already alive in the city, what is trying to emerge, and what conditions would allow people to shape it with integrity?

We'll be contacting cultural leaders directly to capture these answers, but there is still an expansive engagement process for you to get involved with on this website.

The process will bring together thousands of voices and cultural strands from across the city to feed into to our bid. Whether or not we get City of Culture, these ideas will form the basis of something bigger as Sheffield develops in the coming years.

Watch this space!