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The Sheffield culture guide written by in-the-know locals

Migration Matters Festival

Migration Matters 2024, photo by Smart Banda

In 2007 Sheffield became the UK’s first City of Sanctuary – a place that welcomes asylum-seekers and refugees, that offers a hand to people in need of safety. Held around Refugee Week each June, Migration Matters Festival is a celebration of diversity and the positive impact migration and refugees have in Sheffield.

The festival launched in 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum and Syrian refugee crisis. Each year the Migration Matters programme brings communities together over fantastic, globe-spanning variety of theatre, music, dance, workshops, exhibitions, and more.

Come back soon for dates and details of Migration Matters 2026.

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Sheffield Ceramics Festival

Sat. 18 April 2026 — Sun. 19 April 2026

Kelham Island Museum

Browse the wares of around 50 ceramic artists, potters and sculptors from South Yorkshire and beyond.

Geo Law

A master doodler, Geo creates work with "plenty of colour, character and narrative to sink your eyes into".

Andrew Hunt

An artist painting people caught in moments of tenderness and silence.

David Fennell-Roberts

A painter and printmaker capturing the essence of the area around Long Island, an overlooked part of Sheffield at the core of this city's rich history.