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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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Gathering Landscapes: 150 Years of Collecting at Weston Park Museum

Fri. 28 November 2025 — Sun. 1 November 2026

Weston Park Museum

A look at the curious, beautiful, macabre and magical connections people have made to the land through over 400 objects from Sheffield’s collections. Curated by Heavy Water Collective (artists Maud Haya-Baviera, Victoria Lucas and Joanna Whittle).

Playhouse

The smallest of the trio of venues that make up Sheffield Theatres, the Playhouse is an intimate space that lets you get close to the action. Its full name – Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse – is a tribute to an influential theatre designer.

Yuen Fong Ling

An artist whose work uncovers hidden histories and connect past figures with autobiography – currently exploring the Sheffield legacy of writer, poet, activist and socialist Edward Carpenter (1844-1929).

Sheffield Chamber Music Festival

Fri. 15 May 2026 — Sat. 23 May 2026

Playhouse

Nine days of intimate and inviting classical music performances for all ages. The 2026 event includes a performance of collaborative work by Morton Feldman and Samuel Beckett, an opera for children, a day of music and walking in the Peaks, and more.