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ArtWorks currently supports over 100 artists across three sites in the Sheffield/Rotherham area. This is a number which continues to grow by the week as word spreads about the terrific projects our artists are involved with. But how are these projects selected? What level of involvement is offered to individual artists in group projects? I'll try to give you an idea of how it works in this blog post... Project ideas originate from all sorts of places. Our artists are constantly grinding away at their own works - many of which organically develop into large scale projects which include multiple artists. Sometimes projects come from collaboration between artists and our workshop leaders. We are also often approached by external organisations for commissions/collaboration. We also find our projects through open calls for artists. We are have an enormous breadth of talent in our studios, and so our artists find that they are able to rise to new challenges with ease! Wherever the project idea originates from, there are usually three main factors we consider when committing to a project long term. Individual Practise When deciding on potential long term projects it is imperative to consider the individual practises of the artists who attend our studio. One of the main draws to Artworks is the support we offer to develop artists as individuals. No two sets of interests & skillsets are the same, and ArtWorks offers the freedom to express yourself and develop your practise at your own pace. So how does this effect large projects? Our specialised workshops leaders who work with our artists are extremely familiar with their individual skillsets and artistic interests and are able to discuss with an artist how they may be able to contribute to a project. Some projects are more suited to particular skillsets, and this is considered when deciding on a project. How many of our artists will be able to benefit from this project? How will it positively impact their individual practise? One of the best examples of collating a large number of artists into a single projects is when we are running a large-scale film production project. Film is a wonderful mixture of art in all of its forms: Photography, costume design, prop design, music, sound design, performance... the list goes on. Through multimedia projects, we are able to engage artists across a range of practises on a single production. Obviously group projects do not appeal to all of our artists, and nobody is pressured to participate in something that doesn't appeal to them. But involvement is offered to everyone as a means of developing their experience and trying something new! Commitment & Exposure The primary goal of ArtWorks is to enrich the lives of the people who attend our service through exploring creativity. But it's also important that the voices of our artists get out into the world. An important factor in how we commit to projects is recognising whether the project in question has the scope to sufficiently amplify our artists' creative voices. The question is: Will the work we produce for this project reach a large receptive audience? Community engagement is fundamental to the ethos of ArtWorks. We want to ensure that our artists are given the opportunities and the tools to play an active role in their community. To achieve this, many of our projects see us collaborating with external organisations and working with community enterprises. The level to which a project allows for external engagement massively impacts whether it is something we will choose to commit to. Our artists are no stranger to producing works for exhibitions, museums, festivals, and businesses, so many of our projects have an intended audience built in. Considering the level of exposure a project will bring to our artists helps us establish how much we are able to commit to the project. Creative Agency No two members of ArtWorks are the same. Every one of our artists possesses their own creative voice and artistic temperament. As such, the best projects we take on are the ones that allow our artists freedom to explore their own creative sensibilities. We will also strive to ensure this is at the forefront of our projects. Over the past two years the pursuit of large scale projects has become a much bigger part of what we do at ArtWorks. We find that it helps keeps our community united, and gives a wider breadth of experience for our artists. 2022 has seen a great number of projects come and go already! Work is always updated on our social media pages. So keep a look out for our exhibition for our current residency at Yorkshire Art Space in Sheffield City Centre. Our artists are visiting the studio on a daily basis producing new and exciting work with a number of local artists. The work will be open to the public for viewing so keep and eye out for announcements soon! That's all for now!

We have started a CrowdFunding project to try and raise £7400.00 to run a 3 month art installation which will engage the local community and focus on making positive changes to stop climate change. What we want to do with this project We would like to create an art project that would take place in Sheffield Station with a focus on climate change and the issues affecting our planet. This would provide a platform for our artists to exhibit their work while also adding an interactive and public engagement element that would spread awareness and encourage positive action around climate change and environmental issues. The project would engage the public with interactive activities such as art workshops, handing out wildflower seeds, and QR codes on the artworks leading people to social media where they can share their creations and learn about ways that they can have a positive impact. How this will make a difference in our community 12.5 million people pass through Sheffield station a year, this presents a fantastic opportunity for exposure for our artists work, and for spreading positive messages on climate action to a large number of people. Our eARThworks project would… Engage the public in awareness around climate change and action that can be taken Provide a platform for our artists to exhibit work which has a social purpose Enrich the public spaces in the train station with art and interactive activities And Engage with local schoolchildren and give them the opportunity to exhibit their work, while also engaging them in conversations around climate change What your contributions will do The funding we are asking for would pay for staff to run workshops, pay for the art materials, and the cost of running the exhibitions and outreach projects. The more money we raise the more groups we can support to get involved and the more people that get involved will have a bigger impact on climate change. To support us please visit our official crowdfunding page by clicking on the button below.

Our new project ‘Hope Shines’ aims to brighten the day of the village residents by showing uplifting messages of support and hope when reflecting on the last 12 months. The designs have been created by ArtWorks artists in hope it adds a smile to the day of the people passing by. During these unusual times, creativity and community are more important than ever. As many galleries have been closed due to restrictions we decided that an outdoor exhibition within our local community would be the perfect opportunity to begin showing our art work to the world again! The positive posters will be displayed on the fence outside the ArtWorks Thorpe Hesley Community Centre at the top of Brook Hill in Thorpe Hesley from the 14stof August. We hope our posters inspire the village to make their own positive posters in response to ours. Whether it’s working out how to use zoom, your dog loving you being at home or the work our amazing key workers have been doing, there is always something to be grateful and hopeful for.

ArtWorks has launched their first competition: ArtWorks Together International Learning Disability and Autism Arts Competition 2021. This is a brand new competition offering people with learning disabilities and autism the opportunity to showcase their artistic talents to the entire world. Go to www.artworkstogether.co.uk to find out more. We hope to raise the aspirations of artists with Learning Disabilities and Autism that want to work in the arts & cultural sector, and encourage ambition and talent to freely thrive through this opportunity to showcase their artwork through our exhibition. The competition will conclude in an exhibition at the prestigious Wentworth Woodhouse in South Yorkshire, a glorious Grade I listed stately home. The artists selected will exhibit their work in March 2021 as well as an online 3D exhibition which can be viewed worldwide. The exhibition can be viewed here for the 25th of March: https://www.artworkstogether.co.uk/virtualexhibition The judging panel for 2021 is made up of internationally recognised artists and curators. The judges are Alison Lapper, Tony Heaton, the Co-directors of ArtAngel, James Lingwood and Michael Morris, Helen Pheby, and Rachel Gadsden. Prizes for the competition consist of cash prizes for the first, second and third place as well as our six judges prizes which will each consist professional art supplies. ArtWorks Together 2021 has been sponsored by: Gripple, Irwin Mitchell, Sheafmoor Money Management Ltd, Sheffield City Council, Smith Painters Limited. Head to www.artworkstogther.co.uk or to find out more about the competition and exhibition.

Retroverse is Josh Garcia’s first solo online exhibition organised in partnership with ArtWorks. The exhibition features 63 pieces of digital and traditional art created since the start of Covid-19 pandemic. All of the work in the exhibition have a ‘Retro’ style taking inspiration from 1930’s cartoon, the 1980’s and 1990’s animation. Many of the works shown in this exhibition are representing current events in society while others give a nod to nostalgia. Josh is a skilled illustrator balancing important themes with light-hearted comedy. The characters Josh creates in his artwork take references from his own life such as ‘Elijah the Autism fairy’ as well as adopting more fictional characters like ‘Skulluks’. Josh explores a variety of concepts in his work and is influenced by mixing styles of different cartoon eras. As you virtually navigate the exhibition you are transported through different themes and styles all telling fascinating stories. To view more of Josh's work click here.

During the Covid 19 lockdown, ArtWorks staff member John worked at Step Residential Home in Rotherham supporting a group of ArtWorks Artists in their own homes. During this time the group began experimenting with song writing and making music and decided to form The Bradgate Band. Livin la Vida Lockdown is the debut album of The Bradgate Band, a collaboration between Chris Harvey, Mat, Richard and John Ledger, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The album consists of 12 songs including titles such as ‘I don’t like cherries’ and ‘Get it into your head’. The musicians articulate the process of re-evaluating ourselves and our basic daily life, which has been a result of the lockdown experience. The unique sound on the album fuses electronic melodies and acoustic guitars, together with the raw and honest vocals of the band members. In this way the artists capture the strength of our individual human voices, which have become so prominent during lockdown. The album cover features artwork created by the band in their home with support from Christopher Johns. Buy the album at £9.00 from our website, and find it on all major music distribution sites.

We are so delighted with the support and response we've had from other artists and art organisiations to help support our artists whilst in lockdown. Artist Laura Mabbutt has created this beautiful craft zine for our artists to complete from macrame plant pot hangers to junk art sun catchers, there's so much to keep our creative minds occupied. We thank Laura and Mansions of the Future for their continued support in helping us to enagaqge our artists through these difficult times. https://mansionsofthefuture.org https://www.makingupyourstreet.co.uk

Last year our artists took part in a project with Site Gallery. Throughout their residency, artists created a body of work exploring their chosen themes of movement, environment and light by responding to creative briefs set by Sheffield artists Christopher Jarratt, Joanna Whittle, Roanna Wells and Lea Torp Nielson. Visitors were invited to meet the artists as they created work during open sessions. The artists will celebrated their residency with an opportunity to see all their newly created works at a closing party held in October 2019. You can see the amazing video made by Peter Martin following their residency.

In the light of recent events regarding the spread of COVID-19, on Wednesday 18th of March the decision was made to close the doors to our day centres until further notice. This was a difficult decision to make for many reasons, however, the safety and wellbeing of our artists and staff will always remain our top priority. The reality is that many of our service users rely on our daily service, not only as a place to support their artistic growth, but also as a social outlet. We do not want the decision to close our doors to affect the sense of community Artworks has cultivated over the years. During our closure we will be doing everything we can to ensure our service user’s remain artistically engaged! We’ve been sending out individual arts packages containing activities and challenges, conducting phone and skype calls to give remote support, we have also been making select home visits to in order to conduct arts workshops safely. The decision to launch this patreon is motivated by the desire to maintain the wellbeing of our community and its people, whilst also helping to keep the future of Artworks secure. By giving your support, you will enable us to continue our work during these difficult times, whilst also becoming a part of our community.  Supporters will be given exclusive access to our bi-monthly Arts Blog!  Here you will be kept up to date on the projects our artists have been working on from home, receive exclusive high-res desktop backgrounds, film and video content made directly by our artists, and much more to  be announced! Supporting our patreon is an excellent opportunity to engage with a wonderful artistic community, whilst helping to ensure that we are able to continue our work long in to the future. We hope that you will join us as we continue to honour our commitment to compassion, artistic-endeavour and self-belief. https://www.patreon.com/artworks_sy

Artworks very own textile artist Gerald Green has a collection of work for sale in this year’s Handmade for Christmas shop at the Millennium Gallery. Gerald has spent the past six months carefully designing his fabric themed around his love for the city he lives in. He's been busy working on the sewing machine to produce a series of cushions and tea towels that are on sale exclusively at the Millennium Gallery .

Some of our artists had their work submitted to Environments’, the 2019 exhibition by Outside In. The exhibtion showcases work from 80 artists whose work explores characters, human figures and the natural world. The exhibition is on at Piano Nobile Kings Place in London’s Kings Cross until 01 January 2020. Artists Chrissie and Alistair attended a special event on 8th November at Piano Nobile Kings Place. Judges Grayson Perry, Cathy Pilkington and Robert Travers voted Alistair as their third runner up. Outside In and ArtWorks artist Alistair Clayton reveals his clay sculpture ‘Buddha’ is inspired by “the erosion of the environment over time whether its man made or natural’. Chrissie Buckthorpe’s watercolour of Sunset over Birdwell is the result of a bus journey taken through the district of Birdwell, which is located between Sheffield and Barnsley, one evening. Chrissie said: “I just happened to see a beautiful sunset and a great view. I was lucky to take a good photo when I was on the upper deck of the moving bus and I used that photo to produce this painting. ARTIST Alistair Clayton I started making art when I was aged 13. I get a pen and paper and it happens spontanesously. It is the result of drawing for years and years. Sometimes my work represents how I feel, for example stressed or calm. Theres an aspect to art about what is aesthetically pleasing rather than how it makes you feel. I can appreciate the photo realism work but I enjoy the crazier abstract art. I enjoy looking at other people’s work. I have exhibited my work before in Sheffield at the Millenium Gallery. https://outsidein.org.uk/galleries/alan-2/ ARTIST Chrissie Buckthorpe I’ve been doing artwork since I was a child. A possible reason why I am so creative is that I inherited it from my mum’s side of the family, she showed me a lot of art and my Grandad did art as well. I used to watch Art Attack when I was younger as well. I can get inspiration from other artists and photos. When I did the elements project, I did a lot of research and use my sketchbook to show the research. When I go out, my parents and I take photographs and I use those for inspiration in my artwork. I am currently working on a 3D sculpture based on the Eden Project. It is patchwork and consists of hexagons and pentagons made out of different fabrics. Art is quite therapeutic and makes me feel relaxed. Art is like something I can get on with whether it’s in the studio or at home watching the tv. Art is like a thing I could make a good career out of. I also like doing music. I sing in Rock Choir. I sometimes play acoustic guitar and sometimes go to open mic nights. I do covers of various songs. https://outsidein.org.uk/galleries/chrissie-buckthorpe/

Kid Acne will be signing a bottle of Sheffield Dry Gin – That’s The Spirit to be auctioned off, along with a set of beer mats, to raise money for Artworks South Yorkshire. To mark the launch of artist Kid Acne’s latest exhibition ‘Have A Word’, the UK-based illustrator has collaborated with True North Brew Co.’s distillery Sheffield Dry Gin, to release a limited edition run of their Original gin. Sheffield Dry Gin - That’s The Spirit features custom Kid Acne artwork and is numbered for authenticity; available exclusively from the online store , the official launch date is 13th September but you can pre-order your very own bottle right now. . The launch coincides with the opening of Kid Acne’s ‘Have A Word’ exhibition, his first solo Sheffield show in five years, showcasing lyrics and typography. It will be hosted at S1 Art Space in Park Hill and will run from Friday 13th – Saturday 28th September. Discussing the importance of Sheffield, Kid Acne said “I moved to Sheffield 20 years ago when I studied Fine Art at Hallam university, and I’ve stayed here pretty much ever since. I just love Sheffield as a place to work and I like the vibe of Sheffield.” Alongside the gin, Kid Acne has worked with True North Brew Co to launch a special edition beer, ‘Have A Word’ , with a limited number of custom beer mats adorning Kid Acne’s familiar illustrations. These will be available in selected True North Brew Co venues throughout Sheffield. Along with their venues and beer, True North’s very own gin, Sheffield Dry Gin, is the first gin to be made in Sheffield in 100 years; an expertly crafted premium spirit containing a little Sheffield goodness. Sheffield Dry Gin head distiller Dean Hollingworth said, “we’re always keen to get involved with talented people who contribute so much to Sheffield. It’s brilliant that Kid Acne is bringing his latest exhibition to Sheffield so we jumped at the opportunity to support and collaborate with him”. To get your limited edition bottle visit True North Brew Co HAVE A WORD –  An Exhibition of Lyrics and Typography by Kid Acne, hosted by  S1 Artspace .  1 Norwich St, Park Hill, Sheffield September 13th – 28th
(Wed – Sat, 12-5pm)