Every month, Mixtape Couture will be showcasing and shining a light on the talent that can be found in Sheffield. From bands to fashion brands, shops to restaurants, events to exhibitions, if it’s in Sheffield and it’s worth you knowing about then I will be letting you know. Whether you are a Sheffield resident yourself or are planning a visit one day [which I highly recommend] then hopefully this feature will help you to know where to visit, what to do and what’s going on in the Steel City.
This month I’d thought I’d do something a bit different and instead of picking an event or an establishment, I thought I’d showcase something slightly more temporary, something that I should bring to your attention before it goes. Recently, me and my boyfriend headed to the Millennium Galleries for a wander and discovered a brand new exhibition that is just pretty damn wonderful. I’m no art connissuer but I know what I like and I liked this a lot, I think the fact that it showcased the beauty in the industry of my home city made me love it even more too.
The exhibition I’m talking about is called ‘Steel City, City on The Move’ by Jo Peel. Peel has taken the industry that remains in Sheffield and highlighted how that has made an impact on the city, architecturally, culturally and more. She also looks at how that still affects the city now for better and for worse, especially higlighting the issues we have as a city at moving on and growing into the next area which could bring more success and money into our wonderful city.
She then takes her drawings and findings and heads to Pittsburgh in the United States and discovers the same things there. The similar buildings, architectures, people, businesses, struggles and more. I’ve never been to Pittsburgh but I never realised the similarities between my city in the north of a wonderful country and this city in the most powerful country in the world thousands of miles away.
Throughout the exhibition there are sketches, drawings, paintings from small pieces to huge canvases. The work showcases a multitude of media on paper and canvases and how colour can add or take away from a simple sketch. But things don’t stop there, Peel has conducted a series of interviews with many people from Sheffield and Pittsburgh. For example, the one we watched was the tattoo artists in both cities; in Sheffield we had Five Magics and a tattoo studio in Pittsburgh. Both owners and tattooists were asked questions about not only their businesses but their city, how it is today, why they love it, how they feel it could be improved, the struggles etc.
It is such an interesting exhibition and I would love to revisit it before it closes its doors on October 11th. With a whole space to itself, you can fully immerse yourself in Peel’s work which I think is pretty amazing. You can also buy prints of her work from the gallery and there are also a select few on Millennium Galleries website.
To find out more about Jo Peel visit her website and to find out more about the Steel City, City on The Move exhibition visit Museums Sheffield website
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