This Is Us

A community arts programme made with North-East Sheffield, murals, breaking, sculpture and puppetry, building to a celebration on Saturday 3 October 2026.

Run by Sheffield City Opportunities CIC with Industrial Elements, 09 Murals, and artists Jo Veal & Patrick Amber. Funded by the NHS, so taking part is completely free. This page is our live tracker, follow what’s happening and register your interest below.

Jun – Oct 2026Delivery window

Sat 3 Oct 2026Celebration event

NE SheffieldBurngreave to Longley

Stories of our
neighbourhood,
made together.

This Is Us brings local people together to make public art about where we live, the people who’ve achieved here, those who’ve moved to the area and made it home, our faiths and heritage, and our pride in place.

It’s hands-on, not just to watch. Over the summer we’ll create two community murals, a mixed-age breaking (dance) showcase, sculpture, puppetry and giant lanterns, with everything coming together at a free celebration event and exhibition in October.

Who it’s for

Local residents of all ages, you don’t need any experience

Young people looking for something creative and positive

Mixed-age and intergenerational groups, families welcome

Anyone who wants to help tell the story of our area

Where: across North-East Sheffield, Burngreave & Grimesthorpe (including Pitsmoor), Firth Park, Fir Vale & Crabtree (including Page Hall), and Longley.

Activities & dates

Here’s what you can be part of. All sessions are free. Most dates are rough weeks for now (marked TBC) and we’ll confirm them here, the celebration event date is set.

Industrial Elements

Breaking / dance

Breaking sessions & showcase

All-ages breaking with Industrial Elements at Hype Dance, Walkley, from first moves to a performance at the celebration.

Fridays from Aug · TBCBuilds to 3 Oct

09 Murals

Murals

Community murals & paint day

Help design and paint two public murals with 09 Murals, including a community paint day everyone can join.

Co-design from late Jul · TBCPainting from late Aug · TBC

Jo Veal

Making

Sculpture, puppetry & lanterns

Giant willow and paper lanterns, shadow puppetry, masks and recycled-material making with artists Jo Veal & Patrick Amber.

Workshops from Aug · TBC

09 Murals

Street art

Street-art tasters

Try spray cans, stencils and boards in a relaxed taster, run inside the summer mural and making workshops.

During summer workshops · TBC

Jo Veal

All ages

Intergenerational making

Mixed-age sessions where families and neighbours create side by side, everyone’s welcome, no experience needed.

Aug – Sep · TBC

09 Murals

Celebration

Celebration event & exhibition

The whole programme comes together: a breaking cypher and showcase, live puppetry and lanterns moving through the murals, plus exhibition, film and food. Free and open to all.

Sat 3 Oct 2026Venue TBC

Partners & people

This Is Us is made by a team of Sheffield artists and coaches, funded in partnership with the NHS and Voluntary Action Sheffield, and managed from start to finish by SCO CIC. Tap any name to see who they are and what they do on the project.

Funded and supported by

NHS South Yorkshire ICBFunder +

This Is Us is funded by the NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board as part of its work supporting community wellbeing across North-East Sheffield. Their backing is what makes every session free to take part in.

VASFund-holder and liaison +

Voluntary Action Sheffield holds the funding and acts as our link with the NHS, handling the grant agreement and reporting so delivery can stay focused on the community. vas.org.uk

SCO CICLead partner, manages and governs +

Sheffield City Opportunities CIC leads, manages and governs the whole programme from start to finish, coordinating the artists, budgets, safeguarding, compliance and reporting. As a community interest company, any surplus goes back into more projects. scocic.uk

CitedProject management, in-kind +

Cited donates the use of Mosey, its enterprise-level project management system, built for CICs and small organisations with compliance and task management in mind. It keeps all the contributing artists, deadlines and evidence in one place, at no cost to the project. getcited.uk

The team and artists

Akash HashmiLead coordination, SCO CIC +

Founder of SCO CIC and the programme’s lead coordinator. Akash runs the schedule, budgets, partner liaison and reporting, and contributes on the ground too. Read bio

Leigh RedheadMural lead, 09 Murals +

Sheffield graffiti and mural artist behind 09 Murals. Leigh leads the two public murals, including a collaborative wall made with participants, from co-design through to the final seal. Read bio

Chris BrayfordBreaking lead, Industrial Elements +

Breaking lead and the creative force behind Industrial Elements. Chris runs the all-ages breaking sessions and shapes the performance piece for the celebration. Read bio

Jo VealSculpture, puppetry and lanterns +

Community artist working in giant willow and paper lanterns, shadow puppetry and intergenerational making. Jo co-leads the sculptural strand and helps recruit across the neighbourhoods. @joveal_art

Patrick AmberCo-facilitator, Creative Outpost +

Sculptor and community artist with Creative Outpost. Patrick co-facilitates the lantern and puppetry workshops and brings 3D elements into the collaborative mural. patrickamber.co.uk

SamAssistant breaking coach +

Assistant breaking coach, supporting the sessions, rehearsals and the final showcase alongside Chris.

DavyAssistant breaking coach +

Assistant breaking coach, supporting the sessions, rehearsals and the final showcase alongside Chris.

We’re also joined by a guest mural artist, plus a filmmaker and photographer documenting the programme. These are being confirmed, and we’ll add them here as they come on board.

This Is Us

Stories of our
neighbourhood,
made together.

Where we’re up to