Sheffield to Paris in Under Six Hours

In July 2008 we contributed to Make/Shift, a series of 9 one day exhibitions curated by Charlotte A. Morgan which explored temporality, impermanence and [dis]location in the context of the built environment, and the ways in which these elements inform shifting notions of place. The project presented newly developed work by a number of artists and collectives, our project Sheffield to Paris in Under Six Hours was the final one day exhibition of the series.

Under the weight of globalisation, independent activity is being displaced. The local is being crushed by the global; the regional overwritten by the international.


For one day only S1 Artspace became a hub for the dissemination of the local and a representation of those faced with displacement. We worked alongside a fabric trader from Sheffield's largest market which, like many arts organisations in the city, is faced with the prospect of imminent closure under the parasitic effects of large-scale commercial redevelopment.

Isolated in the gallery space, the trader put her convivial sales techniques to use in engaging visitors in discussion, drawing links between grassroots art activity and local independent trade, and entering the public in to a process of exchange and manufacture of hand made material goods.

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With many thanks to Grace, Grace's Fabrics, Castle Market Building, Castle Market, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S1 2AH

Full Make/Shift programme:


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