Sydney Works or Sidney Works is a building on Matilda Street in Sheffield, England. It has seen a variety of uses, and occupies a prominent site beside the Porter Brook, surrounded by car parks.
The site was originally occupied by the City Saw Mills. It was occupied by four back-to-back buildings used until the 1970s by various small industrial businesses, most prominently Deakins Silversmiths, later renamed Sydney Silversmiths.
The rear wing of the building was constructed in 1902.
In the 1970s, the building was used by a printing co-operative. From 1982 it was home to Yorkshire ArtSpace, which converted much of the space into studios, becoming the first cultural organisation in what later became the Cultural Industries Quarter. In 2001, Yorkshire Artspace moved to purpose-built premises at Persistence Works, and the building stood largely empty, other than a small part used by a recording studio.
In 2005, the Works were used as a convergence centre for opposition to the G8 Finance Ministers' meeting in Sheffield. Renamed the "Matilda", it was then developed as a squatted social centre, including gig spaces, artists' studios, exhibition space, IT facilities, a cafe and several meeting spaces. In June 2006, Yorkshire Forward, who had acquired the building, secured a court order demanding the eviction of the occupants. [1]
In Autumn 2012 work has begun for a "New build and refurbishment of existing Sidney Works buildings to form a new university technical college, with associated external works including flood lit rooftop multi-use games area"
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there were one billion slum residents and squatters globally. Squatting occurs worldwide and tends to occur when people who are poor and homeless find empty buildings or land to occupy for housing. It has a long history, broken down by country below.
The Rote Flora is a former theatre in the Sternschanze quarter in Hamburg. It has been squatted since November 1989 as an autonomous cultural centre in opposition to a decision to turn it into a musical theatre. The collective said in 2001 "We are the 'UFO in the neighbourhood.' The black hole in public space. The City won't get rid of us because we are a part of what life is."
The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is the largest and best-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales and Documenta, it is one of the longest running exhibitions of its kind and was the first biennale to be established in the Asia-Pacific region.
Manitoba Centennial Centre is an arts and cultural district that covers a 34-acre area in the east Exchange District of the Point Douglas area in Winnipeg, Manitoba, linking several of Manitoba's important arts and cultural facilities. It includes the Centennial Concert Hall, the Manitoba Museum, Planetarium and Science Gallery, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Manitoba Production Centre, Artspace, three nearby surface parking lots, and the building at 11 Lily Street.
Self-managed social centres in the United Kingdom can be found in squatted, rented, mortgaged and fully owned buildings. These self-managed social centres differ from community centres in that they are self-organised under anti-authoritarian principles and volunteer-run, without any assistance from the state. The largest number have occurred in London from the 1980s onwards, although projects exist in most cities across the UK, linked in a network. Squatted social centres tend to be quickly evicted and therefore some projects deliberately choose a short-term existence, such as A-Spire in Leeds or the Okasional Café in Manchester. Longer term social centres include the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford, the Cowley Club in Brighton and the Sumac Centre in Nottingham, which are co-operatively owned.
The Crazy Daisy Nightclub was a discothèque and dance club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England in the mid-1970s to late 1980s, located originally on the corner of York Street and High Street, Sheffield S1 1PU. It was known as The Beer Keller in the early to mid-1970s. It was renamed the Crazy Daizy in 1973 and run by Mecca. The club's best known manager was David Jameson. Lunch-time discos and Bryan Ferry nights were popular in 1976. In 1978 it was taken over by the Tetley company. Situated in the basement of an art deco building, it featured numerous supporting pillars and a steep, sweeping staircase down from the entrance, which was infamous for being responsible for many alcohol-related trip accidents.
The Matilda Centre was a self-managed, grassroots social and community centre based at 111 Matilda Street in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The centre took the name of the street on which the building can still be found. It was housed in the derelict Sydney Works building and collectives ran a variety of projects, including a café, free shop and concert venue. It was evicted in June 2006.
Yorkshire ArtSpace is a project established to provide studio space for artists which opened in October 2001 at the Persistence Works building in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It occupies a key site at the termination of Furnival Street, forming a main elevation to Brown Street, the main street of the city's Cultural Industries Quarter.
Sheffield has a large population of amateur, working and professional visual artists.
Self-managed social centres in Italy exist in many cities. They are part of different left-wing political networks including anarchist, communist, socialist, and autonomist. The centres tend to be squatted and provide self-organised, self-financing spaces for alternative and noncommercial activities such as concerts, exhibitions, farmers' markets, infoshops, and migrant initiatives. Over time, some but not all projects have opted to legalize their status.
Mount Pleasant is an 18th-century mansion situated on Sharrow Lane in the Highfield area of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The house stands just under two km south of the city centre and is a grade II* listed building, it has been described as "one of the best 18th century houses in Sheffield". The adjacent former stables and coach house are also Grade II* listed.
Portland Works is a former cutlery works in the Highfield area of Sheffield in England. Built in 1877, it is now a Grade II* listed building and one of the last remaining working examples of a purpose built metal trades factory. In early 2013, it was bought by nearly five hundred people, through one of the country's largest community share issues. Today Portland works operates a collection of workspaces for traditional and modern craftspeople and is home to more than 30 small businesses.
S1 Artspace is a not-for-profit artist-led organisation based in Sheffield, England, presenting an annual programme of contemporary exhibitions, commissions, screenings and events. S1 Artspace also provides studio space for over twenty contemporary artists at varying stages in their careers, from recent graduates to established artists working at an international level. Based in a former industrial factory building in the centre of Sheffield, S1 Artspace is home to a 260sqm atrium-style gallery, an arts library and reading room.
Bloomsbury Social Centre was the name given to a building in Bloomsbury, London, which was squatted as a self-managed social centre by students in affiliation with Occupy London, and the global Occupy movement. It was occupied on Wednesday, 23 November 2011, and evicted on Thursday, 22 December, lasting a total of 30 days. It was situated at 53 Gordon Square, in an historic six-storey Georgian Grade II-listed building, renovated by famous British architect, Charles Holden, the principal architect of nearby Senate House.
Cóilín Ó Dubhghaill is an Irish artist and academic, crafting as a silversmith and also in copper and Japanese-inspired copper alloys, gold and other metals. He lived in Japan and studied Japanese metal crafts for seven years in the national arts university. His art is held in a range of national and other museums and galleries, and has been widely shown. His research work bridges art and materials science, and he is co-inventor of a new hybrid metal, mikana.
Old Pyrmont Cottages is a heritage-listed cottage at 1, 3, 5 Cross Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of Pyrmont in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1879 to 1895. It is also known as Cross & Scott Street Terraces. The property is owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA). It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 25 August 2017.
Squatting in Australia usually refers to a person who is not the owner, taking possession of land or an empty house. In 19th century Australian history, a squatter was a settler who occupied a large tract of Aboriginal land in order to graze livestock. At first this was done illegally, later under licence from the Crown.
Squatting became a political phenomenon in the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Squats in Prague included Sochora, Stary Střešovice and Ladronka. Milada was occupied in 1998 and following its final eviction in 2009, there was a lull in squatting actions. In the 2010s a new social movement squatted houses to highlight the number of derelict properties in Prague and the social centre Klinika was founded in 2014.
Natalie Finnemore is a contemporary visual artist who creates sculptural installations. Finnemore's artistic practice utilises drawing, printmaking, painting and sculpture. Her sculptural work is influenced by design, and explores our expectations or relationship with, form, function and play.
Roanna Wells is a fine artist based in Sheffield, UK. Wells makes process based work in embroidery and watercolour.