Sheffield: City of Rivers exhibition opens at Weston Park Museum

By Kevin ShoesmithBBC News

Sheffield Museums

A year-long exhibition looking at the impact and history of Sheffield's rivers features over 300 items

A free exhibition has opened exploring Sheffield's relationships with its rivers over the centuries.

City of Rivers, now running at the city's Weston Park Museum, includes art, stories, poetry and photographs.

More than 300 artworks and objects, including a 3D topographic map of the city, can be viewed until November 2024.

Lucy Cooper, exhibitions curator at Sheffield Museums, said: "Sheffield's rivers are the heartbeat of the city."

Highlights include 19th Century Sheffield artist Robert Hudson's autumnal depiction of Endcliffe Woods, which is now Endcliffe Park.

Commissioned for the exhibition is a "beautifully crafted" 3D topographic map of Sheffield showing all of the city's rivers.

'Endlessly interesting'

Holly Clifford, who created the map, said: "Storytelling through art is something I'm extremely passionate about.

"Aside from the enormous practicality of maps, I just think they're endlessly interesting and beautiful; you can get lost in the entrancing structure of the flowing contour lines."

The exhibition has been developed with help from South Yorkshire wildlife and community groups. It also features contributions from schoolchildren.

Ms Cooper said rivers impact "everything from nature and wildlife to our work and hobbies".

She added: "We've had a great response from individuals and groups with contemporary content for the exhibition, including art, photos and objects, and it's been fantastic to bring these together with works from historic collections to celebrate all aspects of the city's waterways."