Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
Inspired by Dr Tom Paterson, Dr Milena de Felice, Dr Jon Hinchcliffe and Dr Joey Shepherd’s research into the potential use of fungi in neural interfaces, this installation by Ben Carlin and Helen Brook of Second Nature Studio invites you to interact with glowing mycelial structures and explore the fascinating, unexpected connection between fungal conductivity and the human brain.
Podcast
Want to learn more about Mycelial Mind?
Listen to our podcast as Dr Joey Shepherd joins artists Helen Brook and Ben Carlin from Second Nature Studio to discuss how fungi could help develop new brain technologies, their creative collaboration and how they brought the installation to life.
Episode will release on the 6th November 2026
Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
Based on research from the Complex Emotions Hub (UKRI funded research based at the University of Sheffield), Many Faces, Many Stories is a co-created ceramic installation by sculptor Angie Hardwick that challenges the stigma around complex emotional needs.
With lived-experience contributors, the artist presents sculpted heads that reflect the different ways complex emotions are experienced and understood. This project invites visitors to look beyond assumptions and engage with the human stories behind them. The installation highlights not only challenges but also strengths, creativity, coping, and the many ways people build meaningful lives.
Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
Informed by Dr Steve Maddock’s research, Processing Dreams contemplates the complex issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in the creative industries and in wider society. Through an immersive digital installation created by Human Studio, you are invited to explore familiar Sheffield locations augmented by AI, and to consider whether this technology can be used in creative works without compromising human creativity and vision.
Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
Stories After the Flood is a collaborative project and exhibit led by artist Becky Payne, working with Tom Payne of Ark Doncaster and Meg Meredith, PhD candidate in English Literature. Through photography and storytelling, the exhibit explores the connections between farmers and nature in an era where extreme weather and long-term uncertainty the futures of both biodiversity and British food production. What can these accounts tell us about farming for nature in the face of increasing precarity?
Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
Streets on Screen is a mixed media installation produced by artist-duo C&G Artpartment and based on Dr Wayne Wong’s work on Hong Kong cinema and diasporic cultural practices. Through performance, film and photography – co-produced with local members of the Hong Kong diaspora community – the exhibit explores migration, memory, belonging and cultural resilience.
Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
Just as anamorphic art requires a specific viewpoint to reveal its hidden image, forms of technology-facilitated abuse and coercive control often remain invisible at first glance. Produced by artist Gina Allen, and informed by the research of Professor Parveen Ali and Professor Michaela Rogers, What You (Don’t) See uses optical art techniques to mirror these veiled social realities. Visitors are invited to interact with the physical artwork, change their physical point of view, and consider how different perspectives can bring unseen patterns of control to light.
Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
Have you ever wondered what became of Milky White, the cow traded for a handful of magic beans in Jack and the Beanstalk? Was she cared for, exploited, or forced to use trickery to secure her own freedom? Drawing on Professor Robert McKay’s research into human–animal relationships and folklore traditions, Whose Hooves? is an interactive exhibit by artist Anthony Bennett, that prompts you to reconsider classic stories from the perspective of their non-human characters and question how we treat animals across history and myth.
Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
What does your heart look like when you are exercising? Created by Matthews CodeCraft and informed by the research of Professor Ian Halliday, Cardio-VR takes you on an immersive virtual journey inside a cardiac MRI. Step into the scanner to experience how these advanced imaging systems work and discover what they can teach us about the inner workings of the human heart.
Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
COVID’s Hidden Scars is an immersive art installation developed by Dr Martyn Griffin from a six-year study into the psychological and emotional trauma experienced by critical care nurses during and after the pandemic. Centred around a recreated critical care bed, the exhibit incorporates a filmed performance, photographs, a handcrafted patchwork quilt and a large mural to reflect the study’s key findings. The artworks were co-designed with artists James Croft, Sally Ann Spencer-Grey, Rebel Roots Theatre Company and Yid Whells. You are invited to step into this quiet space to reflect on the unseen emotional toll borne by healthcare workers and their attempts to repair and heal.
Podcast
Want to know more about the research behind COVID’s Hidden Scars and how the exhibit was created?
In this podcast, Dr Martyn Griffin from the University of Sheffield joins the artists behind the installation to discuss the experiences of critical care nurses during and after the COVID 19 pandemic.
They explore the idea of moral injury, the emotional harm that can happen when healthcare workers are placed in situations that go against their sense of what is right, and explain how interviews with nurses were turned into artwork, performance and an immersive installation.
The conversation also looks at moral repair, the lasting impact of the pandemic on nurses and what better support for healthcare workers could look like.
The podcast will release on 6 November 2026
Opening Times: 6 – 15 Nov | Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 5pm) | Sunday (11am – 4pm)
Location: Persistence Works (Yorkshire Art Space), 21 Brown St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield, S1 2BS
About the exhibit
Cracks in the Façade is a community-based creative initiative that empowers men to confront mental health challenges through collective art-making. In collaboration with Dr Will Mason, Hinna Abid, the Manor and Castle Development Trust and the Parson Cross community, artist Alastair Flindall and Neck of the Wood studio create a striking, collaged artefact. Composed of personal imagery, objects and texts, the exhibit lays bare the hidden emotional struggles – from loneliness and societal pressures to suppressed vulnerability. Visitors are invited to view the piece as a catalyst for open conversation, mutual support and breaking down longstanding stigmas.
Podcast
Want to know more about the research and conversations behind Cracks in the Façade?
In this podcast, Hinna Abid and Alastair Flindall discuss men’s mental health, masculinity, loneliness and the pressures that can make it difficult to talk openly about vulnerability.
They explore how University of Sheffield research and conversations with men in Sheffield shaped the artwork, and why creative projects and community spaces can help people talk about experiences that often stay hidden.
