Lives in Focus - Sheffield Museums Trust

Left to right:

A photograph of a the head and unclothed upper body of a man holding a mask of African heritage and wearing a a floral headdress

A black and white photograph of a woman with her back to the camera with her hand raised and covering the side of her face.

A photograph showing a rural landscape. In the foreground two people sit in folding chairs next to a road and a parked car.

A photograph showing a rural landscape. In the foreground two people sit in folding chairs next to a road and a parked car.

L-R: Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Adebiyi, 1989© the artist. Photo by Charles Roussel. Courtesy of Autograph, London, and Hales, London and New York / Simon Roberts, Fountains Fell, Yorkshire Dales, 3 August 2008 © Simon Roberts. Courtesy Flowers Gallery, London and New York / Jyll Bradley, Self-Portrait, Corduroy Jacket 1987–2023 (1 of 2) © the artist

Simon Roberts, Fountains Fell, Yorkshire Dales, 3 August 2008 © Simon Roberts. Courtesy Flowers Gallery, London and New York

This new exhibition, drawn from the city collection, celebrates photography’s unique power to reveal connections spanning generations, geographies and shared histories.

At its heart is a group of newly acquired photographic works by Jyll Bradley, Joanne Coates, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Sunil Gupta and Rene Matić. Informed by the artists’ own experiences, these compelling images bring vital new perspectives on the themes of identity, community and belonging.

These recent acquisitions are presented alongside selected works from the wider collection by artists including Fay Godwin, Isaac Julien and Sam Taylor-Johnson. Together, they showcase how photographers explore both portraiture and place to document and question the world around us. Reflecting on ideas of visibility, marginalisation and desire, the works on display highlight how photographers have used the medium to challenge dominant narratives and foreground voices that have often been overlooked.

The new acquisitions were purchased with support from the JG Graves Charitable Trust, Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and Art Fund.

Everything we do is made possible by you – please donate £5 to help us showcase homegrown creativity and ensure that everyone can enjoy the best in art and design here, on their doorstep.

Free Entry | Please Donate £5

Opening Times

Tue–Sat 11am–4pm

Closed Sundays and Mondays including Bank Holidays

***The Colour, Line and Form, Place and Identity, Portraits and the Human Figure and On the Border of my Peaceful Home displays currently remain closed for essential maintenance. We're sorry you aren't able to visit those spaces at the moment, we look forward to welcoming you as soon as we're able***

Graves Gallery

(Above the Central Library)

Surrey Street

Sheffield

S1 1XZ

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