{"id":72210,"date":"2026-05-22T12:23:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/?p=72210"},"modified":"2026-05-22T12:23:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:23:15","slug":"local-artist-calls-on-council-to-give-sheffield-artists-opportunities-to-exhibit-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/local-artist-calls-on-council-to-give-sheffield-artists-opportunities-to-exhibit-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Local artist calls on Council to give Sheffield Artists opportunities to exhibit work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An artist has urged Sheffield Council to do more to support independent artists in the city as he launches a new free exhibition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local artist Steve Montgomery\u2019s latest exhibition titled \u2018It\u2019s All Greek to Me’ is aiming to make art more accessible in Sheffield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve said: \u201cThere\u2019s loads of artists out there, and there\u2019s nowhere to exhibit them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went to an exhibition in Barnsley and they\u2019ve got a gallery for new artists and I met other Sheffield artists who said, \u2018Well, we haven\u2019t got anything like this in Sheffield.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve\u2019s exhibition is free of charge and he is funding it out of his own pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s free. I just want people to go and see art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want art to be talked about. Whether you come and say, \u2018What a pile of shit,\u2019 I don\u2019t care. So long as you\u2019ve got an opinion, that\u2019s all an artist is after, a reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mulitple<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Steve said there is not enough in Sheffield for emerging artists, arguing that venues such as the Millennium Gallery did not provide enough opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the Cupola Gallery in Hillsborough. And that\u2019s about it for artists, there\u2019s no art scene in Sheffield, just the Millennium Gallery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve, who is self-taught, argued that established galleries tend to favour artists with formal credentials, and said: “They go to London, they get an RA. If you’re self-taught, they won’t accept your work.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve, said he has always been inspired by Greek Mythology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cI came across a painting called Morpheus Awakens as Iris Approaches, and my mind started twirling, as artists’ do.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love all that stuff, ancient history and that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors can also watch Steve’s painting process on YouTube, where he posts time-lapse videos of his work under the name Abstract Steve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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