Sheffield COVID-19 Community Memorial City Artworks Online Exhibition

The Sheffield Covid-19 Community Memorial project brought people together from across our city, to share stories and connect, creating more compassion for all.

As part of the memorial project, artworks from our city’s art collection were used to find points of connection to people’s memories from pandemic times. In workshop sessions, individuals were invited to share memories and choose paintings that related to their experience.

This online exhibition brings together a collection of written responses with the paintings that inspired them. They give a glimpse of the different experiences people had during the pandemic and allow us to connect with these for our own reflection.

I wanted to say thank you for the Covid-19 Community Memorial session – I really felt like I had been cleansed and recharged in a good way afterward.

The questions which prompted participants' work

Rosie Carnall facilitated the Covid-19 Community Memorial sessions, based on the method she uses in our monthly Sharing the View: Philosophy in the Gallery sessions in the Graves Gallery. These offer people a chance to explore big ideas together, in response to different artworks – all are welcome, no experience required.

Below you'll find a selection of responses created by participants inspired by works in Sheffield's Visual Art collection.