Now Then magazine

Connecting Limbs: "We built a hotel for fish!" How architects are 'designing for life' on Sheffield's hidden rivers For students at Sheffield Hallam, an opportunity to design for different species opens up new ideas of what architecture is for.

“It turned out to be a hotel for fish – that's what people were calling it!”

For @wildsheffield.bsky.social's #ConnectingLimbs project, architecture students at @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social were tasked with designing ways to boost biodiversity on #Sheffield's River Sheaf

✍️ @sammgreg.bsky.social

You asked, we're answering: when will Now Then be back in print? We want to get back to producing a printed magazine. There, we said it. Now, the details...

If there’s one question we hear when we’re out and about more than any other, it’s this one: when will Now Then return to print, and what will it look like?

We’ve got more details on that, plus a chance to tell us what you want from Now Then 2.0 if you’ve not already done so ⬇️

#Sheffield

"Does every Sheffield business or Sheffield landmark need a mural of another Sheffield business or Sheffield landmark emblazoned on the blank walls of its premises? Does that make it more Sheffield? Does anything in Sheffield need to declare they’re in Sheffield? They’re already in Sheffield."

My latest for @nowthenmag.bsky.social
The Sheffield street artist people love to hate, and the struggle of post industrial cities to tell stories about themselves.

Luke Horton & The Identity Crisis of Northern Cities What does it mean for a city to have an identity? Hasn’t it all been flattened out now? Sheffield’s least controversial artist courts controversy through commercially-friendly representations of Sheff...

"This is Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses, except instead of the door to Wittenburg church it’s the wall of a micropub. And instead of objecting to the Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences, it’s protesting against someone drawing a two-metre tall bottle of Henderson’s Relish"

✍️ @seanmorl.com

Connecting Limbs: In the race to restore Sheffield's hidden rivers, can natural and industrial heritage coexist? As a new project gets underway to transform Sheffield’s most “unnatural” river, we hear how the Sheaf can go from just-about-surviving to thriving.

“That is the river telling us that it's not having this constrained situation anymore, and it's going to try to create a more meandering course”

Connecting Limbs is an amibitious project to enhance 800m of the River Sheaf, using techniques that mimic those found in nature.

✍️ @sammgreg.bsky.social

Tell us what you want to see from Now Then's return to print Fill in our short survey or join us in person at The Showroom on 5 March – either way, we want to hear your ideas.

As we recently revealed in our newsletter, we’re cooking up exciting plans to return Now Then to paper and ink later this year 📰

We want to know what you, our readers and contributors, want from a print edition of the mag. Find out how you can tell us online or in person 👇

#Sheffield #NowThen

A photo of two jazz musicians performing onstage, one playing a saxophone and the other an electric guitar

We'd highly recommend next week's #JazzAtTheLescar with Flo/Ra, a genre-blurring quintet led by saxophonist Flo Taylor.

"Their music explores themes of neurodivergence, identity and grief through emotionally honest, and beautifully arranged compositions" #Sheffield #Jazz

jazzatthelescar.com

What I've learned from two weeks working at Now Then This entry was adapted from the original post on LinkedIn.I've spent the last two weeks with Now Then Magazine and have loved being a part of their team, getting out and about reporting in Sheffield.I...

Recently, we were lucky enough to have journalism student @rose-mason.bsky.social joining us on the @nowthenmag.bsky.social team for two weeks.

You can read some reflections from Rose about her time at Opus and at the magazine over on the Opus Blog ⬇️

All That's Left of You: Cherien Dabis' Palestine chronicle shows humanity as an act of resistance This dramatisation of 60 years of illegal Israeli occupation is complex and vulnerable, but never abstract.

"Every small act and thought is defiance... even their existence itself is a quiet rebellion"

Cherien Dabis's new film 'All That's Left of You' is an epic historical drama spanning seven decades in the life of one Palestinian family.

✍️ Sahar Ghadirian

Their raw, riffing best: HotWax and Jeanie and the White Boys at Sidney & Matilda The two punk-influenced groups rock out the storied Sheffield venue.

"First, the good news: rock’n’roll never died, and Friday night's gig showed that a new generation of upstarts have picked up guitars, swaggered on stage, and grabbed hold of this fine genre"

HotWax and Jeanie and the White Boys at Sidney & Matilda, #Sheffield.

✍️ Hamish Yewdall

Meet Scrap Dragon, Sheffield’s “best kept secret” turning trash into treasure A scrap store in Burngreave is making a vital difference, giving waste a new life in craft and play.

"A lot of local women buy fabric, and then when they come in next time they're wearing an outfit they made out of the fabric!"

Meet Scrap Dragon, the #Sheffield organisation turning trash into treasure in Burngreave 👗

✍️ @rose-mason.bsky.social

Culture of quickness: Taut Angles at Mary Street Live A new Sheffield four-piece launch their debut single with tightly coiled rhythms and ominous unease.

"Each song is imbued with a brooding, clenched intensity, and a propulsive rhythm as tense as a tripwire drives the music"

Taut Angles at Mary Street Live, #Sheffield.

✍️ Mark Rezzano

"Can you see my nipples in this gilet?": Wesley Gonzalez at Sidney & Matilda The former Let’s Wrestle man unlocks his magic box of quirky, poignant pop tricks.

"Gonzalez and keys player Callum Duffy fly through a twelve-song set combining wonderfully subtle acoustic guitar with an incredible lyrical dexterity"

Wesley Gonzalez at Sidney & Matilda, #Sheffield.

✍️ Steve Hunting

What we've been learning from: February 2026 Here's our regular round-up of some of the most interesting and thought-provoking things our team have been reading, watching and listening to over the past month.

On the Opus Blog, we share a monthly round-up of articles, podcasts, books and more that our team have been learning from and found inspiring to our work 📚

Here's February's, featuring @amahra.bsky.social, Jack Becher and @indyjohar.bsky.social of @darkmatterlabs.org ⬇️

#SystemsChange

Crown of Blood | Sheffield Theatres 'Of what use is a good man without ambition' A powerful retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth set during the civil wars of 19th-century Yorubaland. General A

If you're quick, there's still a few tickets left for the last three performances tonight and tomorrow 🎟️👇

@sheffieldtheatres.bsky.social

Gripping and beautifully presented: Crown of Blood at The Crucible Drama, revenge and betrayal combine in an African reframing of Macbeth by Utopia Theatre.

"As a standalone piece of theatre the production was gripping and beautifully presented, and it was striking just how much the political themes resonated today"

Our review for Utopia Theatre's #CrownOfBlood is in and our reviewer, Paul Szabo, loved it ⭐️

@sheffieldtheatres.bsky.social #Sheffield

"We all need to be seen": ArtWorks brings autistic artists and those with learning difficulties to Sheffield's Millennium Gallery “The more we can learn from people who have lived experience of the systemic barriers, the more we can make things work better.”

“Artists who have a learning disability or who are autistic belong in our most prominent cultural spaces”

A new exhibition showcasing work from more than 70 artists with autism and learning disabilities has opened at @sheffieldmuseums.bsky.social. #Sheffield

✍️ @rose-mason.bsky.social

A watercolour and ink illustration of two people. One of them is holding a can of spray paint, and is painting a picture of the world on the side of the bridge behind them. The other is sitting on the floor cross-legged and playing a guitar. Behind them, a train is passing over the bridge.

The series continues over on the Opus Blog, where you can read six more reflections from #ThePeoplesNewsroom team about how storytelling can help us transition to new economies on a liveable planet.

Read 'Lessons for a Story Commons' now ⬇️

www.weareopus.org/blog/categor...

The People's Newsroom - Lessons for a Story Commons: how storytelling can open the door to thriving futures Organisers across the UK share how storytelling can help us transition to new economies on a liveable planet.

'Lessons for a Story Commons' is a new series from the team at #ThePeoplesNewsroom.

For the past two years, they've been exploring how changing the way we tell stories can be key to changing the future itself 🔮

The introductory piece is in @nowthenmag.bsky.social ⬇️

"If you see us on Jimmy Kimmel, it's thanks to you": Red Rum Club at Sidney & Matilda The Merseyside outfit play an intimate gig at Sidney & Matilda to mark independent Venues Week.

"The trumpet interplays with guitar riffs, the bass reverberates your chest – these are songs written to bring the party to venues like this, and it works"

Red Rum Club at Sidney & Matilda, #Sheffield.

✍️ Hamish Yewdall

"A lot of people never have any experience with their homeland": Why Yoruba Macbeth is so important for Sheffield's African diaspora A new adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play which transposes the action to Yorubaland will take centre stage at The Crucible this week.

"The way we've chosen to deal with our ‘Lady Macbeth’ is so completely different from Shakespeare's version"

Opening at The Crucible in #Sheffield, we speak to director Mojisola Kareem about 'Crown Of Blood', a new adaptation of Macbeth set in 19th century Yorubaland.

✍️ @rose-mason.bsky.social

Research shows that 9 in 10 people globally want more action from their governments on climate, and 7 in 10 are prepared to put their own money in to help.

On 14 Feb, South Yorkshire Climate Alliance are hosting a free event in #Sheffield on how we can mobilise this climate majority 🌎

Details ⬇️

"I sent the most exciting text I've ever sent back to Sheffield": how a farming breakthrough by Syrian refugees could help tackle climate breakdown in South Yorkshire A visit to a Jordanian refugee camp in 2016 showed the Grantham Centre’s Tony Ryan innovative new ways to grow more food with less.

Our Co-Director Tony Ryan spoke at the SYSC Summit last week about our hydroponic research project at the Zataari refugee camp and how local 'controlled environment agriculture' could help us produce food more sustainably in the UK.

Read the @nowthenmag.bsky.social article ⬇️
tinyurl.com/4e5xa6t6

"I sent the most exciting text I've ever sent back to Sheffield": how a farming breakthrough by Syrian refugees could help tackle climate breakdown in South Yorkshire A visit to a Jordanian refugee camp in 2016 showed the Grantham Centre’s Tony Ryan innovative new ways to grow more food with less.

"We brought a bit of the mattress back and started to grow tomatoes in it!"

At the South Yorks Sustainability Centre's research summit, we learned how visits to a Jordanian refugee camp helped @granthamcsf.bsky.social find new ways to tackle the climate crisis in #Sheffield

✍️ @sammgreg.bsky.social

"This next song is for anyone who's been disgustingly in love": Faint Paint at Delicious Clam With a sold-out crowd and songsmithery of the highest order, Faint Paint's glossy set exudes great promise for 2026.

"This set of musicians have a musical symbiosis second to none, which they showcased to a sold-out crowd at their first gig of the year"

Faint Paint with @cal-innes.bsky.social at Delicious Clam, #Sheffield.

✍️ Steve Hunting

A watercolour and ink illustration showing two people sitting outside on the grass, alongside a river. One is sitting on a tree stump, reading from an open book. The other is sitting cross-legged on the floor listening to the story, alongside a tower made of colourful building blocks.

The series continues over on the Opus Blog, where you can read six more reflections from the team about how storytelling can help us transition to new economies on a liveable planet #ThePeoplesNewsroom

Read 'Lessons for a Story Commons' now ⬇️

www.weareopus.org/blog/categor...

The People's Newsroom - Lessons for a Story Commons: how storytelling can open the door to thriving futures Organisers across the UK share how storytelling can help us transition to new economies on a liveable planet.

We're proud to launch 'Lessons for a Story Commons', a new series from #ThePeoplesNewsroom 🎉

These lessons emerged from a group of creatives who gathered to share examples and prompts for shifting the way we tell stories.

Start reading in @nowthenmag.bsky.social ⬇️

If Starmer wants us to be strong he'd stop making deals with Peter Thiel (Palantir).

For anyone who doesn't know who is, he's a major part of why America is now an authoritarian country.

He's friends with Musk & funded Vance.

We Keep us Safe: Active Bystander Workshop · Luma In collaboration with Sheffield-based poet Sarah Lasoye, Cradle is hosting a special event in Sheffield! We’ve come together to plan an afternoon of…

📢 Abolitionist collective Cradle Community are hosting an event in #Sheffield on 31 January, in collaboration with local poet Sarah Lasoye.

Expect an afternoon of creativity, learning and experimentation, exploring how we can become active bystanders in our communities.

Tickets ⬇️