Jo Wingate AKA Founder And Director Of Sensoria Festival
Dive in movies at 1930s lidos, projections on some of Sheffield’s most loved historical buildings, exhibitions from the city’s favourite artists…it must be Sensoria Festival time again.
Jo Wingate AKA Sensoria Fest Founder and Director is up early with Sheffield’s creatives for the first event on the festival’s 2019 programme and the first talk of the new #cmsheffield season.We’re gathered at Kommune, a food hall/bar/gallery/book shop in Sheffield’s old Co-Operative building, to hear how the city’s festival of music, film and digital has grown in 27 years.From a small idea inspired by the city – the festival’s name comes from a track from Sheffield band Cabaret Voltaire – Sensoria has become an internationally renowned event with a programme packed with arts, digital, music, film, exhibitions and more.Since the beginning, Sensoria has been infused into Sheffield. Famed for bringing events to some of the city’s most loved, yet often forgotten, venues, Sensoria has brought together the city’s favourite artists with some of its most iconic buildings in the three decades it’s been running.One landmark to get the Sensoria treatment is the Abbeydale Picture House. Each year, films are shown in the 1920s cinema, as part of the festival. But it’s not just the Picture House that has become a cinema during Sensoria. The festival has shown films at Hathersage Pool, with specialist underwater cameras fitted especially for Sensoria. City centre car parks have also played host to film screenings, with vintage cars helping to set the scene.For 2019, Sensoria’s theme is Myths and Legends. Highlights include an exhibition of portraits by Sheffield photographer Chris Saunders. A fitting theme for #cmmuse, Chris has photographed many a Sheffielder, including previous #cmsheffield speaker Magid Magid, the city’s former Lord Mayor.There are still many places still to get the Sensoria treatment, with the city’s storm drain ‘The Megatron’ on Jo’s wish list. We’ll see what happens in 2020!Words by Molly McGreevy.
