About the project

At the heart of our approach at Now Then is a belief that systemic change is needed to address the pressing social, economic and political challenges we face, as a city and as a society – and that storytelling has a critical part to play in that.

We believe – as the worker-owned organisation and as a group of people – that it's not enough to simply commentate on the collapse of earth systems. Accurately naming the problems we're facing, as a city and as a society, and 'holding power to account' can't be where our job ends. It's not enough anymore.

We want to be part of imagining and bringing about new ways of thinking and living that are fit for the 21st century. How would a better food system work for Sheffield? Can a new energy system be part of a just transition? What would a genuinely equitable city look like? How do all of these issues cross over and interact with each other?

We want our stories to raise up and celebrate the alternatives, the green shoots that we see sprouting around us in Sheffield, at the same time as naming and challenging injustice. We use our award-winning platform to raise up unheard and marginalised voices, open up the process of storytelling and look closely at where stories come from in the first place, as well as encouraging active people and communities and a DIY ethos to re-building the kind of city – and kind of society – we want to live in.