Not From New York City, But From Rotherham

Our Events & Marketing Assistant, Esther, describes her journey from the Children's Capital of Culture team in Rotherham, to New York City.

 

Just outside Rotherham town centre, the New York stadium sits large and loud for commuters on the A630 to see. To anyone unbeknownst to the history of the area, it may seem like a strange place to see a nod to the iconic US city. In fact, the area was once occupied by a brassworks, and the site on which the stadium sits housed the exports specifically on their way out to New York. Over time, the area was aptly labelled ‘New York’ and this evolved into what is now one of many unexpected parallels between our proud South Yorkshire town and The Big Apple.

While there we got a full tour of the house and its historical importance – like how it was rebuilt multiple times to ensure the homeowners were recognised as Whigs, and how political views were so openly shared and evident. They even have statues of gods and goddesses paraded around in their homes, so their views were unmistakably clear. Wentworth Woodhouse itself has statues of Minerva, the Roman goddess of war and wisdom, on its premises to highlight its position of being a Whig household. The house itself is full of interesting facts and holds prevalence today as a set for many successful shows and uprising ones, like the award-winning film Darkest Hour or ITV’s Victoria.

Living in Dinnington, a small town in the most southern part of the borough of Rotherham, it was easy to claim I lived in Sheffield instead. Getting to the city was just as easy (if not easier) and took just as much time as it did to get to the town centre. So, when I started my search for a role in music or events, I was surprised to find an opportunity named ‘Music Makers’, based in Rotherham.

I applied, which involved writing a short proposal for what I wanted to see be brought to performance festivals in Rotherham. After a short interview, I had the job! Myself and three other Music Makers met with the Rotherham Music Hub team in the January of 2022 to get started on ideas for an upcoming music festival – what would become Signals.

This was my first experience in handling anything to do with events and I was far out of my comfort zone. Alongside the team, I chose the artists and bands who would be playing one of the big events of the festival, helped set up our ‘Pop Up and Play’ acts, and took ownership of all the social media advertising for the festival. To this day, Signals 2023 is still one of my favourite and most impactful events I’ve worked. Almost 2 years down the line and I’m still working with many of the artists and staff worked that very first festival.

 

It wasn’t until the summer that I was then invited to help out at Rotherham Show, interviewing artists and capturing some content for socials as I go. By this point, I knew I wanted to continue my work in events. Getting to see the impact first-hand, and getting to speak to the people who were directly benefitting from and being affected by the events and campaigns was what made me sure. I loved speaking to people, especially young artists or parents of those who were getting to be on stage for the first time. It was clear to me that there was a buzz of excitement in the air of Rotherham, a change of outlook and perspective, and a burning demand for more opportunities.

After my short but impactful experiences with Signals 2023 and Rotherham Show, I applied for the part-time role on the Children’s Capital of Culture team as well as Rotherham Music Hub. This meant that I got to work on events across both of the teams, like One Voice and Big Blast with Rotherham Music, and UPLIFT and WOW with Children’s Capital of Culture. As well as, of course, the conjoining Signals 2024 festival, which allowed me to amplify and see the growth of the event from the year before. 

For 11 months, I worked across both teams on their marketing, social media, and event delivery and have enjoyed every part of it. During that time, I stumbled across a traineeship program offering a year abroad in New York City – a dream so far out of reach, so otherworldly, that when I applied for it I didn’t expect to hear back. But if there was one thing I’d learnt from the development of my career in Rotherham, it’s that life-changing opportunities can be found where and when you least expect it. So, when I was eventually offered a role in events through the program, I couldn’t quite believe it. Suddenly, all the parallels between Rotherham and New York City became glaringly obvious and the path became clear. Everywhere I went, I saw the infamous Arctic Monkeys lyrics printed on posters: ‘You’re not from New York City, you’re from Rov’rum’. Each time I saw it, I thought: ‘Absolutely’.

Although I may not be joining the team in 2025 for the Children’s Capital of Culture festival year, the experiences and skills I gained from working on the team, from being a Music Maker right up to my events and marketing role, completely flipped my prospects for 2025 – and beyond!

For almost 150 years, that brassworks factory where the New York Stadium currently stands in reverence of exported stop taps around the world -  including to New York where they can still be found on fire hydrants on almost every street corner of the city.  

With that in mind, and to respectfully paraphrase the quote engraved into the cenotaph war memorial at the foot of Clifton Park, I like to think that there are corners of New York that are forever Rotherham.