Some Kind of Team are doing things differently in Sheffield’s art scene

Founded by Daniil Danet and Corinne in Sheffield, SKoT emerged from a simple but powerful idea: if opportunities aren’t available, create them. What began as a shared studio conversation quickly evolved into a dynamic curatorial project, bringing together artists from across the UK for their debut exhibition No Space. In this interview, Daniil and Corinne reflect on their practices, the motivations behind SKoT, and their vision for a more open and exploratory art scene.

We chat to them about SKoT, their work and their most recent exhibition.

Tell us who you are and what you do:

We are a small self-organised collective called SKoT (SOMEKINDOFTEAM). We work as curators and organisers, but our projects are built on horizontal collaboration and collective expression.

D: My name is Daniil Danet. I work with painting, installation, and street art. Most of the time I focus on abstraction using unconscious techniques. I mix digital and analogue media.

C: I’m Corinne. I work full time, currently living in Sheffield and I do my art practice on the side, which ranges from collage to large installations. I share a studio with Daniil and that’s how we met.

Artwork by Daniil Danet

What does SKoT mean to you?

D: SKoT is a spontaneous group of artist-curators. It’s a free collective made by artists for artists. There are no strict rules or standards like in galleries or big institutions. We support freedom and experimentation in every sense. Conceptually, we try to invite artists who are developing new and interesting visual languages.

C: SKoT is an abbreviation of ‘Some Kind of Team’ which is the name we coined together for the No Space exhibition. For me, the name itself is in response to the elitist attitudes corporate galleries can have- which gets boring, especially in smaller towns and cities when they have the monopoly.

We want to bring back a more artist-led, DIY approach.

Tell us the inspiration behind SKoT? What made you want to start it?

D: How did the group start? Well, I moved from Moscow to Sheffield about three years ago. At that time, I was looking for a studio to make my work easier. After some time, I started looking for a studio mate to share

the rent and also have some company. Later, I met Corinne, and she joined my studio. At some point, I started asking her about opportunities and open calls in Sheffield, because I could hardly find any. I mostly applied to things in London or other big cities.

There were really not many opportunities, so the answer came quite quickly — we needed to create something ourselves. So we decided to organise an exhibition and quickly formed a small collective.

When we found a space in Eagle Works, we saw big potential for a site-specific exhibition called “No Space.” The space was huge, so we invited other artists as well. To organise everything more easily, we made an open call — from artists for artists.

C: It’s an artist collective we initially started together for the No Space exhibition. We started

it because we wanted to create our own opportunity and meet other artists.

Why do you think Sheffield needs something like SKoT?

D: From my perspective as someone new, coming from a different country and a big city, I

think projects like this are important for Sheffield. They help discover new artists and offer a

different way to spend time — through experimental and informal events.

In my opinion, there are many “white cube” style projects here. But there are not enough site-specific exhibitions with experimental installations.

I think these kinds of projects give more freedom and unexpected possibilities for artists. Also, the audience becomes more diverse and open.

C: I think many towns and cities need more art spaces and bigger art communities. For the size of Sheffield we don’t have that many galleries, and the ones we do have are pretty small, which makes it difficult when you want to evolve your work on a larger scale. Luckily, the space we were offered at Eagle works was huge, so we were able to showcase a few large installations, which you don’t see all that often in Sheffield- at least not when it comes to less-known artists with zero funding.

Daniil and I both have quite different tastes and we both wanted to bring a wider variety of artists and their work to the Sheffield art scene. Daniil's love for street art and my love for conceptual art worked well together, and we created something unique. I think the No Space exhibition was an example of what you can pull off with just two artists on a budget. I think community is so important, so adding a new collective to Sheffield can only be a good thing. Hopefully it will evolve and other artists can join.

Artwork by Lyuda Kalinichenko and Jane Etive

How do you find the artistic community in Sheffield?

D: I really like projects from galleries like Block Project, Site Gallery, Gloam Gallery, and Art Catalyst. As someone coming from a street art background, I also really like the street art community here. There is a lot of high-quality and interesting street art. There is also a very cool and large festival called Lick of Paint, where I participated in September 2025.

C: There are actually a lot of artists around here and it’s a friendly scene, with some great artists. I would just love to see more support for the arts here and more opportunities for us.

Tell us more about the latest exhibition:

C: Daniil and I decided we wanted to curate an exhibition together when I first moved into the studio, in April 2025. Initially we were going to rent out BLOC or Gage Gallery. Then CADS, who we rent our studio from, posted an open call for their SpaceCADets programme. Basically, if they liked your application you could take over a

space for a set amount of time.

That’s when we created our collective, SKoT, and came up with the No Space exhibition. We wanted a wide variety of art works and to reach as many artists as we could. We put out an open call on CuratorSpace for artists working within the theme of Negative and/or Liminal space. We got about 50 applicants and ended up with 18 artists from across the UK, a few from Sheffield but mostly from different areas- which was really nice. Everyone was lovely.

What are your plans for the future?

D: We plan to focus on site-specific exhibitions in unusual, non-gallery spaces. The traditional white cube format is changing and moving into different media, so we are more interested in alternative formats.

We also want to improve the quality of our exhibitions — both technically and visually. Conceptually, we don’t have strict themes, but our work will always relate to the place and the moment. Most likely, these will be small, organised pop-up exhibitions. In the future, we want to create a website and invite more artists to join the project,

especially since Corina is moving to China. It’s quite difficult to organise everything with just two people.

Our exhibition “No Place” was our debut and quite successful. Of course, it wasn’t perfect, but I’m very happy that we managed to bring together such interesting and unique artists. We will continue to create more exhibitions and projects — and maybe it will grow into something bigger.

C: In the meantime, I’ll be working on my art practice and other personal goals.. I plan on

moving to China for a few years; the art scene in Shanghai looks sick!

With roots in Sheffield but ambitions that stretch far beyond a single city, Daniil and Corinne are pushing something that prioritises experimentation and community. As they look ahead to new locations, collaborations, and even evolving formats, SKoT remains committed to its core ethos: creating space where there maybe wasn’t any before.

Featured artists:

Daniil Danet, Corinne Deakin, Molly Wickett, Beth Rippin, Jane Etive, Yudi Chen, Maire

Hewitt, Joseph Norris, Olivia Hawkswell, Sam Horton, Lucy Cook, Paul Raymond, Sarah

Attwood, Tajinder Dhami, Emily McGhie Jackson, Lyuda Kalinichenko, Stephen Carley

About the exhibition:

A response to CADs Space CADets Programme; this is a visual art project featuring a

group of multi-disciplinary artists working within the theme of liminality and negative Space.

The Eagle Works, venue itself can be considered liminal — a temporarily occupied space,

once used for the steel industry, where people have come and gone through its dark

corridors since 1835, serves as both subject and medium.

Negative space refers to the feeling of emptiness or absence that contributes to an

unsettling or eerie atmosphere. It highlights the feeling of loneliness and the unfamiliar.

Liminal spaces, by their nature, are in-between, or transitional zones, often characterized by

a lack of clear purpose or defined activity. We want to explore negative space as the lack of

human presence or activity, which ignites feelings of desolation.

Liminality can exist in time, people and places; in this context, we aim to explore the theme

through the inner monologue. It may refer to transitional or psychological states, critical

turning points in life, or sudden events that significantly impact a person’s life.

In an attempt to reflect on the present moment, the influence of global events becomes

evident. Ongoing conflicts, the post-pandemic condition, shifts in the worldview of global

elites, the rapid development of artificial intelligence, and a worldwide state of crisis point to

a transitional phase in which society searches for new values. Our current condition is

mirrored in the decaying walls of this building. So what's next? How long will this last? And

what will it lead to?

Check out what SKoT are up to on instagram here.