One year on from Bradford winning the title of UK City of Culture 2025, preparations for the district’s year in the international spotlight are well underway with the announcement of new investment in venues, communities and creative projects.
Shanaz Gulzar, creative director for Bradford 2025, said: “We may be 18 months away from the official start of our City of Culture year but we started work the day after we were announced, and the work to lay the foundations and deliver a show-stopping year is well underway.
“We’ve already supported 35 local artists and organisations to develop new work and with Bradford Council we’re encouraging more large scale commissions for this November’s ‘Bradford is LIT’. The biannual light festival is growing into a standout date in the cultural calendar and will be an important moment in our lead up to 2025.”
The leader of Bradford Council, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, said: “The last 12 months have been crucial in ensuring there are strong, solid foundations in place to ensure Bradford 2025 is a year of cultural success. The City of Culture team are committed to making the arts, culture, and heritage sectors sustainable, creating a long-lasting legacy across the Bradford District.
“The energy and partnership working we’ve seen so far is phenomenal. We are looking forward to continuing the collaborations with creators, communities, and stakeholders over the next 18 months.”
Cultural venues in Bradford district will benefit from a new £3m cultural capital fund to improve access and facilities for local people and the millions of visitors anticipated for Bradford 2025.
With funding from City of Bradford Metropolitan Council, Bradford 2025 will deliver two grant schemes for cultural venues: small scale of up to £5,000 each and larger scale for a minimum of £50,000. This investment will help improve venues to make them more welcoming and accessible for visitors in preparation for the district-wide celebrations in 2025.
A new temporary touring performance venue will be located in parks across the district during 2025, enabling larger scale events to take place in the heart of local communities. ‘Beacon’ will be a flagship project for Bradford 2025 and architects and designers will be invited to submit creative ideas to deliver a RIBA [Royal Institute of British Architects] feasibility study and early concept designs. The submission form will be open next week with a view to appointment in autumn 2023.
Dan Bates, executive director of Bradford 2025, said: “We want our year as UK City of Culture to create a lasting and positive impact on the people, artists and organisations across Bradford district. We are committed to ensuring the legacy of the year is felt in and across all our distinctive local communities.”
An important priority for Bradford 2025 is to significantly increase access to cultural activities amongst the diverse communities that make up the youngest city in Europe, in a District with a population that is now over 500,000 strong. Working alongside Bradford 2025, local organisation GiveBradford has been appointed as official grant making partner for Bradford 2025.
Inspired by the theme ‘City of the World’, a new partnership programme will kick start in early 2024 to help communities across the district create work and events in the build up to and during the year as UK City of Culture.
GiveBradford CEO Kate Hainsworth said: “With an average population of under 37 years, the lowest in West Yorkshire, Bradford is really coming of age in 2025.
“It’s terrific to be partnering with the Bradford 2025 team on building a legacy and creating opportunities for all, well beyond the year itself – testament to the positive impact of GiveBradford and the ongoing work of the local community organisations we support across the district.
“GiveBradford is going to be working hard before, during and after 2025 to bring in investment into our local communities: because that’s what the people of this city and this district deserve.”
Major capital development projects underway across Bradford – some of which have been in the works for years – are being accelerated, ready for the district’s celebratory year. Kala Sangam and the National Science and Media Museum – two of the city’s acclaimed cultural organisations – start work on substantial redevelopment projects in the next year. The much-anticipated transformation of the former Odeon cinema, into Bradford Live, a new 4,000 capacity music venue for the district, is due to open its doors in 2024.
Pete Massey, director, Yorkshire and the Humber, Arts Council England, said: “It is fantastic to see the progress being made by Bradford Culture Company a year on from winning the UK City of Culture 2025 status. It is a testament to the excellent team it has in place that such swift progress has been made since the announcement.
“It’s particularly encouraging to see its commitment to engaging with both local communities and the cultural sector is continuing in the development and planning for 2025. We know what an impact participating in and experiencing a City of Culture can have on the people and communities who live, work and visit the city and we are incredibly excited for what Bradford can achieve.
“As with all UK Cities of Culture, Arts Council England will be working closely with Bradford Culture Company and other partners to ensure that Bradford 2025 can be the best year of culture ever.”
