Arts and Heritage Project
with
In April 2024, Bradford Arts Centre (formerly Kala Sangam), started an Arts and Heritage Project alongside their renovation of their building at St Peter’s Square. The project covers the entire Bradford District, working with four different hubs to learn about the different communities of Bradford, bringing them access to different arts and learning about their culture and heritage.
Bloomin’ Buds Theatre Company joined the project as one of the hubs alongside, Keighley Creative and South Square Centre, with Bradford Arts Centre being the fourth hub. Since April 2024, our Arts and Heritage Officers have been working with the different members of the communities in and around BD10 and BD2. Grace Wilkinson and Ellie Cansdale, joined the team as a job share. They have been working with three main groups; an Arts and Wellbeing group Bloomin’ Buds runs for adults, a Play Group (another longstanding Bloomin’ Buds group), and the local Youth Services Girl’s Group.
In January 2025, the groups shared some of the work they had been creating in the sessions with our AHO’s at BCB radio station in the Oestler market. This sharing went really well, with 22 visitors ranging in age from 10 to 70 years old. They shared with us 16 wishes for the future of Bradford and enjoyed some delicious locally-made cakes. You can hear monthly updates from all five Arts and Heritage Officers on BCB on the last day of the month!
Check out more information about the groups with some photos of what they’ve been doing below:
Play Group
Our Play Group meets every Wednesday morning at Eccleshill Mechanics Institute. The session follows a simple structure of free play, snack time, arts and crafts, and then singing. With the Arts and Heritage Project, the little ones have been visited by Polite Rebellion, to look at their family trees; they have been on adventures to the seaside and the woods; and most recently they have been working with Hoglets Theatre Company to learn all about Snappy the Crocodile! The groups’ stories and adventures with Snappy will create a puppet show that Hoglets will perform for the group later in 2025.
Bloomin’ Buds Mindful Art and Wellbeing Group for adults runs on a Wednesday evening. The session is open to anyone who wants a calm evening of mindful arts activities and a space to talk through the week. Since the Arts and Heritage Project started, the group has been visited and worked with several artists to explore different artistic mediums to see what they group liked the most. They had a few sessions with a brilliant photographer, Aidan Brooks, as well as a visit from Polite Rebellion for an exploration of their family histories and trees. Through explorations with the group, the theme of labour came through very strongly for each participant. Since finding this theme, we have been working with Glen the Maker to create four sculptures that explore the theme of labour and what that means to each participant. Check out some photos of the sculptures being made below:
Mindful Art and Wellbeing Group
Youth Services - Girl’s Group
As part of the Arts and Heritage Project, we started working with the Bradford Council Youth Services’ Girl’s Group in Thorpe Edge. The group meet regularly and learn different things and new crafts/activities from baking to boxing. The youth provision is a great space for them to meet friends, and learn new skills. Working with this group on this project, has brought in new artists to teach poetry writing, embroidery, sewing, and much more. They girl’s have loved working with new faces. In Spring 2025, the group worked with local seamstress, Tereza, to make pump bags for the BRI neo-natal clinic. This then led on to a Sewing Summer School for a group of the girl’s to learn how to make lounge pants and a top, to show at a family & friends fashion show.
It’s been brilliant working with the group so far and we can’t wait to see what else comes out of the collaboration!
