Bradford Ealing Creative Exchange is a programme created in collaboration with Bradford City of Cultures Young Creatives programme, supported by Arts Council England with additional support from Peabody Foundation.
Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture is one of the biggest arts festivals in the world, with over 1,000 new performances and events across music, visual arts, theatre, film, museums, street art, libraries, photography, craft and far beyond. The year-long programme includes a Young Creatives programme, that places young residents at the heart of Bradford’s cultural activity for the year.
Bradford and Ealing have many things in common. We share a rich heritage of film and media, Bradford is the first UNESCO City of Film, whilst Ealing Studios is the world’s first and longest running film studio. We celebrate our diverse communities as the bedrock of Bradford and Ealing’s culture and character – with over 100 languages spoken and strong links between our South Asian and Polish communities, amongst others. With Bradford being the youngest city in Europe and a third of Ealing’s population under the age of 25, we recognise the importance of investing in our young residents creative futures.
For the Creative Exchange, Ealing Culture wanted to explore these links and more during this exciting moment for Bradford and Ealing. Over the course of the Exchange, we took eight talented creatives from Ealing to experience Bradford City of Culture, then welcome Bradford’s young creatives to experience the best our borough has to offer.
Bradford Trip – Day 1
The trip began with a visit to the Bradford 2025 offices, where we met the Young Creatives and had an introduction to the City of Culture programme from John McMahon and Emily Kecic.
After learning more about the Young Creatives programme and visiting the Tower of Now, a new public artwork by Saad Qureshi, the group worked together to create their own “towers of now” before sharing a feast of Bradford’s finest culinary delights.
Bradford Trip – Day 2
Day two began with a visit to Saltaire, the 19th century built UNESCO world heritage site originally built for workers in the Salts Mill. Today, Salts Mill is a bustling arts centre housing works by Bradford native David Hockney.
Next we viewed Ann Hamilton’s We Will Sing, an installation taking up the entire top floor of Salts Mill, responding to the work in a workshop titled Letters to the Future. In the afternoon, the group travelled back to Bradford to visit temporary arts space Loading Bay, where they saw Tape Letters exhibition. That evening, some of us returned to Loading Bay to see TESTO’s new drag performance, Wet Mess.
Bradford Trip – Day 3
The group visited Haworth, first seeing the Wild Uplands public art trail (and the accompanying Earth and Sky audio tour) before taking part in a workshop on Collaborative Practices.
Haworth is the home of the Bronte Parsonage, where the famous literary family were based. We were lucky enough to have a tour of the Parsonage from Noor, one of the Bradford Young Creatives who is undertaking a work placement at the heritage site, before taking part in a bookmaking workshop inspired by the Bronte’s.
Bradford Trip – Day 4
The final day saw us split between visits to the Science and Media Museum – including Frontline photography exhibition, an immersive installation from Marshmallow Laser Feast and the HOPE/ACT printing project – and Cartwright Hall, where they saw this year’s Jameel Art Prize exhibition.
The afternoon included a visit to Impressions Gallery, where we were given a tour of the Clare Hewitt exhibition. We ended the trip with a Sharing Practices presentation, where the group each showed and explained their practices to the group, finishing with a screening of Ben Hargraves latest moving image work!
Ealing Trip – Day 1
The first day of the trip in Ealing began with a tour of Gunnersbury Park Museum’s exhibition Peoples Unite! How Southall changed the country, led by curator Ishwari Giga. This was followed by a presentation from FHALMA (Friends of Huntley Archives at LMA) exploring the legacy of Guyanese-born radical Black publishing pioneers, Jessica and Eric Huntley, whose bookshop was based in Ealing.
Ealing Trip – Day 2
The day began with the groups choosing between two workshops. The first was a tour of Minerva Studios in Park Royal Design District, where participants heard from three initiatives – Rescued Clay, Re-Collective and Absolute Beginners – all using sustainable practices.
The second involved a tour of Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery’s exhibitions with Richard Parry (Head of Public Programmes), followed by a discussion and poetry workshop with artist Prem Sahib.
The afternoon involved a visit to New Gen Festival, Ealing’s festival for and by young people. This began with a discussion and workshop with Terry Mardi, co-director of DIAXPORA – an audio collective focused on making inclusive content for and by POC and neurodiverse people.
Ealing Trip – Day 3
The final day saw the Bradford cohort tour Gunnersbury Park Museum before taking part in a discussion and workshop on the legacy of their Young Creatives programme. See some of the future hopes and pledges from that discussion below…
For Bradford…
… I hope that Bradford continues to thrive after 2025!
… More LGBTQ Spaces and Acceptance.
… I hope Bradford will stop being seen in such a negative stereotype.
… More paid creative opportunities in Bradford post City of Culture.
For the Young Creatives…
… I hope everyone finds their niche.
… I hope we all look back and appreciate that the Young Creatives programme happened, and that we learnt from it, rather than it ending.
… For all to be in a place where we feel happy, satisfied and respected.
… To See the Ealing gang again!
For individuals…
… Be better at networking and public speaking.
… I want to see myself working with young people, mentoring them, teaching, facilitating and more.
… Be confident in my creative ideas.
… Make a meaningful impact within a field that would improve people’s lives.
Spotlight on… Ramla Yusuf
What made you apply for the Exchange?
I wanted a bit of a reset creatively, and the Exchange felt like the kind of thing that could shake things up in a good way, new people, new place, new experiences. I was also really interested in connecting with other creatives outside my usual circles and experiencing a place like Bradford through that shared creative lens.
Tell us about your experience of the Exchange – what have you taken away from it?
It made me reflect on how I work and opened me up to new ways of thinking. Bradford gave me so much to respond to, and visiting spaces like Haworth added depth to how we made and shared ideas together.
I used my digicam to document the trip with the aim of turning those moments into more emotional design work. It helped me move toward a more open and personal way of expressing myself, something I’ve been wanting to explore more in my practice.
Spotlight on… Hannah Gibson
What made you apply for the Exchange?
Born and raised in Ealing, I haven’t seen a lot of events surrounding young creatives, so I was super excited when I saw a new programme introducing young creatives to opportunities and new communities based in Ealing. My main goal when applying was to try and connect with young creatives in the local area.
Tell us about your experience of the Exchange – what have you taken away from it?
I had a great time on our trip to Bradford, and found the time together as a group for the week was really great for getting to know each other. It also gave me some time out of my regular life to focus on some art and meet some new people. I have really enjoyed the programme so far and feel I have found a new local, creative community, which feels really nice to have.
As we spent our time in Bradford, I enjoyed documenting it through my small sketchbook I brought with me. Illustration is often the way I can take in experiences properly, allowing me to break down what I have experienced and learnt throughout the week. On the train back to London I adapted these illustrations digitally and turned them into some spot illustrations. It was fun capturing all the different personalities and people I met through this experience, and was a nice time for me to reflect on the week.
Click to view Hannah’s sketches from the Bradford trip:
See more of Hannah’s work here.
Spotlight on… Ben Hargreaves
What made you apply for the Exchange?
I was recommended this programme by a peer who felt it would be a great next step for me, having recently finished college. I was keen to branch out and have the opportunity to network with other creatives in different areas as well as learning more about each creative sector.
Tell me about your experience of the Exchange – what have you taken away from it?
Having returned from the exchange, I feel incredibly inspired. Being surrounded by such passionate creatives, I feel even more determined to continue creating and sharing my work. I have gained a valuable insight into different areas of the creative industry and seen how Bradford allows space for us all to express ourselves entirely. Going to exhibitions and taking part in workshops which let us incorporate our practices into everything we saw and took part in. I also feel so lucky to say that I have made connections and friendships with the other young creatives having been able to go to Bradford together.
Whilst on the exchange, I filmed and edited montages capturing what we did each day. As a filmmaker, I am really drawn to capturing the true emotions behind a moment, so being able to record videos of each activity, I felt as if I was able to encapsulate the joy and passion we all felt whilst on this exchange. Although I mainly focus on narrative film, I still incorporated my own style in each video; nature and colour are my main focal points within my films, and came through naturally when documenting my experience in Bradford.
Spotlight on… Annabel Howlett
In response to the Letters to the Future workshop, dramatist and poet Annabel Howlett wrote and performed the following poem:
Next Steps
As part of the programme, a series of online talks exploring creative career paths and a webinar for Arts Council’s Developing Your Creative Practice fund will be open to participants and the wider public. For more information on these talks, check the Ealing Culture listings. Ealing’s Young Creatives will also complete a collaborative project, scheduled to launch in Winter 25/26.