Connecting Culture: The Bradford Way

Bradford will host a major cultural conference next spring, uniting the arts and culture sector to shape the district’s creative future beyond its landmark UK City of Culture 2025 year. Attendees from Bradford and beyond can expect to hear how collaborative place-based working aids sector stability and raises the ambition of local arts and culture development.

Connecting Culture: The Bradford Way will take place on 25 March 2026 at Bradford Arts Centre (formerly Kala Sangam).

Created by a consortium of four key cultural partners, the conference is part of The Bradford Way – a long-term partnership supporting the district’s artists, communities, culture-makers and heritage practitioners. The event will be an important opportunity for creatives, individual specialists and producers, cultural companies and associations to share ideas, connect and explore what’s next for Bradford’s cultural sector as well as how this learning can be applied in other areas across the UK.

An Arts Council England-funded Place Partnership – a strategic place-based intervention to make a long term difference to the cultural and/or creative life of the local community - The Bradford Way unites Bradford Producing Hub, Cultural Voice Forum, The Leap, and City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

Established in 2024, the programme is designed to strengthen the district’s cultural community – including those behind the once-in-a-generation achievement of securing UK City of Culture status. Each partner is deeply embedded in the city and district, making them perfectly placed to deliver a plan for culture that goes far beyond 2025 – fostering cultural and heritage development, creating positive change, and laying strong foundations for a thriving cultural future that feels authentic to the place and its people.

Peg Alexander, Chair of The Bradford Way, said: “Bradford is young, ambitious, and creative – and we do things our own way. The Bradford Way is a lasting commitment to our district and how we celebrate that uniqueness. This conference is about the bigger picture for Bradford and what comes next to support and connect artists, culture-makers, creatives and communities.  

"2025 has been an outstanding, transformational moment in our story. Through The Bradford Way, we will continue to celebrate and inspire our ‘Bradfordness’ for years to come, connecting culture as a hook to prove what’s possible.”

The conference will:

- Demonstrate how The Bradford Way has piloted new ways of working in order to secure Bradford’s creative future

- Celebrate Bradford’s hyperlocal creativity

- Reflect on Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture  

- Lead a national conversation on cultural investment

- Explore how to sustain momentum and grow opportunities for artists, producers, and communities

Delegates from across the district and beyond will take part in speaker sessions, breakout discussions, and networking opportunities designed to inspire collaboration and shape the next phase of Bradford’s cultural journey. Attendees from the wider region and UK will also hear how collaborative, placed-based working can, and has, added stability to local arts and culture.

Throughout its first year, the consortium has worked to develop a more equitable cultural ecosystem, laying the groundwork for a resilient, sustainable and inclusive sector.

Key milestones so far include:

- Business Support: Bradford Producing Hub’s Expanding Horizons programme provided business development support to eight cultural organisations, whileSustain nurtured local dance artists and producers.

- Creative Network Growth: Cultural Voice Forum, currently structurally supported by Bradford Producing Hub, has expanded its database of sector professionals, independent artists and freelancers, establishing new subnetworks and increasing access provision as well as hosting regular networking events to broaden support and connection.

- Community-Led Culture: The Leap, Your Way Awards have helped many grassroots ideas flourish – from Leeds Road Festival to Sendiverse aimed at Learning Disabled and Neurodivergent young people and their families.

- Practical Tools & Training: Bradford Council delivered BD: Toolkits training to support local event organisers. Through their Festival Fund 11 local groups also received funding to take their festivals to the next level.  

- Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England  

Pete Massey, Director, Yorkshire and The Humber, Arts Council England said: “2025 has been a hugely exciting year for Bradford - it has been an amazing opportunity for the world to see the rich creative and cultural landscape of the district. I’m proud that we have been able to support The Bradford Way which will play a key part in continuing that success through supporting local creatives to develop their careers within the sector as well as encouraging communities across the district to engage with arts and culture. Connecting Culture conference is another important milestone for The Bradford Way and the work it is doing to cement the legacy for Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture.”

Save the Date: 25 March 2026 Further programme details and booking information will be released later this year.

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Header Image: BHP Catalysts for Culture Conference 2023 (Image: Tom Woolard)