The Bradford Way

The Bradford Way – a partnership between Bradford Producing Hub, Cultural Voice Forum, The Leap, and City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council – has announced a new wave of opportunities for artists, freelancers and creative businesses across the district.  

Established in 2024, the partnership is a collaborative network of cultural partners working together to ensure every creative, freelancer and community in Bradford has clear, connected pathways to the support, skills and opportunities they need to develop and sustain their creative practice – making Bradford a place where anyone who wants to be a creative is supported to be one.

An Arts Council England-funded Place Partnership, The Bradford Way continues to offer various opportunities for artists, producers and creatives in the district until spring 2026:

·       Continuing the Expanding Horizons business development workshops ‘Mind Your Own Business’ has been designed to support freelancers and organisations from the creative sector to build a profitable and impactful creative practice. Previous workshops have covered governance and developing creative business communication skills and strategies.  

·       Music Development Programme, Amplify (funded by PRS) is supported by The Bradford Way to expand development opportunities through a public event – ‘Amplify: Music Development Lab’ - which is open for booking now for music creators across the Bradford district.

·       Sustain: a training and development programme for mid-career artists, creative freelancers and microbusinesses to enhance their creative and professional practice with Bradford Producing Hub. Deadline for applications is Sunday 15 February 2026 at 11 PM.

·       Knowledge is Power: an event in partnership with the Bradford 2025 evaluation team to share their interim report, as well as insights into the annual, district-wide Cultural and Creative Sector Workforce Survey results.

·       Sustainability in Culture Grants:  Free one to one training from Bradford Council with SAIL (Sustainable Arts in Leeds) for creatives who require funding to assist with developing and implementing their business plans.  

Momentum around the partnership will culminate on 25 March when a major cultural conference - “Connecting Culture: The Bradford Way” - will welcome delegates from across the UK, connecting Bradford with other towns and cities making places thrive through culture. Tickets sold out within days, highlighting the strength of Bradford’s cultural network and the appetite for collaboration across the sector and country.

Peg Alexander, Chair of The Bradford Way, said: “As we move beyond our UK City of Culture year, The Bradford Way demonstrates why we need long-term investment in people, not just in time limited projects. The skills, confidence, networks and ways of working developed through this programme are what allow momentum to be sustained once national attention moves on. Through The Bradford Way, we are able to focus on embedding that collaboration and strengthening those pathways for years to come.”

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Header Image: Mega Drawing Box. The Beacon - Bob Smith Photography