Bradford Producing Hub
If it’s live and in need of support, it’s sure to have Bradford Producing Hub fighting its corner.
An actress sits at a table in a Bradford cafe resting her head on one hand, smiling wryly and looking to one side out of the frame
Image Credit ©Karol Wyszynski
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Bradford Producing Hub (BPH) is a pilot programme to test new approaches to producing live arts. It’s one of only two in the country.
20 small selfie-style portraits of the members of Bradford Producing Hub's Creativity Council
We’re all about the development of live arts, increasing career opportunities, encouraging participation, creating brilliant work for audiences and making Bradford a really live, exciting place that’s just full of performance all the time.
We commission performance, including music, theatre, dance, circus and comedy – anything that is live. We provide everything from that first step in for somebody that’s always loved doing creative stuff but never quite turned it into a career through to in-depth training programmes. Whether it’s at an individual level through to the whole of Bradford, BPH is asking what’s missing and then trying to fill those gaps. We’re looking at how we can get access to empty shops, for example.
BPH led a piece of research called the Joint Cultural Needs Analysis. It shouted so loudly about people being disconnected, not knowing what’s go on, who to ask for, about institutional racism and the lack of cultural diversity. One of the first things BPH needed to address was how to bring people together, so a creative person can come to one place and not have to knock
on everyone’s doors only to have doors shut in their face.
We’ve been working with Bradford Fringe Festival, which has grown astonishingly fast since Laura Brooks started running it in 2019. We’ve been adding to her skills and providing her with the networks, knowledge and expertise she needs to achieve her vision. We also identified quite early on that Black artists were underrepresented, so BPH worked with Tanya Vital to create a Black Artist Network.
BPH is only funded until 2023, but it’s clearly working and we need it to continue. When we win UK City of Culture 2025, a huge proportion of the jobs it creates will go to Bradford’s creatives. I see BPH’s job as intrinsic to Bradford’s readiness, stepping up and upscaling when the time comes.
Lisa Mallaghan
Project Director