COLORFUL works of art appear in unexpected places in the district.
Bradford Council is teaming up with local artists to create a series of street art as part of a campaign to draw people to town centers and villages as the pandemic eases.
The council has commissioned numerous local artists to create an eclectic range of unique artwork that will appear in the district over the coming months as part of their Spring Back 2022 campaign.
OutLOUD and The United Art Project are working with local artists and residents to design and paint a community mural, on multiple shutters and walls to brighten up a parade of shops on Broadstone Way in Holmewood.
The Paint on the Parade project celebrates the Holmewood community and includes depictions of iconic Holmewoodian structures, places, sayings, images and memories from past decades and the community today.
In Windhill, the Armchair Artists Collective has decorated three concrete street bollards turning them into beautiful paintings showing the natural world from different angles in a project called A Closer View.
Terminals are on Leeds Road in Windhill outside the Parade of Shops including the Windhill Post Office.
Trapezium Arts and documentary photographer Cath Muldowney join forces to bring high-quality, eye-catching portrait photography to vacant storefronts in Great Horton, Wibsey and Queensbury.
The Streets Ahead project features the faces of local businesses, community groups and residents who live, work and play in the neighborhoods in a tableau showcasing the positive human qualities of local people and the distinctive cultural identity of the district.
These photographs are a modern take on ‘tronies’ – an old fashioned style of portraiture.
Artist Pete Olding will lead a team of artists to create temporary works of art on the streets of Ilkley town centre.
The team will paint “live” in the street while involving people in the process.
The images will be figurative, vibrant and colorful and will incorporate poems created in locally held workshops.
Pete’s team will be painting in The Grove market area on Friday, Ilkley Band Stand on Saturday, a window in the public toilet lobby in Ilkley Central Car Park on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th March.
The March 26 painting will be part of the Ilkley Family Takeover event which is also part of the Spring Back 2022 campaign.
People Powered Paste-Ups will create a gallery of public poetry and prose collages featuring three giant murals, all created and hand-printed on People Powered Press, the world’s largest printing company of its type, based in Saltaire.
The artwork will be located on Lord Street in Keighley town center and will be created by and for the people of Keighley. In addition to district-wide artwork, the Spring Back 2022 campaign also includes six events in cities across the district throughout March. The Shipley Sup beer festival was the first event on Saturday. Upcoming events are another Bingley Beer Festival (March 19), Haworth Witches and Wizards event (March 19), an event taking a nostalgic look at Keighley’s High Street – K-Town Shopper 26 and 27 March, Ilkley Family Recovery Day on March 26 and Wibsey Fair (March 26).
Councilor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “This fantastic street art and series of events are designed to reconnect people with the places they love. I’m so glad we were able to bring in local creatives to work with people from local communities, organizations and businesses on these beautiful, colorful pieces. »
Lauren from OutLOUD said: “We really enjoy working with the local communities on our project in Holmewood and are grateful to Bradford Council for the opportunity to get involved with the Spring Back 2022 campaign. We hope residents locals will appreciate the work done on the murals. »
Sand from Armchair Artists Collective, said: “Working on the Leeds Road terminals in Windhill has provided us with some unique and interesting challenges. It was a great project to turn them into beautiful paintings. We appreciate the freedom that Bradford Council has given us with this project and we hope that everyone who sees them enjoys them.