Arts of Place: City Park, Bradford

Image provided by Bradford MDC

Beam have been commissioned to deliver Arts of Place in the heart of Bradford. This programme is funded by Arts Council England, Yorkshire - Grants for the Arts and Bradford Council.

Context:

The activity is centred on 3 key components:
1) Arts of Place - an innovative three-year multi-disciplinary arts development programme that places the arts and artists at the centre of place-making and regeneration - developed by Beam. 
2) City Park, Bradford - a major regeneration project building a six-acre park and the largest city centre water feature in the UK in the heart of Bradford city centre. 
3) Atoll’s Public Art Scoping Study for City Park commissioned by Bradford Council and partners - which provides the Arts of Place Year 2 programme with a critical link to the permanent public art commission programme and the overall Mirror Pool City Park project.

Overall Aim:

To facilitate Bradford’s cultural aspirations for City Park by embedding the arts, learning, and stakeholder engagement through applying the principles of Beam’s Arts of Place programme.

Objectives:

1) Embedding Artists & the Arts - To facilitate development and implementation of an innovative temporary public art commission programme for City Park in its design development stage that is complementary to the planned permanent commission programme and advocates the engagement of artists within the place-making agenda.

2) Broadening the Impact - To develop City Park as an exemplary culture-led regeneration project through application of the Arts of Place strands.

3) Strategic Links – To set City Park within local, regional, national and international policy and best practice context, demonstrating links with appropriate initiatives as identified in the preliminary Public Art Scoping Study (Atoll).

4) Local Partnerships & Capacity – To facilitate further development of existing artistic and cultural partnerships / development of new partnerships within Bradford, laying the groundwork for future cultural programming around City Park and more widely in the Bradford district.

5) Strategic Investment - To complement the development of City Park Public Art Commission Programme - physical artworks and public realm animation - and support additional fundraising that will enhance secured finance to ensure an ongoing and sustainable programme for animating the City Park and other public spaces in Bradford.