BPH is an exciting project that aims to make sure Bradford is a creative city where lots of amazing live performance is happening all the time.

It is a pilot project that will test radical new approaches to producing live arts, supporting creative talent, developing a local arts workforce, and partnering with communities across Bradford to reimagine the city as a thriving hub for performance. 

The project has been instigated by a consortium of 6 local arts organisations (a mixture of independents and Arts Council NPOs) led by Theatre in the Mill.  The funding is not for these organisations, or our regular activities – it is our role is to make sure that this investment is used most effectively to benefit everyone who is involved with, and experiences, live performance in Bradford. The organisations who make up this consortium and who are responsible for driving the project forward are Theatre in the Mill Common Wealth Theatre, Displace Yourself Theatre, Kala Sangam, Mind the Gap and 154 Collective.

Across the whole project, BPH is working to deliver 8 strands:

1

Needs Assessment & Creativity Council

Gathering and understanding the needs that BPH should address, to support the creation of more Live Art in Bradford. 

2

Talent Development

Providing a structured and responsive strand of training and development opportunities for all artists at any point of their career, that will support the creation of more Live Art in, and coming out of, Bradford.

3

Reaching People

Ensuring work that’s made reaches audiences, and is what audiences want to see. Improving the ways audiences find out about and engage in live arts.

4

New Work

Providing Research & Development funding, Commissions and creative support to enable the creation of more and better Live Art in and by Bradford artists.

5

Transforming Spaces

Ensuring there are spaces for performance and doing what is possible to increase and improve performance infrastructure and facilities.

6

Shared Resources

Creating better ways for people to find out about and share live art, including knowing what’s on and booking tickets easily.

7

Management & Delivery

Ensuring the project is well managed and supported, while creating new routes into the arts sector.

8

Evaluation, Learning & Legacy

Evaluating and sharing the successes and failures of the project, proving need, and having a constant eye to the future.