A giant ball of colourful yarn with the Bradford skyline around the edge of it against a blue sky.
Free

26 Jul 2025

A Good Yarn: City Centre Roll

Luke Jerram & Bloomin' Buds

Roll with it! We’re making a huge new artwork from the very fabric of Bradford.

Event Details
Date 26 Jul 2025
Times 12:15-1pm
Location Bradford City Centre
Ages All ages

Bradford’s textile heritage is the inspiration for A Good Yarn, an extraordinary new creation for Bradford 2025.

A Good Yarn is a huge ball of yarn – and we mean huge.

Fabric and clothing donations from across Bradford District have been plaited into a rope stretching more than a kilometre. With the help of community groups in BD10, we’ve wound the rope into a ginormous yarn ball, three metres high and wide.

A Good Yarn will be rolling through Bradford city centre on Saturday 26 July, as part of BD: Festival.

A Good Yarn is the brainchild of Luke Jerram, in partnership with Bradford’s Bloomin’ Buds – with a soundtrack from the Broken Orchestra and a helping hand from the people of Bradford.

Route

The city centre roll of A Good Yarn will start at 12.15pm from the junction of Hall Ings and Bank Street, moving onto Market Street and Centenary Square.

Musical accompaniment from BD1Brass.

Please note

Due to the nature of this artwork public rolls are subject to dry conditions.

Listen to the soundscape

Listen along to the soundscape below, created especially for A Good Yarn by The Broken Orchestra.

About the Artists

A photograph of a smartly dressed man stood in front of an image of the surface of the moon
Luke Jerram 

Luke Jerram

Luke Jerram is a UK artist who creates extraordinary sculptures, installations and live art projects around the world, often for public spaces. His previous works include Museum of the Moon, which has been presented in more than 40 countries around the world; First Breath, a light artwork celebrating new life; and Play Me, I’m Yours, street pianos installed in cities from Tokyo to New York.

Bloomin' Buds

Bloomin’ Buds are a Bradford-based theatre company that works to increase access to the arts for working-class communities in the district. Based at Albion Mills in BD10, Bloomin’ Buds are passionate advocates for bringing voice and empowerment to working-class people and communities through the arts.

The Broken Orchestra

The Broken Orchestra are known both for their genre-defying music and for their innovative work in producing work for public space and community arts. Their projects transform public spaces into sonic canvases, using field recordings, spoken word and original compositions to reflect the stories, voices, and textures of local communities.

Credits
Commissioned and produced by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Supported by Bradford District and Craven Mind and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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