Bradford Culture
Saba Siddiqui, A Well Deserved Cuppa, 2025, OUR TURN: Practice Bradford, Yorkshire Contemporary, Photo: Jules Listere
Free

18 Sep - 19 Oct 2025

Loading Bay

OUR TURN: Practice Bradford

A group exhibition showcasing new work by four of Bradford’s most exciting emerging artists

OUR TURN: Practice Bradford was a group exhibition that showcased new work from four exciting emerging Bradford artists; Joanna Byrne, Atiyya Mirza, Liv Preston and Saba Siddiqui.

Curated by Yorkshire Contemporary, the exhibition was the culmination of Practice: Bradford, an artist development programme providing funding, mentorship, and professional development. The programme was delivered in partnership with Bradford Producing Hub and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

Our Turn

Practice Bradford was part of OUR TURN, a new visual arts festival for Bradford.

OUR TURN took place across the district from 18th September 2025 – 28th January 2026, organised by South Square Centre in collaboration with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, Bradford Producing Hub and Yorkshire Contemporary.

Practice Bradford Artists

Joanna Byrne
Artist Joanna Byrne works with film. Using both photography and moving image, she combines painterly, ecological and experimental techniques to address themes and subjects. Based in Bradford, Byrne is using the programme to explore a post-industrial site in Shipley through projections, photography, sculpture and field recordings. Utilising plants from the site to develop film, her work traces themes of rewilding, ecological resilience, urban memory and interstitial spaces.

Atiyya Mirza
British Pakistani artist Atiyya Mirza works with textiles and sculpture to explore womanhood, empowerment and cultural identity. Her vibrant 2D works and installations weave together traditional fabrics and found materials to create transgressive works that challenge cultural stereotypes. For OUR TURN: Practice Bradford, Mirza is creating an ambitious large-scale, textile installation that invites audiences to playfully engage with themes of domesticity, childhood and gender roles.

Liv Preston
Liv Preston, originally from Keighley, uses sculpture, conceptualism and material culture within her practice, often in connection with underground features, hobbyist communities and industrial legacies. The exhibition shines a light on Preston’s research into Bradford’s subterranean waterways and sub-cultures, creating works that fuse historical research, site-specific materiality and speculative storytelling.

Saba Siddiqui
Working from her studio in Baildon, Saba Siddiqui uses textiles, sculpture and printmaking techniques to focus on themes of decolonisation, activism and museum practice. Her work draws on her South Asian identity, creating celebratory, multi-sensory installations that foreground communities and accessibility. During the programme, Siddiqui is delving into Bradford’s textile, migration and labour histories, developing a multi-layered installation that creates space to come together and engage in dialogue.

Credits
Cover Image: Saba Siddiqui, A Well Deserved Cuppa, 2025, OUR TURN_ Practice Bradford, Yorkshire Contemporary, Photo_ Jules Lister

Credits


Past event

Were you at this event?

Complete our feedback form and let us know what you thought.

Share your feedback

Related Events

A detailed view of the Tower of Now sculpture, against a blue sky.
FREE

Tower of Now

Saad Qureshi

This soaring sculpture explores what it means to be British – and celebrates Bradford’s dazzling diversity.

Bill Bailey stands in the centre of this image, with a group of six artists behind him standing in a line. He wears a blue suit and t shirt, and the artists variously wear casual clothes and painting aprons.
FREE Part of Loading Bay

Extraordinary Portraits with Bill Bailey

Breathtaking portraits – incredible personal stories.

A woman with a full sleeve of tattoos paints on a small easel.
SOLD OUT Part of Loading Bay

Sip & Paint: Extraordinary Portraits

Get inspired by Extraordinary Portraits and enjoy an evening of painting, for ages 16-30.

SOLD OUT Part of Loading Bay

Pottery & Sip: Extraordinary Portraits

Get hands on with clay in this interactive workshop for ages 16-30, inspired by Extraordinary Portraits.

Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman
Part of Loading Bay

Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman

This multi award-winning folk music couple are heading to Loading Bay.

Performer Velma Celli is open mouthed, with glam drag make up and green hair.
Part of Loading Bay

Velma Celli’s A Brief History of Drag

An electrifying five star cabaret comprising a collective mix of the music that we all know and love.

A comedian stands holding a microphone.
Part of Loading Bay

Loaded Laughs – Edinburgh Previews

Fresh ideas, new jokes, and full shows taking shape at Loading Bay.

Colourful obelisk-shaped structure with child walking in front of it
Part of PLAY

Balancing Acts

Sam Shendi

A bespoke, playful structure created to celebrate the community and history of BD5.