14 Jun 2025
STATUESQUE at Bowling Park
Chicks on Sticks & Naomi Parker
Costumed characters, free family workshops and a community parade.
STATUESQUE was a visually stunning walkabout act that brought the statues from the parks of Bradford and Keighley to life. Designed and made by artists Naomi Parker and Rachel Hyde-director of stilt walking company Chicks on Sticks.
A Bradford 2025 Artist-Led Award project.
About the project
The project introduced three new walkabout costumed characters, designed and made by artists Naomi Parker and Rachel Hyde (director of Chicks on Sticks), which were inspired by the familiar statues found in Bradford’s parks: Lister Park’s bronze stag, Bowling Park’s wooden bear, and a drumming squirrel. These characters were joined by other favourites, including Bracewell the Dragon and Salt and Pepper the Alpaca.
Each STATUESQUE performance featured a family-friendly workshop where participants were able to make their own parade creations, and a carnival parade, allowing participants and community members to show off their creations.
Music was composed specially for STATUESQUE by Dan McGlade.
Artist-Led Project Awards
This project was supported by the Bradford 2025 Artist-led Project Awards programme.
Find out more about this programme and the projects that we have supported below.
The accompanying workshops were part of the Your Way Programme funded by The Leap, in partnership with Bradford Council, Bradford Producing Hub and Bradford Cultural Voice Forum, with additional support from Bradford District Museums and Galleries.
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