Open from 26 April 2025
Tower of Now
Saad Qureshi
This soaring sculpture explores what it means to be British today – and celebrates the dazzling diversity of Bradford.
Tower of Now is a major new public artwork for the heart of Bradford.
Created by artist Saad Qureshi and installed at Hall Ings during Bradford 2025, this 15-metre sculpture pays tribute to the rich variety of cultures present in our city, our district and our nation in 2025.
Saad Qureshi was eight when he moved to Bradford from rural Pakistan, quickly finding his place in what he calls “a community defined by diversity”. Exactly 20 years after leaving to take up his art studies, the young boy has become an internationally acclaimed artist – and he’s now taking inspiration from his Bradford childhood to create his most ambitious public sculpture yet.
Tower of Now is inspired by memory and place, and how our sense of who we are can be shaped by the buildings we see around us. Incorporating architectural features from around the globe, it features Qureshi’s trademark intricate woodwork, but on a monumental scale – taller than three double-decker buses. Don’t miss this beautiful and profound celebration of diversity, identity and community in 2025.
We are thrilled to unveil this new outstanding artwork from Saad Qureshi, a true reflection of Bradford’s rich heritage and vibrant identity. Qureshi’s sculpture is emblematic of the city’s unique blend of history, architecture, and industrial legacy.
It’s a celebration of Bradford’s past — from the wealth generated by the wool trade to the influence of global architecture that has shaped our skyline, with domes and columns echoing the legacy of mill owners who brought inspiration back from their travels, and the industries that have brought people from across Europe, Asia and beyond to Bradford.
The sculpture is a striking representation of the communities that make up Bradford, and it’s fantastic to see such an iconic artwork, a tribute to the communities who live and work here today, become part of our skyline.”
About the artist
Saad Qureshi’s practice draws on the ineffability of lived experience: the processes by which we interpret objects and landscapes, and how memory itself processes them over time.
His sculptures give form to the ideas or stories by which we give meaning to human existence.
Recent solo exhibitions include the Djanogly Gallery/ Lakeside Arts, Nottingham; Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival; Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield; and Nature Morte Gallery, New Delhi. Group exhibitions include the Aga Khan Centre Gallery, London; I’Institut des Cultures d’Islam, Paris; Museum Arnhem, Netherlands; Kunsthall 3,14, Bergen; Saudia Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA); and Drawing Room, London. Winner of The Frieze & The OWO Sculpture Prize, Convocation is on view at Raffles London.
Find out more at www.saadqureshi.com
One of our most pensive and poetic artists.”
