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Bradford 2025 lights up historic mill to remember radical moment in the city’s history

Published October 29, 2025

New projection and sound show at Lister Mill marks the location of famous strike.

A brand-new projection show, STRIKE, will creatively collage images of slogans, placards, marches, trade unionists, archive film and archive material, projected onto the iconic 249ft chimney at Bradford’s Lister Mill, taking place every evening between 8pm – 10pm from Friday 3 – Sunday 5 October.

STRIKE has been created for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture to honour 135 years since the historic 1890 protest by 5,000 majority female workers at Lister Mill, which paved the way to the formation of the Independent Labour Party in 1893.

Projections, poetry and sound created by Urban Projections and P. A. BITEZ will animate the site across 3 nights.

Bradford is a city shaped by its industrial heritage. Some of our landmarks are still part of the streets we walk, while some voices and stories are in danger of being forgotten. In STRIKE, we celebrate the forgotten pioneers whose actions still shape the present. From the Bradford working women on strike in 1890, to those who fought for their rights across the 20th century and today, STRIKE highlights the power of communities working together, speaking up, and standing up for each other.
Shanaz Gulzar Creative Director for Bradford 2025
We are pleased to support this exciting project. Lister Mills is a towering monument to the industrial revolution which still dominates the Bradford skyline today. It played a key role in the lives of local people in the Manningham area, not just in terms of employment but also in social life too. These bonds were especially strong for women who made up the majority of the workforce and provided the basis for the mill strike of 1891. Their inspirational story is being shared in schools and gives a fresh appreciation for one of Bradford’s most iconic landmarks.
Tom Frater Historic England Regional Director for the North East and Yorkshire

Further information:

STRIKE
Projections: Friday 3 – Sunday 5 October, 8pm – 10pm
Lister Mill, Bradford, BD9 5BE
Free
Creative banner-making workshops from 6pm – 10pm, 3 – 5 October, drop-in, Lister Mill.

STRIKE is a spectacular projection show transforming the architecture of the iconic 249ft chimney at Bradford’s Lister Mill, a cornerstone of the city’s industrial heritage.

Created by Urban Projections (aka artist Rebecca Smith) with a soundscape including poetry by BITEZ (Princess Arinola Adegbite), STRIKE will be projected on to Lister Mill across three evenings from Friday 3 to Sunday 5 October. The event is free to attend, with projections running from 8pm – 10pm each evening.

The factory in Manningham was once the largest silk mill in the world, part of the textiles industry that built Bradford. It was the site of a mass four month walk-out by 5,000 workers in 1890-91, when the largely female Lister & Co workforce walked out on strike to protest against pay cuts.

The strike led to increased unionisation and calls for better political representation for workers. Acting as a catalyst to bring together local union organisers, it led to the formation of the Bradford Labour Union and paved the way to the formation of the Independent Labour Party in Bradford in 1893.

STRIKE commemorates the role of Bradford’s pioneering women in radical action and the fight for better conditions. As well as the workers involved in the Lister & Co strike, it pays tribute to figures such as Julia Varley, a leading trade unionist and suffragette, and Margaret McMillan, who campaigned for Free School Meals to be introduced in Bradford, a practice made nationwide law in 1906, and still a key measure to combat child food poverty.

The project has been accompanied by a major engagement programme alongside local art renegades Mek Summat and poet Nabeela Ahmed. Local schools and community groups in and around the area have taken part in workshops including creative writing, printmaking, and making banners inspired by protest and rights movements.

Supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England