About Bradford Producing Hub
We're an independent arts development charity based in Bradford. We support artists, creative freelancers, and cultural organisations to imagine, pursue and sustain creative careers, especially those who've historically faced barriers the arts.
Where we came from
BPH began in 2019 as a bold, needs-led response to a call from Arts Council England. Their 2016 Analysis of Theatre in England had identified a gap in place-based support for talent development outside London, and they wanted to test whether ‘producing hubs’ could make a real difference.
A consortium of Bradford organisations including Kala Sangam (now Bradford Arts Centre), Mind the Gap, Theatre in the Mill, Common Wealth Theatre, Displace Yourself Theatre, and 154 Collective, came together with an independent proposal that challenged every assumption about what artist development could look like. It was so far from what ACE expected that they doubled their funding and launched two pilot schemes. Bradford Producing Hub was one of them.
From the outset, we were needs-led and artist-focused. We listened first, acted second, and stayed determined to reach the people the arts had too often overlooked.
What we built in our first four years
The pilot years were about proving something: that genuinely inclusive, community-rooted arts development works. Here’s what that looked like in practice.
We also developed the Joint Cultural Needs Assessment (JCNA) alongside needs assessments of Bradford’s music, visual arts, dance, and LGBTQIA+ arts sectors – and made all findings public to support wider sector learning.
Bradford 2025: our City of Culture chapter
In 2023, BPH was appointed Cultural Capacity Partner for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. This was a pivotal moment that sharpened our mission and accelerated our reach. Our job was to prepare and strengthen Bradford’s creative workforce for the biggest cultural moment the district had ever seen.
We’re proud of what that partnership produced. Across the City of Culture period, BPH.
We also hosted the Nairobi Producer Exchange, deepened artist development through Expanding Horizons, Practice: Bradford and Sustain, delivered Production Management training with Factory International’s Factory Academy, and ran Held Spaces for Writing – among much more.
Where we are now
In 2023, BPH became an independent organisation. In March 2025, we formally registered as a charity in a statement of long-term commitment to Bradford’s creative community.
Bradford’s cultural sector is in a period of genuine growth: new venues, new infrastructure, new investment. But growth without sustained support can leave artists behind. That’s why BPH’s work – connecting people to opportunity, advocating for equity, building a resilient sector – matters more now than ever.
Our 2026–2029 strategy sets out how we’ll keep doing this: through four interconnected strands of work: developing pathways into creative careers, building sector infrastructure, advocating for structural change, and strengthening our own foundations.
"We're really proud of what we have achieved so far for the Bradford creative sector. As we look ahead beyond 2025, our focus is on sustaining and embedding our progress: advocating for continued equitable investment, deepening sector resilience, and helping build a cultural ecology where everyone, regardless of background, can make, access, and influence the arts in Bradford, and beyond."
This is not just our story
BPH is one part of Bradford’s cultural ecology, and if you’re reading this, so are you!
We’ve built this organisation on passion, collaboration, bravery, generosity and inclusivity. Now, as we enter the next phase, we need people to help us keep going.
Here’s how you can be part of it:
- Make a donation – even the cost of a coffee covers travel for someone to attend one of our activities
- Follow and engage with us on social media to help us reach more artists
- Sign up to our newsletter for funding opportunities, open calls, and sector news
- Get in touch about partnership or funding a programme: hello@bdproducinghub.co.uk
