The best of Bradford Intercultured festival 2024
From Sudanese cuisine to documentary screenings, the annual event continues with its mission to build connections and create community
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With just a few months until Bradford begins its programme of events as the UK City of Culture 2025, the Intercultured festival is celebrating the creative efforts of the area’s diverse communities. The grassroots event, which launched online in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, is now back for its fifth instalment, running until 2 November.
Local artist Mussarat Rahman founded the festival after 18 years of working with the city’s migrant and refugee communities, with the aim of building bridges between residents from all backgrounds.
“Our focus is on healing and harmonising communities,” says Rahman. “We make sure we bring diverse voices across the board of the festival so everyone feels seen.”
According to Rahman, Intercultured 2024 is the “most diverse yet”, encompassing film, poetry, literature and music by an array of local artists. For food lovers, there will also be opportunities to attend Sudanese cooking classes and sit down for a five-course Palestinian meal. Other events include a meditative sound bath at Bradford cathedral, plus an open mic night with local musician Liam Sullivan.
Bringing the festival to a close, the Commoners Ball, in which attendees are encouraged to wear their traditional clothing, will offer a night of music and dance at the city’s Midland Hotel.
“It’s my favourite event,” says Rahman. “I wanted the average person to experience a fancy event like our ball. People have a right to see how the other half live, so we fundraise to cover some of the ticket costs.”
Here are some of Hyphen’s highlights from this year’s lineup:
Intercultured 2024 offers free daily film screenings at Centenary Square. The programme features a range of powerful documentaries, including a series made by staff and volunteers at Bradford Nightstop, a service providing emergency accommodation for unhoused young people. Another short film by Apna Heritage celebrates the cultural life of the city’s South Asian community, while Diary of A Refugee Kid is a video diary-based short film detailing the migration journey of young refugees to the UK.
Founded by members of the Leeds Muslim Youth Forum in 2019, Purani Yaadein is dedicated to preserving the heritage of Kashmiris in West Yorkshire through the curation of an extensive online archive. This exhibition at Bradford Library explores the community’s contribution to the cultural life of Bradford.
Humanity Cartoons is an art competition run by the refugee support organisations Time to Help and Human Rights Solidarity, raising awareness around the issues of immigration and asylum. This exhibition at Bradford Cathedral features 20 cartoons by artists from a range of countries including Iran, Turkey and Indonesia.
This evening showcase, hosted by the writer and poet Nabeela Ahmed, focuses on the Pahari languages spoken by people in Kashmir and around 70% of British Pakistanis. Held at Waterstones book shop, the event will feature readings by 13 writers from around the UK.
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