Can you help uncover the stories of our high streets?

Submit your photographs by 20 May 2023 for a chance to be part of an outdoor exhibition throughout Bradford’s city centre.

As part of Historic England’s and Photoworks’ Picturing High Streets project, Impressions Gallery, in collaboration with BD:Festival, invites you to look anew at the high streets across the Bradford district. From the Victorian grandeur of Keighley’s Arcade to the boutique-lined Grove in Ilkley, and the bustling markets and malls of Bradford, help us uncover a contemporary picture of these meeting points of commerce, conversation, and community.

Take up the challenge and respond to any of the themes below.

Some of the best photographs submitted will be exhibited outdoors across the city centre as part of BD:Festival in July 2023. The selection panel includes renowned social documentary photographer Ian Beesley, and Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director, Bradford 2025.

During the call-out, a selection of the images submitted will also be shared on @ImpGalleryPhoto‘s Instagram page.

How to submit your photographs

Share via Instagram using @ImpGalleryPhoto #PicturingBradford #PicturingHighStreets (please note we’ll only be able to see your photo if your profile is set to public).
Alternatively, upload your photograph using our online submission form.
Photographs should be suitable for a public platform and taken on a high street in the Bradford District.
If your image contains people, in some circumstances you will need to use our consent form. Street photography containing people, but where an individual is not the focus of the image, does not require a consent form. However, a photograph of an identifiable individual in a private or public setting does require a consent form. If needed, please download the consent form below and upload it with your photo via our online submission form.
Please refer to the Picturing High Streets terms and conditions for more information.

Share your photograph by Saturday 20 May 2023

If your photo is chosen by the selection panel for the outdoor exhibition you will be asked to upload a high-resolution copy of your image and complete our submission form.

If you have any questions or would like further information on the project please contact us at BDphoto@impressions-gallery.com or phone 01274 737843.

Picturing Bradford is funded by Historic England and Bradford Council. Part of the national Picturing High Streets project commissioned by Historic England and delivered by Photoworks as part of the High Streets Heritage Action Zones Cultural Programme. It is produced in partnership with GRAIN Projects, Impressions Gallery, Open Eye Gallery, London College of Communications, Photofusion, QUAD/FORMAT, Redeye, ReFramed and The Photographers’ Gallery.

Picturing Bradford: Open Call — Impressions Gallery — OutLOUD, United Art Project and Bradford Council @ Jamie Steward

Respond to any of these themes

High Street Eats
From chip shops to chai stops, show us your favourite place to eat out on the high street.

High Street Heroes
Who is the beating heart of your high street? Celebrate the people who make your place special.

High Street Hang Outs
Where do you love to hang out? Photograph the parks, places and shops on the high street that inspire you.

Hidden Histories
Look up to find overlooked architectural details, forgotten signs and clues to a high street’s past.

Pets in the High Street
Can you capture curious cats and dashing dogs that call high streets their home?

Need inspiration? Take a look at the national project #PicturingHighStreets.

Information

Selection Panel

Ian Beesley

Photographer

and international collections. He has published over 25 books and won many awards, including an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society in 2012. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Bradford in 2019 for his significant contribution to the cultural and social welfare of the city. His first career retrospective Life was exhibited at Salts Mill, Saltaire, Bradford in 2022. Photo © Adrian Greenhalgh
Shanaz Gulzar

Creative Director, Bradford UK City of Culture 2025

Keighley born Shanaz Gulzar is a nationally-acclaimed artist, producer and presenter. Her career spans film, arts, theatre and media. She recently worked as a producer at Manchester International Festival (MIF) and has fronted a number of BBC television programmes including Yorkshire Walks and Hidden Histories: The Lost Portraits of Bradford. Shanaz is the Creative Director of Bradford 2025 and played an instrumental role in the district’s winning bid campaign for Bradford UK City of Culture 2025.
Anne McNeill

Director, Impressions Gallery

Anne McNeill is the Director and curator of Impressions Gallery and is arguably one of the most knowledgeable professionals in the cultural photography industry. Recent notable exhibitions include The Queen, The Chairman and I (2016) by Kurt Tong; Borderland: Stories from Donbas (2019) by Christopher Nunn; and In Which Language Do We Dream? (2021) in collaboration with Rich Wiles and the al-Hindawi family. Anne is regularly invited to judge international awards, such as the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Grant, New York, 2015, and the Krasna Krausz Book Awards 2019. Anne is the 2022 recipient of the Royal Photographic Society Curatorship Award, the oldest photography award in the world, which recognises excellence over a period of time in the field of photographic curatorship, through exhibitions and associated events and publications.
Phill Hargreaves

Head of Creative Programmes, Bradford Council

Phill Hargreaves is an award winning Creative programmes lead, currently working as the head of Creative Programmes for Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Phill has worked for a variety of organisations using arts and creativity as a tool to bring to life streets, shopping centres, buildings, theatres and carparks. His passion is developing relevant, punchy and exciting programmes that provide easy entry routes to accessing arts and culture whilst ensuring all arts and creativity is celebrated equally.
Tamsin Silvey

Cultural Programme Curator, Historic England

a cultural programme. She specialises in photography, contemporary arts and heritage projects and curates the national commissions pro- gramme of the nationwide High Streets Heritage Action Zones Cultural Programme at Historic England. Working across art forms, it is the widest-reaching, community-led arts and heritage programme in the public realm ever nationally organised. The programme includes Pictur- ing High Streets, a three-year project commissioned by Historic England and led by Photoworks. Tamsin curates the national outdoor exhibitions for Picturing High Streets. www.HistoricEngland.org.uk/PicturingHighStreets
Raquel Villar-Pérez

Curator, Impressions Gallery

Raquel Villar-Pérez is a Curator at Impressions Gallery, and is responsible for the delivery of exhibitions, commissions and other curatorial projects. Previously, Raquel was a curator at Photoworks, where she was instrumental in the development of the Photoworks Festival and led on the Annual, Jerwood/Photoworks Awards, and the Ampersand Fellowship.

Photo Walks

Thursday 20 April, 2pm to 4.30pm
Saturday 13 May, 11am to 1.30pm

Grab your camera and join Lisa Holmes from Keighley Photo Hub CIC and fellow photographers for a guided Photo Walk around Bradford’s city centre. Take up the challenge to photograph what you see!

The Photo Walks are designed for photographers of all levels. They offer the chance to explore the city with expert guidance from Lisa and the team at Impressions Gallery.

Book now