Picturing Bradford
People across Bradford shared hundreds of images on Instagram in response to an open call by Impressions Gallery for photographs telling the stories behind Bradford’s shopfronts. Some of these photographs were chosen for display across the city centre in July 2023 and entered into the Historic England Archive.
The photographs celebrate high street heroes, bring new meaning to familiar scenes and invite people to consider the value and role of their local high street.
The selected photographs were chosen by a panel of expert judges including:
- Anne McNeill, Director, Impressions Gallery
- Ian Beesley, Social documentary photographer
- Phill Hargreaves, Head of Creative Programmes, Bradford Council
- Raquel Villar-Pérez, Curator, Impressions Gallery
- Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director, Bradford 2025
- Tamsin Silvey, Cultural Programme Curator, Historic England
The judges have shared their thoughts on how these images celebrate Bradford, from high street heroes to favourite hang outs and meeting places.
Picturing Bradford collection
The selected Bradford photographs have entered Historic England’s Archive, the nation’s archive for England’s historic buildings, archaeology and social history as part of the new Picturing High Streets national photography collection.
Selected images
I love this photograph for capturing the how inviting the shop owner, Hannah, and her vintage goods. Even from the corner of Mean Old Scene captured by photographer Elaine Taylor, I know that a happy time could be spent browsing through the rails and shelves of this independent high street gem.
“I like the atmosphere evoked by this image, the wistfulness of a damp winter’s evening is countered by the warm, bright inviting interior of the shop. The epitome of the corner shop so important to the local community. The shop shining like a beacon through the dark night with the poster of Muhammad Ali in its window is a great metaphor for the resilience and fortitude of many small shop keepers who fight against the demise of the local high street, competing against online shopping, out-of-town retail parks and, of course, the weather.
More selected highlights
Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.
More about Picturing High Streets
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Picturing High Streets Outdoor Exhibition
Historic England and Photoworks present the Picturing High Streets outdoor exhibition, touring towns and cities across England from March 2023.
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Picturing High Streets Collection
Chosen from thousands of images, this collection of more than 60 reveal just some of the stories behind our shopfronts.
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