Bradford Arts And Culture Climate Symposium

Bradford Council will host its first ever, arts and culture climate symposium. The free one-day event exploring global and regional perspectives on the role arts, culture and heritage play in climate change, environmentalism and sustainability, will take place on Monday 27 February between 10am and 4pm at Bradford Cathedral.

A number of prominent speakers will come together to inspire and support conversation, networking and knowledge sharing, around how the arts and culture sector can implement change in their practices and align themselves more closely with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

The symposium will host engaging discussions, panels and performances from local, national and international artists and speakers from across the creative industries; and encourages individuals, organisations, policy makers and educational institutes within the arts and culture sphere to attend the event.

Speakers will include Pakistan’s humanitarian 'architect for the poor', Yasmeen Lari and Naho Mirumachi from Kings Water Hub who will share global perspectives on the water crisis.

There will be performances by Sufi musician Sarah Yaseen, exploring faith and climate, in conversation with Bradford Cathedral and Eco-Sikh UK. BBC 1xtra future figure 2022 Adjei Sun and writer and former Young Poet laureate Selina Nwulu will be sharing poetry on social and environmental justice.

Climate-related case studies will be presented by organisations from across the UK, including Kew Gardens, Arts Catalyst and Invisible Dust. Seetal Solanki from Ma-tt-er will explore climate literacy.

Ling Tan from Low Carbon Chinatown will discuss our future footprints, alongside environmental and sustainability manager, Feimatta Conteh from Factory International.

Climate Yoga by Kin Things will also explore the benefits that mindfulness and collective-care can have.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Healthy People and Places Portfolio Holder, says: “The arts, culture and heritage sector is uniquely positioned to inspire and motivate us to respond to environmental issues, by offering new ideas and perspectives that challenge us all and drive a change in habits. We are excited to be having these conversations in our district, pushing for change and inspiring our those in the creative sector to look at how cultural and artistic activity can tackle pressing environmental issues.”

Parvinder Marwaha, Curator, Bradford Arts and Culture Climate Symposium 2023 says: “A huge thank you to our speakers who bring a wealth of knowledge, openness and symbolism to the day. We hope the connections and networks created from this event will support a stronger arts, culture and heritage response to the climate crisis. It felt important to explore different access points from faith to water footprints, inviting diverse perspectives to inspire and equally challenge our understanding. These moments of convening, learning and sharing will lead to a better climate future - one which is more equal, holistic and representative.”

As Bradford Council continues to implement its 10-year arts strategy, outlined in ‘Culture is Our Plan’ (including in the lead up to Bradford City of Culture 2025) they welcome the many opportunities to invite local, national and international individuals and organisations to join them in their commitment to develop and support sustainability focussed work in the arts and culture sector.

Tickets for the Bradford Arts and Culture Climate Symposium are free and available via Eventbrite. To register for a ticket, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bradford-climate-symposium-tickets-489701098167.

For further information on the Bradford Arts and Culture Climate Symposium, please see: https://www.bradford.gov.uk/arts-and-culture/whats-on-in-bradford-district/bradford-climate-symposium/ or email: karen.lewis@bradford.gov.uk.