Artwork will welcome people to city with ‘words of pride and hope’

The artwork has been mounted at Forster Square, as part of ongoing work to improve the public realm around the railway station.

Steel panels have been fitted to the ten historic stone-work arches along the pedestrian route between Cheapside and Bradford Forster Square Station, which are a surviving part of the original Victorian station. There had been concern about anti-social behaviour in the area linked to rough sleepers using the arches. 

Each metal panel features three intertwining strands representing Bradford Beck, a fibre from the city’s mill heritage and the railway tracks. The strands also reflect the Fibre sculptures already in place near the station at St Blaise Square, so named after the patron saint of wool combers.

The images on the 3m high panels have been created by meticulously-placed perforations in the steel. Each panel links in turn with the next to create a flowing piece of public art which runs the full length of the arches. The steel will weather slowly and will develop a deliberate layer of rust that adds texture to the piece and eliminates the need for painting.

The artwork on the arches, pictured on Thursday (Image: T&A) Each panel features a line from a poem written in 2019 by Belle Vue Girls’ Academy pupil Iqra Khan, who was 12 at the time. Iqra was one of a group of pupils who wrote poems summing up their feelings for Bradford and what their hopes were for the future.

Bradford Council’s Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Transport and Planning, Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw said: “This artwork literally threads together the history of our incredible district, with words of hope which take us into the future. People of Bradford are proud of our heritage and at the same time hopeful for what is to come, and rightly so.

“It’s fitting that we are welcoming people to the city at the station with beautiful words which reflect that pride and hope.”

Joe Noake, senior sponsor for Network Rail’s North and East route, said: “We’re delighted to see this striking new artwork being installed – it beautifully weaves together Bradford’s rich industrial heritage while creating a more welcoming environment for passengers. This installation shows how historical railway architecture can be preserved and enhanced to create inspiring spaces for today’s rail users.”

The excerpt of the poem featured on the panels reads: I come from shadow and bone I come from clay and mud and leaves I come from the streaks of light sharp against the dark of clouds I come from hope. I come from Bradford.

A spokesperson from Belle Vue Girls’ Academy said: “We love celebrating the diversity of our school community through writing and the arts here at Belle Vue Girls’ Academy, so we are really happy and excited to see the words of one of our talented ex- students used as part of the new artwork at Forster Square station.

“It is wonderful that visitors to the city centre will be greeted by Iqra’s powerful and hopeful poem and we are delighted that our school has had a part to play in sharing her words in this way.”

The regeneration work which includes the installation of new lighting has been designed by the Bradford Council’s Landscape Design and Conservation team and is being funded by Network Rail, which owns the arches.