Bradford Cathedral

“Everything is Connected” will be displayed across five venues in Bradford city centre, Ben Rhydding, Thornton and Apperley Bridge. The exhibition will open on the first weekend of September, available for public view from Saturday 6th September, running until Sunday 12th October. Bars and cafes along North Parade in Bradford will also be displaying reproductions of the artworks.

A total of 23 original works from the Methodist Modern Art Collection will be exhibited, including stained-glass work “Preaching” by George Walsh and abstract oil painting “Love Triumphant” by John Reilly, both new acquisitions to the Collection, on display for the very first time. Respective themes at the venues include “peril”, in relation to faith, the environment, climate change and the impact of conflict around the world; women artists from the collection; and what hope means to a school community with an international student population.

Verity Smith, Faith and Arts Development Lead, and manager of the project explains: “MMAC Bradford 2025 is enabling opportunities for a variety of creative activity, and we are thrilled to be able to collaborate with an Artist in Residence and a Creative Writer in Residence, [appointed in Spring 2025], with funding from the Gibbs Trust. We are very grateful to the Gibbs family for their enthusiasm and encouragement in this project.”

The venues and the District as a whole hope to connect visitors with the artworks in innovative ways through the telling of new stories, exploring hidden and overlooked histories, considering contemporary global concerns, women’s history, and uncovering diverse and marginalised heritage. Creative responses to the Collection through workshops and events will enable and support reflection on the themes across diverse communities. A full programme of events during the exhibition will be announced this summer.

The Methodist Modern Art Collection is one of the Church’s greatest treasures. It is an outstanding collection of 20th and 21st Century religious art, founded in 1962 by Dr John Morel Gibbs during the post-war revival in British religious painting. Since then, it has grown to comprise more than 60 paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures including examples of British 20th Century paintings by Graham Sutherland, Elisabeth Frink, Patrick Heron and Maggi Hambling, as well as examples by South Asian artists F N Souza and Jyoti Sahi. The Collection has enhanced worship, opened faith conversations, amazed visitors, and inspired different art forms including poetry and dance.

“We are delighted to be exhibiting works across Bradford as part of the City of Culture programming for Bradford 2025. It is hugely rewarding to see communities already responding to the Collection and how differently our works speak to individuals. It is also exciting for us to see our first Artist and Writer in Residence programmes take shape. A varied programme of events is being planned during the exhibition, and we look forward to the opening celebrations in early September,” said Professor Ann Sumner, Chair Methodist Art Collection Management Committee.

The five main venues are Bradford Cathedral, Ben Rhydding Methodist Church, South Square Centre in Thornton, St James’ Church in Thornton and Woodhouse Grove School, and we are working with local communities and groups across the Yorkshire West District whose focus relates to the exhibition themes; organisations, schools and individuals who would like to creatively respond to any of the artworks on display. We’re also working with volunteers across the District who will be kindly giving their time to steward at venues, promote the exhibition and facilitate creative activity over the coming months.

An Art Trail leaflet will provide more information for visitors on each venue, the exhibition of works and the associated programme of events. This will be published and distributed in Summer 2025, but if you would like more information on how to get involved and the programme of activity, please visit https://ywmethodist.org.uk/bradford2025/ or contact Verity Smith: verity.smith@touchstone-bradford.org.uk

If you have never visited the city of Bradford and the venues that will be displaying artworks, this is the year to do so, and you will be very warmly welcomed!

We are very grateful to the Yorkshire West Methodist District and the Gibbs Trust for supporting this project, without whom this wouldn’t be possible.

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