The district’s homeless community and students from Bradford College have created 15 striking images and posted them in the Bradford Urban Garden to highlight the plight of people living rough.

The initiative, spearheaded by Artworks Creative Communities, is part of the ‘Hidden Voices’ project funded by the Media Trust’s Community Voices Programme, aims to inspire disadvantaged and isolated communities to make a meaningful difference to their lives through digital media.

Suzy Russell, project co-ordinator of Hidden Voices, said: “This is a fantastic example of how the arts can change lives and perceptions. “A ‘hidden’ social issue is being brought to the forefront of the public’s mind, the images the participants have created are being shown prominently in one of Bradford’s most exciting public spaces.”

The project grew from an idea by service user Gary Staniforth and has been working with the homeless community in Bradford, challenging stereotypes and allowing homeless people to get their experiences heard.

Participants have gained confidence through learning new IT and digital media skills, and the creation of digital images for posters which have been put up on hoardings around the city garden.

Students from Bradford College have also participated in the project, working to a brief to create further images for the project.

The Bradford Urban Garden is managed by Fabric, which is responsible for ‘animating’ the Bradford Urban Garden with cultural and community projects.

The Hidden Voices project was awarded funding by the Media Trust and is a partnership project with Bradford College, National Media Museum, Bradford Action Community Care, Supporting People, Horton Housing with additional funding from the Cooperative Fund.

Artworks project ‘Hidden Voices’ was chosen for one of six top funding awards out of 800 national entries.

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