A fascinating exploration of the past, present and future of Bradford’s radical art scene.

Opening Night : Fri 10th October | 6pm – 9pm | South Square
Last date to view : Sun 1st February

South Square presents ‘OUR TURN: Our Past, Present and Future’. This exhibition explores the past of South Square and the history of the arts industry in Bradford, and how grassroots, DIY arts organisations led to the opening of the centre. 

It looks into our present – why and how we are organising OUR TURN: Bradford’s first Visual Arts Festival. And we look to the future, showing artworks of emerging Bradford based artists. 

This exhibition is a way for us to reflect on where we have come from, who inspired and helped grow the arts industry in Bradford, how the grass roots visual arts industry grew in Thornton, how that led to the opening of South Square, how we’ve grown as a centre and what we achieve today, and we look to the future, championing the next generation of artists and hopefully inspiring them to continue to develop the local arts scene. 

Artists featured include, Eve Wright, Kennedy Drake, Martha Madden and Zoe Maxwell

The exhibition will also feature new work from a current art student from Bradford College. They will respond to the exhibition, take inspiration from the artwork and the history, and create a new piece that will join the exhibition in January.

This exhibition is part of OUR TURN – OUR TURN expects to be bold, experimental and authentically Bradford. 

OUR TURN takes place between 26th September – 28th January 2026 in venues and unusual spaces across the city. This festival will enable artists to be more ambitious, provide training for a new generation of culture makers and inspire a range of people to be excited by art which is ‘Made IN Bradford’. The festival will celebrate Bradford’s rich counter cultural scene and create an accessible platform which will reach new art goers in Bradford, underserved communities and loyal arts audiences.

The South Square team aims to include in this festival a series of events, commissions, learning opportunities, exhibitions, workshops and more, all across the Bradford district. By working closely with artists in and from Bradford, OUR TURN will be shaped and led by the artists themselves.