A selection of paintings by artist Ananya Megotia will be on display at Plenty at the Square

Crumbs is a quiet exploration of memory, those fleeting, fractured moments we carry with us. Each painting in this exhibition comes from personal recollections, emotional traces, and the soft act of remembering.

Each painting doesn’t try to recreate a specific time or place, but instead reflects the small details and feelings that make up everyday life.

The title ‘Crumbs’ speaks to what we’re left with, the small, scattered fragments that remain after something has passed. Like the last pieces of bread on a plate, these moments might seem unimportant on their own, but together they hold meaning and warmth.

This exhibition also features a special food event on 15th August at Plenty at the Square, a curated four-course dinner inspired by the paintings, created by the café chef in collaboration with the artist. It brings memory, art, and food together in a shared experience. Book your place.

About the artist

Ananya’s oil paintings unfold through intuition, layering, and emotional response, reimagining fragments of childhood and cultural memory. Drifting between abstraction and figuration, her works summon a softened world where bodies flicker, dissolve, and re-emerge. Drawing from internal states, each canvas becomes a suspended terrain — neither fixed nor fully known. Through gesture and texture, Ananya constructs quiet spaces of familiarity and distance, where memory and identity blur into something felt more than seen – a place unmoored from time.

Collection of work from the Methodist Modern Art Collection on display in the Community Room, part of the Everything is Connect Art Trail

Running: Friday 5th September – Sunday 12th October

The Yorkshire West Methodist District of the Methodist Church is bringing an exhibition, Everything is Connected, drawn from the Methodist Modern Art Collection (MMAC) to Bradford this autumn, 5 September – 12 October. As part of the Bradford City of Culture 2025 celebrations, South Square Centre is one of five venues in the Bradford District exhibiting artworks held in the 

The overall exhibition held across the five venues will open across the first week of September and run until Sunday 12th October. Whilst they all will have their own theme, they will all be linked via an Art Trail and the overall theme for the exhibition, “Everything is Connected.”

In the Community Room, we will have on display artworks from the Methodist Modern Art Collection that relates to the legacy of the Brontë’s and women artists. Our theme is “Its Wings Are Almost Free” – this exhibition challenges audiences to reconsider artistic and cultural hierarchies and honours the enduring contributions of women to art and society.

Alongside the work from the collection, we will show responses from community groups we work with closely ESOL group and Champions group. They have made artwork inspired by the collection on display at South Square and drawing from the themes within the work.

We will also be hosting workshops int he Community Room which respond to the exhibition. Including:

Meditation with Art – Saturday 6th September

During this event we will explore art works from the collection and their connections with Bradford. Imogen and Becky will host activities including guided drawing and meditative visualisation and writing in response to the art. This event is open to anyone over 14.

Free to attend – 10:30am – 12pm

Still Life Drawing Workshop – Saturday 20th Sept

To celebrate having a selection of paintings from the Methodist Modern Art Collection we are running a Still Life Drawing Workshop responding to the painting in their collection, The Five Thousand, by Eularia Clarke.

Taking inspiration from the picnic style scene, we will set up a dinner table in the centre of the Community Room, where the paintings from the collection will be displayed. The workshop will be led by Zoe Maxwell, a local artist, and she will guide the group through different timed sketches and prompts.

We welcome you to come and see the exhibition during our opening hours of Tuesday – Saturday and Sunday 12 – 3pm.

A solo exhibition by textile artist Ann Barrans in the Upstairs Gallery, inspired by ancient philosophy, myths, legends and fairy tales.

Running: 1 October – 31 October

In this body of work from Ann Barrans she poses the question: is destiny preordained or determined by the inter-connectivity of circumstance, chance, choices, and morality?

The path of life is never straightforward – both smooth and chaotic, organised and disorganised, and interconnected with others. Every action has consequences.

Weave and stitch seek to capture this interconnectivity and sometimes chaos that fate may or may not have dictated.

Ann’s practices continues to build on the importance of direct haptic interaction with yarns.

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.

Photography exhibition by Nathan McGill
In the Community Room

Running: 18th October – 9th November
Closing event: Friday 7th Nov 5pm – 7pm

Becoming Bradford: Activists of Our Time celebrates Bradford’s rich activist heritage and
spotlights those shaping the fabric of the city today. Through intimate analogue portraits and oral histories, ten activists share their personal stories of activism.

By shining a light on individuals working at the grassroots – visible and invisible, loud and
quiet, celebrated and overlooked – Becoming Bradford redefines the idea of activism,
showing it in everyday actions, community initiatives, and movements led by those who call
Bradford home.

This exhibition is both tribute and magnifying glass – preserving contemporary stories as part of our shared heritage, while asking us to look closer at the inequities that persist. Becoming Bradford is not only about who we are, but who we must still become.

Nathan McGill (b.2000) is an emerging photographer born and bred in Bradford. McGill is
interested in the relationships between people and place, and his participatory art practice
seeks to collaborate with communities by engaging them with the creation of artwork.
McGill was the Recipient of the 2024 Royal Photographic Society Eamonn McCabe Bursary, which recognises talented photographers under 25.

The closing event on the 7th November will tie-in with an opening exhibition in The Gallery Upstairs at South Square, a solo exhibition by artist John Murphy.

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.

Photography exhibition by Nathan McGill
In the Community Room

Running: 18th October – 9th November
Closing event: Friday 7th Nov 5pm – 7pm

Becoming Bradford: Activists of Our Time celebrates Bradford’s rich activist heritage and
spotlights those shaping the fabric of the city today. Through intimate analogue portraits and oral histories, ten activists share their personal stories of activism.

By shining a light on individuals working at the grassroots – visible and invisible, loud and
quiet, celebrated and overlooked – Becoming Bradford redefines the idea of activism,
showing it in everyday actions, community initiatives, and movements led by those who call
Bradford home.

This exhibition is both tribute and magnifying glass – preserving contemporary stories as part of our shared heritage, while asking us to look closer at the inequities that persist. Becoming Bradford is not only about who we are, but who we must still become.

Nathan McGill (b.2000) is an emerging photographer born and bred in Bradford. McGill is
interested in the relationships between people and place, and his participatory art practice
seeks to collaborate with communities by engaging them with the creation of artwork.
McGill was the Recipient of the 2024 Royal Photographic Society Eamonn McCabe Bursary, which recognises talented photographers under 25.

The closing event on the 7th November will tie-in with an opening exhibition in The Gallery Upstairs at South Square, a solo exhibition by artist John Murphy.

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.

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.

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.