'Place and people now gone' caught on camera by city snapper
A self-taught photographer has said he hopes images he took capturing life in Bradford's African Caribbean communities in the early 1980s can eventually find pride of place in a museum in his home city.The photographs by Victor Wedderburn, who is now 70, reveal a snapshot of life in Manningham towards the end of last century and are currently on show in his first ever public exhibition as part of this year's City of Culture celebrations.Mr Wedderburn said he hoped the photos could eventually go on display in the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.He said: "I was right when I thought it was important to take these pictures. It's of a place and people that have now gone."
Mr Wedderburn arrived in the UK from Jamaica in 1971 at the age of 16 to join his Windrush Generation parents.When he was later made redundant from his driving job at Crofts Engineers, he used his pay-off to buy a second-hand camera and kit to develop film.Amid an atmosphere of racism and community tensions, he set about documenting everyday life in Bradford as he saw it.
His colour photographs of landmarks on Lumb Lane such as Roots Record Shop, the Young Lions Cafe and the Perseverance Hotel remained unseen for decades.But after publishing them online and getting a positive response they also came to the attention of the Bradford City of Culture 2025 team. The images show everything from sound system parties to anti-apartheid marches and shine a light on a sometimes neglected part of Bradford's multi-cultural history.
Mr Wedderburn, who still lives in Bradford, explained: "This community doesn't exist anymore, people have moved on."When you go to the area now, it's completely different. It's completely changed. "We miss it of course, but that's life."
Mr Wedderburn's pictures are currently on show in his first ever public exhibition, Frontline 1984/1985, which runs until Sunday 11 May in the Gallery at the Loading Bay in Bradford.He said that once that exhibition was over, he hoped they could find a permanent home."For the photographs, I'm hoping - or the plans are - that they go to the photographic museum in Bradford," he said."And, who knows? But I hope they get exhibited elsewhere. That's the plan."
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
12 hours ago
- BBC News
Wellingborough Windrush events 'intergenerational' says organiser
One of the organisers of a series of events to mark Windrush Day said he wanted to make them as "intergenerational" as Day has been held on 22 June since 2018 to celebrate the contribution Caribbean migrants and their families have made to the Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex, in 1948, bringing hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean to the Bell from the Windrush Innovation Society, in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, said: "This year, the idea was different community groups come together and launch a series of events, not just on Windrush Day, but before and weeks after." 'Building Britain' Travellers on HMT Empire Windrush - and those on other ships which came to the UK until 1971 - became known as the Windrush them were Mr Bell's grandparents, who arrived in the UK in the early said this year's events started on 13 June with a talk from Prof Patrick Vernon OBE, who was one of the first to campaign for a Windrush following weekend, there was a storytelling event for children with stories from the Windrush generation."We really want to sort of capture [the Windrush generation's] stories and be reminding of our first generations as best as we can, but the next generation to keep it going," Mr Bell said. Mr Bell said when the organisers of the town's Windrush Day events met last year, "one of the key things we wanted to make sure is that we have intergenerational activities".He added: "We wanted to make sure, as best as we can, it brings everybody together from every generation."It was really important because it's not just the founders, those who first came here, it's also those who are here now and building Britain as we go along." One of the events is an art exhibition at Wellingborough's Swansgate Shopping included "a Bob Marley walk" to commemorate what would have been Bob Marley's 80th birthday earlier this Bell said: "It should be a four metre wide piece of art, which has got a [collage] of all the different images of Bob Marley."It's hopefully a nice big work of art for people to sort of see as part of the exhibition." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
The new show that lit a spark for Bradford's children
I wasn't expecting to shed a tear while watching hundreds of Bradford schoolchildren performing on stage, with professionals from some of the country's most prestigious arts as they sang and danced about "Five hundred and thirty thousand hearts / Our brilliant city of many parts", I admit, I welled something very moving about the hopes and dreams of the youngest generation being on show, in one of the youngest cities in the UK. Nearly 30% of Bradford's inhabitants are under 20 years old. Ten-year-old Aiza told me she has never done anything like this before. "Does it make you want to do it again?" I asked. "Yes!" she nodded, Zuriel said that singing with the Royal Opera was "exhilarating and exciting". More than 2,000 Bradford children are involved in Sing Dance Leap, the first ever collaboration between Royal Ballet and Opera, Opera North and Northern Ballet, who've been working together in schools to create this one-off performance at the newly refurbished Bradford Live the biggest moment of mass participation created by and for young people commissioned by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. The show is inspired by the children's own thoughts about their city. Nine-year-old Toby told me it was exciting "because some people don't even get to perform on stage in their life and we've got the opportunity to do it".He loves Bradford's landscapes - "it's just nice to walk around in the sun every day".Hidaya,10, says "it's a really diverse place, there's so many cultures and traditions around here."Nine-year-old Willow likes "the different kind of foods we have and the different places you can take walks and have fun". For many of the children, this is their first introduction to ballet and North's vocal coach Marry Claire Breen has been working with some of them for says that it became apparent very early in the workshops that opera didn't have much meaning to young people, so the team started to have discussions what opera rejecting the claim that the art form is elitist, Marie Claire told me that the children were made aware that "opera doesn't have to just be about the stereotypical big, huge voices on big, big, stages, but that we're telling a story with their words, with their emotions, with experience". One of the professional Royal Ballet dancers working with them, Tom Whitehead, was born and raised in Bradford. He told me he began dance classes when he was ten, "a long time ago, pre-Billy Elliot... so quite a lot of stigma still attached to it".For him, it's been a calling for many years now, but he insists "a project like this is not about discovering the next Darcey Bussell or [opera singer] Jonas Kauffman". From my perspective, watching on, it was impossible to look at the sea of enthused, focused and increasingly confident young faces as the rehearsal progressed, without wondering what kind of spark might be lit as a consequence of taking can't know for certain, but the Royal Ballet and Opera's director of learning and participation, Jillian Barker, who was also born in Bradford, told me her hopes for its legacy."I would love to be sitting in the Royal Ballet and Opera in maybe 10 years' time next to somebody who did this project when they were younger... and then maybe to look up on the stage and there may be one young person for whom this lit a fire and now they are on the stage." The point, of course, is about widening access to the arts and inspiring creativity in every child involved. Outreach work, particularly in areas of social deprivation, is an important part of the contract between these institutions and Arts Council England which awards them public funding (in steadily decreasing amounts in recent years when it comes to Royal Ballet and Opera). But the composer of Sing Dance Leap, Will Todd, puts it even more strongly. For him, these kinds of programmes are "the jewel in the crown" of the work of these arts bodies."In a sense, we could expect them to do great performances of Puccini or of The Nutcracker," he says. "But can they go out and inspire ordinary people to participate, to be energised, to sing and dance? To me actually that's the apex of what they can do, so it thrills me that they're here doing this." Being on stage and participating in something of this scale is confidence-boosting. I could see the children walking just that little bit taller, after a day of rehearsing in a theatre so embedded in Bradford's rich cultural history - and they will take that confidence into other aspects of their Tom Whitehead had a message for them: "Have your ideas, dream big and don't be afraid to go for it."
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
BBC Antiques Roadshow filmed at Cartwright Hall in Lister Park
More than 2,000 people flocked to the filming of BBC television programme Antiques Roadshow in Bradford over the Fiona Bruce and a team of experts visited Cartwright Hall in Lister Park on Sunday to value a variety of antiques, family heirlooms and vintage finds. Bruce said it was a "fantastic accolade" to visit and record in Bradford in its year as UK City of said: "Every day is different, you never know what you're going to see, who you're going to meet, what stories they're going to tell you. That's the lovely thing about the programme." Seven camera crews were in the park for the ticketed event, with the venue set to be featured during three episodes set to air later in the jewellery specialist Susan Rumfitt, a Harrogate-based jewellery specialist on the show, said the thrill of recording the programme "never gets old"."It's just such a wonderful atmosphere and I just feel so grateful that [attendees] will stand out in a queue for potentially hours," she said. "To see what they've got, and to - most of the time - make their day, but occasionally ruin their day - generally everybody walks away very happy!" Shabana Bashir, who lives in Bradford and came along to watch the filming, described it as a "brilliant" experience."The weather is absolutely beautiful and it's a proud moment because you want to be a part of the Antiques Roadshow," she said."Now that it's here and it's down the road from where we live it's just another thing for us to be connected to." Martin Gardner came from Hebden Bridge to get a valuation on a violin. "To be honest I'm not thinking about money," he said. "Obviously I'm imagining it's a rare 1850s violin, but it's probably not."He added: "I'm just interested to see if they know anything more about it."Suzy Lee, also from Hebden Bridge, said: "I work in Bradford, it's a great city and it's got lots going on."This is our favourite gallery and park so it's great having the roadshow here."The show made its debut on BBC One in 1979 and is now in its 48th series. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
