28-03-2025
'Immersive experience' tells story of Bradford's mill history
BRADFORD'S mill history forms the basis of an immersive art exhibit running in Bradford city centre until Sunday.
Unspun Stories by Shipley based 509 Arts mixes projections of mills, machinery and textiles from Bradford's past with words from the people who worked the city's mills.
These images and words are interspersed with music and sound effects in the darkened basement space of Loading Bay – a new venue that is hosting dozens of City of Culture events in 2025.
The Unspun Stories installation (Image: T&A)
From work conditions to mill fires, people who worked in the industry that defined Bradford for generations told their stories to the arts group, who then created the work to record a significant part of local history.
The Unspun Stories installation (Image: T&A)
It also looks at the role of immigration in the city's industries, with people travelling from across the world to work in Bradford's mills.
The Unspun Stories installation (Image: T&A)
It is part of 509 Arts Lost Mills and Ghost Mansions project, a study that looks at the mill industry from the 1970s onwards – a time when it went into steep decline.
The Unspun Stories installation (Image: T&A)
The event is free and runs from noon until 6pm each day until Sunday
On Saturday (29) and Sunday (30) parts of the soundtrack will be performed live in the installation.
Two brass musicians from the City of Bradford Brass Band and the composer, Nick Lewis, will bring an added musical dimension to the immersive experience of Unspun Stories at 3pm, 4pm and 5:30pm on both days.
