WOW Bradford
WOW Bradford was the first of five cities to run a WOW Festival with the support of Spirit of 2012. Held in 2016, 2017, and 2018, the festival celebrated the creativity, strength and activism of women and girls in Bradford – a city with a rich cultural heritage.
WOW Bradford took place at venues including Kala Sangam Arts Centre and Bradford Cathedral, and brought together a bold, inclusive programme of talks, workshops, performances and community projects. Each edition began with local WOW Think Ins and included WOWsers – young ambassadors who shaped the festival programme themselves.
In 2016, festival highlights included a Morning Rave, an #IAmPerfectAsMe paint fight, and a keynote conversation with Malala Yousafzai and her father Ziauddin Yousafzai. Sessions ranged from panels on domestic abuse and international activism, to Beyoncé dance classes and youth-led installations..
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The 2017 edition explored themes including hair and identity, financial independence, self-care, and getting elected – with keynote speaker Reni Eddo-Lodge discussing race, feminism, and class in her book Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race. In 2018, the programme included AfroFusion dance, cooking workshops, and a conversation between Munroe Bergdorf and Emma Dabiri, as well as performances by poet Kae Tempest. Panels included Badass Women of Bradford, Environmental Racism and Classism and Being a Man.
WOW Bradford’s legacy includes the creation of Speakers’ Corner and the #IAmPerfectAsMe campaign, which continue to inspire change locally. The festival demonstrated that feminist activism rooted in local experience – when fuelled by energy, joy, and creativity – can lead to lasting cultural change.
About the organisers
WOW Bradford was presented by Southbank Centre and supported by Spirit of 2012.
Spirit of 2012 funded nine of the UK’s regional WOW Festivals across five cities (Bradford, Cardiff, Norwich, Perth and Exeter) from 2016-2018. Across the three years, the project trained 107 women in cultural leadership, and supported 68 young women and girls to volunteer as WOWsers, shaping the festivals themselves. 650 people took part as facilitators, artists and speakers, and more than 9,000 people attended the events.
Spirit of 2012 is a funding charity, established by the Big Lottery Fund with a £47m endowment from the National Lottery. Spirit funds projects that bring people together – to learn something new, do something different, or experience something unique – and that leave behind a social legacy of increased wellbeing at an individual level, as well as happier and more connected communities.
The festival programmer in 2016 was Evie Manning.
In 2017, the festival co-programmers were Saliha Rubani and Laura Brooks, who met while volunteering for WOW in 2016.
The festival programmer in 2018 was Saliha Rubani.
