Bradford Arts Centre was founded in 1993 with the name Kala Sangam (from the Sanskrit – Kala meaning Arts and Sangam meaning meeting point’) by Dr Shripati Upadhyaya, a consultant Clinical Psychologist with a special interest in the creative use of arts to help people with disabilities. His dream was to establish a unique organisation that delivered high quality South Asian arts through innovative collaborations and that would be accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
Working alongside his wife, Dr Geetha Upadhyaya, a Consultant in Metabolic Medicine and trained Bharatanatyam dancer, Dr Shripati first set up Kala Sangam in Leeds. In 1996, the company moved to the Carlisle Business Centre in Bradford.
Thanks to the Arts Council of England’s generous support, in 2007, Kala Sangam found its permanent home in the beautiful Grade II listed St Peter’s House, where the organisation set to work restoring the building to develop it as a new arts centre.
In 2024 we began a major refurbishment of St Peter’s House to improve accessibility throughout the building and to create a bigger theatre, additional studio space, new meeting rooms, and a home for BCB Radio.
We will reopen in autumn 2025, with a new name, Bradford Arts Centre.
“The creative seed sown 30 years ago as Kala Sangam has, with the hard work of the team, grown into a massive oak tree as Bradford Arts Centre. As Founders, we are proud to witness this transformation and wish everyone in Bradford Arts Centre many more years of inspirational creativity and cultural inclusivity in all its future endeavours.” – Dr Geetha and Dr Shripati Upadhyaya, Founders of Kala Sangam.