Building Bradford Arts Centre: Read the Evaluation

You might have noticed that between April 2024 and March 2026 we were very busy. Alongside our major Capital redevelopment, we delivered a two-year project of community engagement with our partners South Square Centre, Bloomin’ Buds and Keighley Creative that has had a lasting impact on communities across the district.

Today we’re delighted to share The Audience Agency’s final evaluation report, which highlights the incredible impact both our building redevelopment and our heritage activity programme has had.

From opening up access to our transformed home, to using heritage stories to create meaningful engagement, the report shows how this project has helped us reach new people and changed the lives of our local communities.

Key Findings include

• 8,713 total engagements took place across 508 activities in our community network hubs.
• Nearly two-thirds (62%) of participants came from communities with the lowest levels of cultural engagement.
• 99% of participants rated the quality of workshops and events positively.
• 521 artist engagements were recorded between April 2024 and March 2026.
• 44% of local attendees visited with children, highlighting strong family engagement.
• 5 new studio spaces were created exceeding our original target.

Read the full Bradford Arts Centre Final Evaluation Report to explore the full findings.

The redevelopment was made possible through major capital funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Arts Council administered Cultural Development Fund (CDF), The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Garfield Weston Foundation, Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Bradford 2025 and The Foyle Foundation.