Part 1: Moments

Over thirty people took the time to deeply reflect on what they had learnt from being involved in Bradford’s National Museum process and where they saw the scope for change. The contributors include museum staff, people who live and work in Bradford who were involved in the project through Above the Noise: 15 Stories From Bradford alongside members of the research team. All developed their ‘moments’ of realisation and hope knowing they would then be activated as part of helping the museum articulate its future directions for working in and with Bradford.

  • Aamir Darr

    Voices of the present need to be informed by those from the past. The public narrative of Bradford needs to...

  • Alice Parsons

    My involvement with the BNMP began as soon as I joined the museum in 2018. A senior manager told me,...

  • Anandi Ramamurthy

    While seeing the history of the Asian Youth Movements and the Bradford 12 represented in the space of the National...

  • Andy Abbott

    I am one of the local creative practitioners who were involved in the Above the Noise: 15 Stories from Bradford...

  • Andy Clarke

    I joined the Science Museum Group (SMG) as the STEM Ambassador manager for West Yorkshire, in January of 2017. My...

  • Barbara Hladowski

    The opportunity to work with Bradford’s National Museum on the ‘Above the Noise: 15 Stories from Bradford’ exhibition came out...

  • Chris Whitby

    To me, the Bradford’s National Museum project has been one of reflection and learning, personally and professionally. In a period...

  • Claire Mayoh

    I’ve been on the periphery of the Bradford’s National Museum Project, due to limited time to participate, whilst maintaining a...

  • Elizabeth Llabres

    Bradford Museums & Galleries (BMG) were part of the research project from quite early on. Myself and my colleague, John,...

  • Geoff Belknap

    In 2018, when I first started as Head Curator at the National Science and Media Museum, I started to experience...

  • Gin Jacobucci

    The Bradford National Museum Project (BNMP) has been a significantly insightful moment of reflection. Through the project I was able...

  • Hal Michaels

    When we heard from Will Gould about the project it seemed like a really fantastic opportunity and I wanted our...

  • Helen Langwick

    If we were to do Bradford’s National Museum Project again, I would suggest that the midpoint output is not a...

  • Jean McEwan

    Culture is a human right. Everyone has an equal right to express it on their own terms, without permission or approval. If...

  • Jo Quinton-Tulloch

    National museums outside of London are different. I didn’t fully appreciate this until I came to Bradford. In London a...

  • Joan Russell

    When I was first asked to take part in the Above the Noise exhibition, I felt quite nervous about what...

  • John Ashton

    The opportunity to highlight, widen knowledge of and increase accessibility to one of our important photographic collections, the Belle Vue...

  • Mary Dowson

    Mary Dowson audio recorded her ‘moment’:

  • Maureen Rowe

    Being asked to write this piece, I sat down to reflect on how I have engaged with the museum over...

  • Nabeelah Hafeez

    An open door If we lift our head above water. Baptise the calmer tide. If we close our eyes and...

  • Naureen Khawaja Hafeez

    One of the key things about being part of the Above the Noise: 15 Stories from Bradford exhibition for me...

  • Pakeezah Zahoor

    In 2019, I contributed a blog post to the Bradford’s National Museum project; it was meant as both a response...

  • Rameez Khawaja

    Rameez has produced a video piece to offer his reflections on working with us as an artist on Above the...

  • Sajidah Shabir

    Working on the Above the Noise project was such a key moment for me. Through this project, in particular, the...

  • Sarah Ledjmi

    In June 2019, I joined our project partners Elizabeth Llabres (Bradford Museums and Galleries) and Tim Smith for an activity...

  • Seán McLoughlin

    Six months into the Bradford’s National Museum Project a casual, end-of-workshop exchange prompted a ‘light-bulb’ moment of realisation that ‘buy-in’...

  • Si Cunningham

    As part of Bradford’s National Museum project, I embarked on a series of interviews with five people who’d been intimately...

  • Sonia Sarah

    As a young girl my mum would often bring me and my brothers to the museum. On my tip-toes, I...

  • Tim Smith

    The Power of Conversation Over the past thirty-five years I’ve talked to a lot of people in Bradford. I arrived...

  • Vicky Clifton

    The ‘Open Conversation’ interviews recorded by BCB (Bradford Community Broadcasting) were illuminating. In the interviews the museum was a source...

  • Wahida Shaffi

    My relationship with the museum extends over three decades as a visitor, occasional collaborator and critical friend. In 2019 I...

  • Will Gould

    Working on the Bradford’s National Museum project has been interesting because my relationship with the National Science and Media Museum...