Getting through Lockdown well has involved many people turning to hobbies and interests, including arts and crafts. If you are interested in art and artists and are inspired by the works of others, then check out the latest publications coming to Bradford Libraries based on Bradford and District’s very own.

In the last couple of years, 3 well illustrated books by Colin Neville have been published. Past Silsden Artists;  Lesser Known Artists of the Bradford District 1860-1997 and the latest publication that has particular resonance with recent events,  as it looks at the highs but also the lows of a selection of artists and how this affected their art and work, The Highs-The Lows, Past Artists of the Bradford District (Imprint 2021). For more details of these books, please follow the link below to the Not Just Hockney web site. These books will be available for reference and for loan in Bradford Libraries.

Very many people are looking forward to the re-opening of local art galleries and museums in May. Until then, however, there is a great web site that champions and promotes local professional artists past and present:
Not Just Hockney:  https://www.notjusthockney.info/  
This is a non-commercial web site that was launched in 2015 by Colin Neville, a Silsden resident and  former lecturer. By December 2020, the site had come to include 450 artists past and present who had significant residency and/or works, links with the Bradford district”. It’s a fully illustrated site so there is a lot of art to inspire, including of course David Hockney himself.

The site also helps to promote local art trails, The Young Masters Visual Art School (primary school age children), the Art School Ilkley, and also works with the Bradford UNESCO City of Film to present local artists on the public Big Screen in Centenary Square, Bradford.

Bradford’s own museums and art galleries will be opening in mid -May but you can keep up to date and hone your art skills using their online services, their brilliant, illustrated blog post, https://www.bradfordmuseums.org/blog/ , online exhibitions  and  AtHome Activities. This last provides weekly home art projects to inspire you to “draw, write, think, talk, move, make, build, explore, invent, reflect or play” at any age. Please follow this link and get inspired by amazing objects, beautiful art works and historic buildings.

https://www.bradfordmuseums.org/whats-on/you-inspire-me-to-draw-like-david-hockney-2020-04-03

Meanwhile Bradford Libraries have a wonderful stock of teach yourself art and drawing books, DVDs of art techniques (Keighley Local Studies), and regular online story times with related activities https://www.youtube.com/user/bradfordlibraries

Many Bradford and District adults and children in Lockdown turned to art to express their emotions, moods, to escape and to find a sense of fulfilment in difficult times. Bradford Libraries published some in the books: Stay at Home: Poetry and art from the people of Bradford in response to COVID-19 and Stay at Home: Poetry and art from Bradford children and young people in response to the Covid-19 pandemic 2020 (Bradford Libraries paperback 2020) both available in Bradford Libraries . Let’s hope that such comforts can be carried with us into the future for whatever challenges face us and thankfully there’s plenty of advice and inspiration out there to help us to do that.

Keep up to date with what’s opening up and available in your area through Bradford Libraries, Galleries and Museums at: www.bradford.gov.uk

Gina Birdsall, Keighley Local Studies