South Asian show at carwright Hall draws new Bradford audiences

Walia said the exhibitions themes had also drawn visitors who may not otherwise have visited the gallery.

“We know that not everybody goes to the museum, until the time they really understand what’s going on.

“But this exhibition has increased the footfall of South Asians coming within the Cartwright Hall.”

She said part of her preparation for her role as co-curator with Salima Hashmi, had involved chatting to residents.

“Whenever I would go to Bradford I would speak to locals, speak to women, people working in the mall or Uber drivers.

“They would say, ‘yeah, we go to Lister Park, but we haven’t really visited Cartwright Hall’.

“So we’ve been able to convert that into somebody who’s interested to enter in the museum, who’s interested to look at it.”

James Steward, museums and galleries manager at Bradford Council, said Cartwright Hall had seen “a remarkable 40% increase in visitors compared to last year, driven by a dynamic variety of new exhibitions at the venue”.

He said visitor surveys and local consultations had shown the (Un)Layering exhibition had been “particularly significant in reaching new, local audiences”.