in 2006 english heritage commissioned two public works of art in bradford. we were asked by bradford-based artworks to work with members of the local community in the area of west bowling to produced designs for one of these - the end result would be gates for bowling old lane cricket club which lies at the heart of the community.

we led two workshops with local residents, young and old to discover more about the area. we began by drawing maps of the area from memory - these are maps that may not be geographically accurate but instead are defined by favourite places, local landmarks, events and memories. with some of the younger members of the club we went for a walk around the area armed with digital cameras - the end results were printed out onsite and quickly pasted into a rough and ready photomontage.

with some of the older residents the map drawing led to recollections of how the area had changed and some of the events and characters that had coloured growing up in this rapidly changing part of bradford. it was then our challenge to take these myriad images and turn them into something that both represented the history of the area and its role in the community today. historical fact: bowling old lane is not only one of bradford’s oldest cricket clubs but also lies adjacent to the original ground of bradford bulls [back then known as the ’steam pigs’ because they played next to the railway line] - there’s a rugby ball hidden in the design. we started sketching ideas in the first session which went on to evolve into the final design.

as an ex-bradford resident what impressed me was the genuine connection that the older gentlemen of the cricket club had with the young players almost all of whom were from asian families. i remember that one of the big news stories during the design process was the declaration form several politicians that multiculturalism wasn’t working. in this square green oasis not far from bradford city centre it looked to be doing just fine.

some of the images that can be spotted in the design: birch leaves [the gates are on birch lane], west bowling skyline - an amalgam of buildings past, present and - at the time of the design - in progress, members of the community [the club is a focus for all types of community activities, not just cricket].

you can read a little more about the gates project here.