I am delighted to announce the planned launch of BRADFORDIANA, a photography ‘zine with a sole focus on the Bradford district.
There is no shortage of material published about parts of the UK deemed to be trendy (for example hipster centres on the south coast or east end of London) and I thought it was about time to start waving a flag for Bradford, particularly given that 2025 is our year.
The inspiration came from the Cafe Royal series of photo booklets and having co-founded The City Gent ‘fanzine’ dedicated to the glories of BCAFC in 1984 I was up for the challenge of launching a similar physical publication as an antidote to digital media.
Each issue will feature contemporary photographs in both colour and monotone based around a specific theme with images selected from my archive. The project is a not-for-profit initiative with the objective being to recover costs and there will be no advertising or promotion of commercial interests.
BRADFORDIANA will be available to order online from a new website [B R A D F O R D I A N A] and I am looking to arrange sales through a couple of outlets in the centre of Bradford. I am committing to produce twelve issues during the course of the year and take it from there.
The objective is to encourage interest in Bradford as a place for photography, showcase the diversity of subject matter available as well as to provide a historic record for the future. Essentially this is something of an experiment. I am not pretending that my photos are prize-winning material but hopefully they show what sort of photographic opportunities exist in the Bradford district. If that inspires interest in Bradford or encourages others to do something similar or better then that is the measure of success.
Your support would be very much appreciated and I ask people to spread the word on social media. The first issue of BRADFORDIA will be released on 29th May but advance orders are being taken from the website. Nearer the time I will be tweeting updates from @jpdewhirst. You can email me to register interest and get updates – johnatbradfordianadotnet
John Dewhirst
Wool City Rivals 