Andreea Chițan is a curator and creative producer based in Ilkley. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of photoILKLEY, Ilkley’s first photography festival, and works as Exhibitions and Events Manager at Ilkley Manor House, an art gallery and accredited museum located in the heart of Ilkley.

Her practice focuses on visual arts, community engagement and place-based cultural programming. Through her curatorial and producing work, Andreea is interested in creating accessible, meaningful cultural experiences that connect artists, audiences and local communities.

A Yorkshire-based multidisciplinary artist, she works across painting, collage, and mixed media, exploring vulnerability, resilience, feminine expression, and the relationship between people and the natural world. Her practice combines natural imagery with vibrant, semi-abstract compositions.

She is currently a Museum and Gallery Young Ambassador for the 2026 Bradford district, gaining experience in public engagement and collaborative event coordination. She also works part-time at Bradford Live, reflecting her commitment to supporting arts and culture within the local community.

Anji is a Bradford-based painter inspired by the Yorkshire landscape and the emotional memory of place. She works expressively in layers using acrylic, casein, and natural inks made in Yorkshire from local pigments. Painting has been part of her personal recovery and continues to be an intuitive, healing process. Anji aims to share joy, depth, and stillness through her work, often connecting it with poetry. She is also an arts educator and outdoor swimmer who finds peace and inspiration in the rivers and green corridors of the city.

Carolyn Mendelsohn FRSA FRPS is an artist and portrait photographer whose practice centres on storytelling and amplifying quieter voices through co-produced portraits. Her work spans intimate portraiture, socially engaged and documentary projects, including the internationally exhibited series Being Inbetween. Founder of Through Our Lens, Carolyn teaches visual storytelling through workshops recognised by Arts Council England as an example of excellence. Her work has been exhibited and collected internationally. She is currently Artist in Residence for Born in Bradford, working on Age of Wonder – Teenage Stories, a seven-year project documenting Bradford teenagers’ journeys through adolescence and adulthood.

Carole Griffiths is a Bradford-based sculptor and art educator with over 25 years’ experience. She studied at Wimbledon School of Art and holds an MA from Leeds Metropolitan University and a PhD in Philosophy through Art Practice from Coventry University. Her work transforms everyday domestic objects into poetic sculptural forms using clay, bronze, and found materials. Exhibited widely across the UK, Carole is a member of the Yorkshire Sculptors Group and has strong ties to South Square and Keighley Creatives. Her practice explores domesticity, memory, and materiality through surreal, autobiographical responses to the home and its objects.

Chris Cambell is a neurodivergent QTIPOC poet and multidisciplinary artist based in Bradford. Their work centres on overlooked narratives, challenging dominant cultural stories through poetry, photography and archival storytelling. Chris is a former director of Bread + Roses and an active member of Photo Hub North. With support from Unlimited, Bradford 2025 and Bradford Producing Hub, they are currently developing new projects exploring queer identity across the North. Passionate about curiosity and creative reinvention, Chris sees poetry as a radical force for personal and collective transformation.

Ishleen is a Yorkshire-based Indian visual artist and interactive designer exploring identity, memory, migration, and place through storytelling, participatory design, and interactive technologies. She recently completed an MA in Digital Design Futures at the University of Leeds as a fully funded scholar.

She has worked with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and Our Patch, supporting community-led cultural programme evaluation and creating an interactive installation for Meet Our Mothers. Her wider practice includes zine design, workshops, painting, and creative projects using art and science to engage communities and amplify young voices.

Jess is a creative producer and arts marketing professional based in Leeds, working in Bradford as Marketing Manager at the National Science and Media Museum. Her experience spans communications, design, and content creation with organisations including Bradford Museums and Galleries, Leeds Arts University, and Mediaworks.

A Leeds Arts University graduate, Jess holds qualifications in Graphic Design, Creative Advertising and Creative Practice, and was nominated for a Cannes Future Lions award. Her personal creative practice spans photography, design and printmaking, exploring neurodiverse experiences through mixed media. She is also an advocate for inclusivity in the arts.

Kayle McCoy is the Founder of United Art Project CIC and an HCPC-registered Arts Psychotherapist. With a background in drama and movement, she has led sessions for all ages, blending creativity with therapeutic practice. Now focused on building meaningful artistic collaborations across West Yorkshire, Kayle aims to connect communities, organisations, and individuals through the transformative power of art. A committed CrossFit enthusiast, she brings energy and discipline into everything she does. Her vision is centred around uniting diverse groups and voices within the cultural landscape through bold, collaborative projects.

Kelvin is a visual artist and designer interested in amplifying young voices within creative practice and exploring how they influence culture and place. With a background in Architecture and a passion for spatial design, he joined Bradford 2025’s Young Creatives programme, contributing to the city’s creative programme. Kelvin’s practice explores the relationship between people and design, and how participation shapes creative outcomes. Early in his career, he experiments across traditional and digital mediums, from drawing and fine art to graphic design and 3D modelling.

Kennedy Drake (b.1999) is a Bradford-born and based artist, who received a first-class BA Hons in Visual Arts at Bradford School of Art and a distinction in MFA Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam University. Her work is focused on inequalities and working-class culture, largely drawing from autobiographical experience. Using paint, print and the process of upcycled everyday textiles, her work presents a cutting critique on modern British society, including the cost-of-living crisis which is engulfing society and pushing the poorest further into financial difficulty. More recently, Kennedy has started to consider ideas of hope and progression towards peace, looking to nature as inspiration.

Letty is an award-winning artist and writer based in West Yorkshire. Her practice explores what healing practices in medieval monasteries can teach us about living with chronic illness today.

Her 2023 self-published artist’s book, Book of Hours: An Almanac for The Seasons of The Soul, won the Barbellion Prize for Literature and featured on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row. Her installation Anchorage was shown in her first solo exhibition at Attenborough Arts Centre in 2022. She has since received commissions from the Brontë Parsonage Museum and BD is Lit, alongside Arts Council England funding for audio work.

Mireille Botros is an Egyptian-British oil painter and mural artist based in Shipley. A self-taught artist, she exhibits portrait and figurative work across Yorkshire and beyond. Through Studio Botros, she teaches drawing and painting, encouraging others to develop their creativity and skills.

Mireille founded Creative Social Saltaire, an inclusive community for local artists and creatives, and works as a freelance art educator delivering accessible workshops for adults and young people. She has led community art projects, workshops and murals across West Yorkshire and is a trustee of Saltaire Inspired.

Nicola is an experienced illustrator, visual artist and workshop leader with over 25 years of self-employed creative practice spanning illustration, set design, surface pattern and live illustration. Passionate about making creativity accessible, she encourages people of all ages to discover the joy of drawing.

For seven years, she worked at an arts charity developing creative programmes for children aged 5–14. She has since facilitated workshops for participants aged 3 to 103, adapting activities to different abilities and settings. Her practice centres on curiosity, collaboration and community, supporting creativity across Bradford and beyond.

Sophie Powell is a Bradford-based artist and creative producer working across photography, print, performance and text. With over 10 years in the city, Sophie collaborates with organisations including Displace Yourself Theatre and Equity Partnership. Their practice explores ideas of repetition as a tool for change, recently using natural dyes and chemigram processes to experiment with image-making. Sophie is committed to community-focused, queer-inclusive creativity, and continues to explore how artistic processes can foster agency, connection and dialogue.

Tammie is a creative producer and award-winning writer from Bradford. She’s worked on large-scale events such as the Turner Prize for Bradford 2025 and the Creative Cities Convention, and has spent five years working in TV development and production on reality, factual-entertainment and documentary programmes for the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky. Her work was featured in the Bradford Art Show in 2025. By background, she is a civil and structural engineer.