I Am No Bird

South Square Centre is located on the outskirts of Bradford in Thornton, a village which is also birthplace of the three Brontë sisters. April 2016 marks the bicentenary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth, so to celebrate all of South Square’s exhibitors will be women and there will be a range of artworks, events and activities in response to this throughout April and May.

South Square has commissioned Yorkshire Film Archive to create a short film, weaving together images of women recorded on film over the decades of the twentieth century, engaging in a variety of activities from politics, engineering, education and sports.

The footage has been drawn from the collections housed by the Yorkshire Film Archive - these are not films made about women, the intention has been to capture more abstract recordings of women going
about their everyday lives. To accompany the film there will be a soundtrack by Todmorden-based musician Magpahi (aka Alison Cooper). The music will be made using a mixture of acoustic and electronic instruments, processed vocals as well as objects inherited from her.

South Square also invites audiences to nominate Bradford born or based pioneering women from the time of the Brontë’s to the present day. Candidates so far include: Charlotte Brontë (Author of novels featuring strong-willed women such as Jane Eyre), Margaret McMillian (Educator and campaigner for improvement of health care for children), Beryl Burton (Record-breaking Cycling) and Marianne Straub (Textile Design and 3rd female student at Bradford Technical College). Suggestions can be made at the exhibition, by email (y.carmichael@southsquarecentre.co.uk) or twitter (@South_Square).