A short history of HowDo?!

A SHORT HISTORY DECEMBER 2011 - PRESENT

HowDo?! Magazine was launched in December 2011 in an effort to create a valued print media product that tied together all of Bradford’s cultural activities. The magazine was a platform for creative organisations and individuals to promote their activities in a positive way. It also offered a chance for local writers, photographers and artists to gain experience and exposure on a large scale.

Over a period of 18 months the HowDo?! Collective published 11 printed magazines, hosted several public events and was involved in numerous collaborative projects.

The magazine series; December 2011 - June 2013

THE MAGAZINE GROWTH The magazine grew quickly from an initial print run of around 2500 to over 8000 copies by issue four, generating an estimated readership of over 25,000 each and every month. During that time HowDo?! also grew as a creative network, with over 200 individuals contributing in some way to its success. In total, over 50,000 magazines were printed and distributed to high footfall locations across the Yorkshire Dales, and HowDo?! secured its reputation as a ‘game-changer’ in the City of Bradford.

WRITERS The magazines also featured a huge number of volunteer writers, who submitted content on a wide range of subjects. HowDo?! Magazine featured stories on music, food, film, dance, theatre and art, as well as more hard hitting subjects such as politics and philosophy. Writers of all abilities and backgrounds were encouraged to submit their thoughts and ideas and the HowDo?! editorial team worked hard to ensure the magazine reflected the cultural diversity of Bradford.

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ARTISTS

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Each of the first eight issues featured a local artist, whose artwork would appear on the front cover and be printed throughout the magazine. Each issue’s unique design was influenced by these artists and this remained an important element of the HowDo?! project.

Issue 1: Russell Kremp

Issue 4: Jean Mcewan

Some of the HowDo?! Team, December 2011

Issue 7: The Print Project

SOCIAL AGENDA HowDo?! Magazine always maintained a strong social agenda, centred on challenging the negative perceptions of Bradford. To achieve this we used and promoted citizen journalism, focused on the stories of the people, and promoted independent business, arts, culture and enterprise. One of HowDo?!’s greatest achievements was to draw attention to the city’s emerging grassroots arts scene at a time when perceptions of Bradford were at an all-time low.

Distributing HowDo?! Magazine in Bradford City Centre

HOWDO?! OFF-THE-PAGE; APPRAISAL & EXHIBITION AT GALLERY II, UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD - MAY 2013

In the Spring of 2013 the final issue of the magazine series was published, and HowDo?! went off the page and into the gallery for a month long celebration, appraisal and exhibition. This evaluative project presented the pages of the magazine and encouraged particpation with its content. With some degree of success it brought together students, artists, arts professionals, and Bradford community to explore ideas for new creative media.

Producer Martyn Johnston preparing the gallery space

COLLABORATIONS & ACHIEVEMENTS PHOTOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE SERIES Following the departure of Haigh Simpson, the magazine’s co-founder and editor, the production team continued with a series celebrating Bradford’s international reputation as a city of photography.

The tone was set in Issue 9, with an collaboration between the artistic directors of the University of Bradford’s Gallery II and Impressions Gallery. Issue 10 featured Martin O’Connell’s photos of Bradford city centre in the snow, circa 1960. The final part of the magazine series celebrated arguably Bradford’s finest ‘hidden’ gem; the National Photography Collection housed at the National Media Museum.

Bradford: Britain’s centre for photography. What’s not to love.

...Studios, once situated on thenfashionable Manningham Lane, whose portraits captured the early days of our Asian community. Also the pinsharp evidence of Bradford’s heyday and thriving industries recorded by C.H. Woods and Bradford Heritage Recording Unit, which captures memories of people of all ages, class and ethnicity through family albums and work by commercial photographers.

anne mcneill

When i Was a Wee girl at the age of seven, groWing up in glasgoW, i saW a programme on telly aBout tWo young english girls called elsie and frances. these tWo yorkshire lassies had taken photographs of fairies playing at the Bottom of their garden. i Was hooked. that christmas i asked santa for a camera. i must have Been really good Because in my stocking Was a kodak instamatic133x cartridge film camera. i have loved photography ever since.

For those who don’t know the story, in 1917 Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, who lived in Cottingley on the edge of Bradford, took a series of five photographs of fairies dancing and frolicking. Three years later, these photographs became famous when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer of Sherlock Holmes, published them to illustrate an essay he had written for the Christmas edition of The Strand Magazine. In the early 1980s Elsie and Frances admitted that four of the photographs were faked using cardboard cutouts of imps and pixies copied from Victorian children’s books. Yet Frances swore, even on her deathbed, to the veracity of the fifth and final photograph. It is real.

thought-provoking and inspiring.

Don’t underestimate the power of the photographic image.

Bradford has a rich photographic heritage. The National Media Museum houses the nation’s ‘jewel in thecrown’; the National Photography

Š Paul Reas Paul Reas retrospective showing at Impressions Gallery, April 2013

There is an abundance of professional, amateur, and grassroots practitioners.

Bradford Grid, a core of photographers and academics, are undertaking an ongoing eclectic survey of the city and its surrounding towns and countryside, along with active photographic societies and camera clubs.

Collection. Bradford College alumni embark on successful photography careers. Along with the University they have supported more than ten mid-career photographers through the internationally prestigious Bradford Fellowship.

Bradford Museums and Galleries have a wealth of photographic archives, such as Belle Vue...

Much has changed since Impressions Gallery RSVPed to Bradford Council’s invitation and moved from York to play a part in the cultural renaissance and regeneration of this city. Since then it has built a gallery and shown over thirty artists in twenty-six exhibitions. City Park has been built. The Odeon still stands. Bradford is UNESCO’s world first City of Film. The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television changed its name to National Media Museum and revealed it has the world’s earliest surviving negative. Bradford University set up a new photography degree. Fabric’s temporary art spaces showcase local photographers. We instigated Ways Of Looking, the UK’s newest photography festival, which attracted more than 47,500 visitors into the city last October. People are discovering we are a creative place. It feels like Bradford is on the brink of something new and exciting.

The photographs are on display at the National Media Museum and I now live in Cottingley, stalking fairies.

We are surrounded by photography and it informs our lives. It can be dramatic, disquieting, informative, personal, passionate, challenging,

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We’ve learnt from the Odeon campaign that vision, grit, determination and wit go a long way. And, you know what, we can work together, we can build a critical mass so that in ten years time Bradford and photography - along with film - will be mentioned in the same breath. A place known worldwide as Britain’s central and cultural hub for photography.

Cottingley Fairies -- Courtesy of National Media Museum

Featured photography from issues 9, 10 & 11 (above), & lead article

by Anne McNeill, Director of Impressions Gallery (below)

SUMMER EXPERIENCE PROGRAMME & WELCOME TO BRADFORD WINNER OF OUTSTANDING PLACEMENT PROVIDER AWARD - 2013 & 2014

The Summer Experience is a programme run by the University of Bradford’s careers service, providing worthwhile paid work experience to their students. In 2013 and 2014, HowDo?! brought together students and a team of creative professionals to produce and distribute a Welcome to Bradford pack, which included a map, magazine, flyer pack and a coupon book. The aim was to inspire students to explore the city

by providing a comprehensive introduction to Bradford.

Above; Photo of 2013 award, Below; Photo journal of the 2014 Welcome to Bradford campaign

WELCOME TO INDEPENDENT BRADFORD CROSS-CITY MUSIC FESTIVAL - SEPTEMBER 2012

Welcome to Independent Bradford was a cross-city music festival conceived and produced by the HowDo?! team, in partnership with the city’s most dynamic artists, musicians, promoters, organisations and venues, who generously adapted their timetables to cram in a month’s-worth of cultural folics into a jam-packed fortnight. 1000 programmes were distributed on the university and college campuses, providing new students with a comprehensive introduction into Bradford’s hard to find gems, independent and DIY cultural activity, and leftfield alternative entertainment.

Photography from WTiB 2012 collated into a ‘contact sheet’ pull-out poster

HOWDO?! OFF-THE-PAGE CULTURE SHOW AT HAND MADE IN BRADFORD - SEPTEMBER 2012

A hugely successful evening that brought together Bradford’s growing arts ‘scene’ for an evening of exciting performances encompassing live music, improvised performance, a performance based talk, storytelling, spoken word, as well as audio and visual documentaries.

Performance in the Picnic Parlour by Bradford-based poet Suki

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FREE CROSS-CITY FESTIVAL - MAY 2012-PRESENT

Threadfest is a free cross-city festival of independent music and art that offers a taste of the hard to find cultural events on offer in Bradford. Since it was founded in 2012, HowDo?! Bradford has played a key role in its development, providing ‘on the ground’ creative marketing solutions, building audiences and encouraging cross promotional ties between venues and promoters. Its success demonstrates a significant contribution and a continued commitment to supporting the local arts scene.

Design: Ben Holden Words: Andy Abbott o.uk —bjthebear.com —obscenebabyauction.c