A Somali Village in Lister Park: Industry, Culture and Empire

This exhibition revisits a key moment in Bradford’s history: the 1904 Great Exhibition in Lister Park.

While the event celebrated local industry and innovation, its most popular and profitable attraction was the Somali Village, where 57 men, women and children lived and worked for six months as part of a colonial display.By centering the Somali Village, the exhibition asks how Bradford’s art, institutions and public spaces were shaped by empire, and how these histories have been obscured over time.

It invites you to look beyond the colonial spectacle to the conditions that made Somali lives visible, and to consider how these histories continue to shape the city today.