\n Award winning local sculptor Sam Shendi has designed and created Balancing Acts \u2013 a bright, interactive sculpture at MAPA youth and community centre.\n<\/p>\n
\n The sculpture honours the centre\u2019s role as a community hub, and reflects balance, identity, and shared belonging.\n<\/p>\n
\n The five-tiered, multicoloured\u00a0artwork is the latest piece by the Cowling based artist whose previous strong, bright sculptures have proved popular with children.\n<\/p>\n
\n The centre, off Manchester Road, was formerly known as Margaret McMillan Adventure Playground,\u00a0and has helped shape generations of children in the city.\n<\/p>\n
\n Shendi\u2019s sculpture draws\u00a0inspiration from the playground\u2019s origins, and from the simple childhood toys that teach\u00a0balance, shape, and coordination.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n MAPA continues to be a space where young people\u00a0can empower themselves through creativity, collaboration, and social action.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n The new sculpture honours generations of Bradford\u00a0families who\u2019ve grown up through its doors.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Its unveiling is a key moment in Bradford 2025\u2019s PLAY programme, which aims to boost the District\u2019s existing play provision.\n<\/p>\n
\n Tanya Henderson with the sculpture at MAPA (Image: T&A)\n<\/p>\n
\n Rhiannon Hannon,\u00a0Director of Creative Engagement at Bradford 2025,\u00a0says: “Shendi’s\u00a0sculpture is playful, welcoming, and deeply rooted in the community spirit that MAPA was built\u00a0on. It tells a story of generations growing up in this space, learning balance in life, though joy and\u00a0coming together.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Shendi\u00a0commented: \u201cI\u2019m pleased to have been chosen to be part of Bradford 2025 UK City\u00a0of Culture and have been blown away by how MAPA who through their history, staff and\u00a0volunteers, have believed in the community since the 1970s.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHaving my work here will act as a\u00a0reminder of the people who started MAPA and celebrate the people who continue that work\u00a0today. Balancing Acts is a totem for the future generations to understand the value of their\u00a0community.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Paul Bose CEO at MAPA\u00a0states \u201cI welcome the installation of Sam Shendi’s Balancing Acts, a\u00a0work that highlights MAPA\u2019s dedication to creativity and inclusivity. Its design encourages engagement and conversation, making art accessible to people of all ages in Bradford and the\u00a0wider community.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture is delivered by Bradford Culture Company, a charity supported\u00a0by public investment from the Government, Bradford Council, West\u00a0Yorkshire Combined Authority and through National Lottery funding from Arts Council England,\u00a0The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund, Spirit of 2012,\u00a0British Film Institute and a number of trusts, foundations and corporate sponsors.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Award winning local sculptor Sam Shendi has designed and created Balancing Acts \u2013 a bright, interactive sculpture at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,4022,77,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-339351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-design","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115017697668709301","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}