Anand Chhabra contributed significantly to the Bradford Family Album, a major community archive project developed as part of Bradford 2025: UK City of Culture. His work supported both the creation of the archive and the development of the exhibition Make Yourself at Home, which explores migration, belonging, and everyday life in Bradford through community-shared photographs and stories.
Working in close collaboration with Impressions Gallery and the Bradford 2025 team, Anand was honoured to work alongside renowned director Anne McNeill and an exceptional group of artists, producers, and facilitators. Together, they helped shape a project grounded in care, trust, and collaboration, placing lived experience at its centre.
The Bradford Family Album received national recognition, widespread media coverage, and strong public engagement, attracting over 10,000 visitors to the exhibition and reaching audiences worldwide online. The project demonstrated a growing appetite for community-led storytelling, where people are empowered to share their own histories in their own voices.
Anand led a series of workshops focused on ethical community engagement, photography, digitisation and scanning, and exhibition-making. These sessions supported participants through the process of building a shared archive, resulting in a rich and accessible online platform
Working closely with young people throughout the project was especially inspiring. Their commitment, openness, and collaborative spirit placed them at the heart of shaping the archive. Alongside Angela Sheard and Jennifer Sobol, Anand witnessed the project develop into its final phase, as the Bradford 2025 team brought together community groups, digitisation work, and creative production.
The outcome is Make Yourself at Home, a world-class exhibition that reflects the ethos of the Apna Heritage Archive while remaining a distinct and original collaboration led by Impressions Gallery and the Bradford 2025 team. The exhibition will be on view from 12 September to 20 December 2025.
Bradford Young Curators take centre stage at launch of ‘Make Yourself at Home exhibition at Impressions Gallery, Bradford and as part of the Bradford City of Culture 2025 programme.
“Learning from Brian Liddy and Anand Chhabra about the practical realities of archives and community work felt like a turning point for me. Their session helped shape how I now think about my future career.”
A short film documenting the programme and its impact was produced by Impressions Gallery and features Anand Chhabra’s work with Impressions Gallery and the BYC team.