Ways Of Looking opens this weekend in venues across Bradford city centre.

The month-long festival addresses photography’s status as ‘evidence’ in arenas including history, politics, science, law and conflict.

It includes the world premiere of Hidden, by renowned photographer Red Saunders, featuring epic photographic tableaux re-creating overlooked events in British history. Three new works include an English Civil War scene depicting a dusk campsite where a female radical addresses soldiers, Levellers and dissenters.

Shot near Haworth, the image features several Bradford people including T&A crime reporter Steve Wright and his two horses.

Steve appears as a Cromwellian officer sitting on Alexander, a former racehorse, and his daughter Sophie is dressed as a soldier, standing with Daniel, a horse found tethered near a motorway.

“It took an hour to do make-up and costumes,” says Steve. “I wore a large helmet, gauntlets and thigh-length boots with spurs. I wasn’t sure how Alexander would react when he saw me in costume, especially with a big sword which clanked against him, but he was brilliant.

“To reach the set, we went down a steep, grassy hill. It felt like being in Lord Of The Rings. We stood in front of a blue screen while the photos were taken, and our images were later superimposed on to the main picture. The camera flashes made Alexander a bit twitchy, but I kept him calm. It was a great experience and is a lovely image for us to keep.”

The festival also features Turner prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller’s snapshot of Bradfordians using images from the Telegraph & Argus, Manningham’s former Belle Vue Studio and photographic archives of BradfordMuseums and Galleries.

Over at Bradford Interchange, a billboard artwork is inspired by a 1950s crime scene photograph from police archives. Called Scene For A Small Crime,the image, riddled with clues and mirrored patterns, is by a collaboration of artists, poets, photographers and West Yorkshire Police.

Also in the Interchange is 1963, cinematic posters created by artist Shanaz Gulzar with the Bradford and District Youth Offending Team and Nacro, inspired by a mythical 1960s Bradford pop moment.

Photography collective Bradford Grid has responded to memories of the city between 1950 and 2000 to create outdoor exhibition Re:Bradford. Also outdoors is The Visitor, a game taking players on an interactive trail through time across Bradford.

The Ways Of Looking festival logo is a reworking of Bradford’s coat of arms, inspired by the Bradford Boar.

In Fauna Automata: British Wild Boar, artist Daniel Staincliffe explores the recent re-introduction of wild boar in the UK after a 300-year absence. He installed his invention of wooden mechanical sculptures in the Forest of Dean, enabling the animals to trigger their own photographs.

Ways Of Looking, running throughout October, is organised by Impressions Gallery, National Media Museum and The Culture Company, with partners Bradford Grid, Bradford Museums and Galleries, Fabric, Gallery II University of Bradford, and Leeds Metropolitan University. For more information, visit waysoflooking.org.