A CELEBRATION of different cultures from around the world will be showcased from today in a new exhibition in Bradford The Eye of the Beholder exhibition, held at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, features work from a host of different cultures, including South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan.

It will feature a collection of almost 100 paintings, photographs, textiles, glass, ceramics and calligraphy and will be the first time that many of the pieces have been displayed.

Bradford residents have worked closely with museum curators to develop this collection and is the first time that many of the objects have been displayed. It also marks 25 years of collecting for the International Art Collection.

The work of British and South Asian-based artists including Sutapa Biswas, Gillies Jones Glass and Saleem Arif will be showcased.

Nilesh Mistry, exhibition curator, said: "It's quite a packed show.

"There is something in there for everybody. You don't have to be an art specialist to appreciate it.

"It is great to have it here as Bradford is a multi-cultural city.

"I used the collection to engage with all communities, not just South Asian. There is also work on Christianity, Hinduism and work from British Afro-Caribbean artists.

"It's a collection that started in the 1980s.

"The exhibition aims to reacquaint people who have moved to Bradford with their cultures, to see what they have left behind.

"The aim of the collection is to try to engage with all communities in Bradford. By far the largest community in Bradford is South Asian. The exhibition will help provide a window of the rich cultures of South Asia.

Nick Barnard, curator of the Asian department at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, will give a free talk at Cartwright Hall called 'Jewellery: South Asia to South Kensington, Bradford and beyond' on Sunday, December 7 between 2pm and 3pm.

It will look at how the V&A had the largest collection of South Asian jewellery outside India.

He will also look at how changes in collecting and exhibiting in the 20th century, including the exhibition 'A Golden Treasury', first held at Cartwright Hall in 1988.

A curator's tour of the exhibition will be held at the site on Sunday, January 25, between 2pm and 3pm.

The free exhibition is open every Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 4pm and Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4pm. Booking is essential for both the talk and the tour. For more information, call 01274 431212 or go to bradfordmuseums.org.

These events have been sponsored by the Friends of Bradford Art Galleries and Museums.

The exhibition will run until Sunday, March 15, next year.

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