A BRADFORD collective will share a series of photographs on billboards and public spaces across the city to celebrate International Women's Day.

Speakers' Corner - a political, creative and social collective led by young women from Bradford - will showcase Sisterhood, a photographic collection which aims to "take control" of the way women are portrayed and perceived.

It comes as part of Bradford Council's International Women's Day celebrations, with the day itself commemorated on 8 March, and also as part of the 'Art in the Park' series.

Speakers' Corner came together in August to "capture what sisterhood means" to women and girls, as well as to "feel empowered, dress up and celebrate being ourselves", providing some positivity amid the monotony of lockdown.

Throughout March, photos from the Sisterhood collection will be exhibited outside Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Lister Park, as well as on billboards on Manchester Road, Broadstone Way and Wakefield Road.

Speakers' Corner collaborated with art director Neesha Tusli Champaneria and photographer Vivek Vadoliya to create the photographs, which were all taken in Bradford and also aim to "highlight the beauty of our city and pay tribute to it".

Sajidah Shabir, of Speakers' Corner, said: "The beauty in the photoshoot is that there is no justification. We're just claiming the space and taking control, as young women, just existing - something we don’t always get to do. We are sometimes hyper-visible, and sometimes invisible.

"As young women, and as Muslim women, people often make up narratives about us and rarely do we get to set our own terms. So we are taking control of what you see when you see us", she added.

“This is such a great opportunity for Speakers' Corner to spread the message of empowerment and to celebrate young women and creativity.

"It's such a good direction that the city is headed in and we feel so honoured to be part of this."

Mariyah Kayat, also from the collective, said: “The photoshoot was about coming together and being able to celebrate us as young women.

"It felt special that we were able to not only show people who Speakers' Corner are, but also to showcase the beauty of Bradford."

Neesha Tulsi Champaneria and Vivek Vadoliya said: "We wanted to create a set of visuals that go beyond the clichés of what you might expect it means to be a South Asian female in Bradford, thinking about Bradford’s rich migration history and its connection to the textile industry that built the city's current architectural and cultural landscape."