A celebration of 'collective joy and creativity' inspired by Emily Brontë and Kate Bush will feature as part of Bradford 2025's UK City of Culture programme.
Wondering Heights invites everyone to join a free, playful celebration
Inspired by Emily Brontë's imagination and Kate Bush's pop anthem 'Wuthering Heights', the event seeks to engage people from all walks of life in a simultaneous celebration of place, dance, and song.
People can participate from anywhere they choose - whether at home, in the workplace, or amidst the rugged beauty of the Bradford moors.
Wondering Heights is described as a 'tiny project with a big hopeful heart' focuses on togetherness through activities like walking, dancing, drawing, or simply imagining.
There will be two free workshops for people to learn the Kate Bush-inspired dance routines on July 5 and July 23.
The event encourages everyone to participate in their own creative way, be it dancing, drawing, waving a dramatic tea towel, or walking one of the mapped routes.
Artist Lucy Barker is the brain behind Wondering Heights.
The project aims to welcome everyone to create and share their own moments of 'collective effervescence', a term defined by modern sociologists to signify the joy of moving or feeling together.
Routes on the event map include Lucy's Dream, starting near Denholme Gate, Thornton Village, Ogden Water, and Denholme.
Full access guides are available for select routes on Lucy Barker's website.
The Wondering Heights map, designed by Chris Goddard, is available online or in limited-edition risograph print form at venues, including the Bradford 2025 Ticket Office, The Brontë Parsonage Museum Reception, and South Square Centre Café.
The map can be used as a guide for a walk on the moors, a prompt for a dance, or a 'spark for something entirely your own'.
When finished with it people can recycle it, pass it on, or repurpose it creatively.
The event is free to participate in and encourages everyone to share their creative responses on social media using a QR link or by tagging Lucy Barker on Instagram.
The initiative is said to be inspired by the words of Priya Parker, from 'The Art of Gathering', who said: "Gatherings have the power to temporarily transport us to a world created for a specific purpose—where we feel we belong to something larger than ourselves."
For more information, visit Lucy Barker's website or follow her on Instagram.
The project was produced by Natasha Glew, who can be contacted at natashagproducer@gmail.com.
