Portraits of Born in Bradford’s Age of Wonder participants are on permanent exhibition at the BRI.
BiB: Age of Wonder is a seven-year project documenting the journey through adolescence for all teenagers in Bradford by using surveys and health measures in schools to learn about teenagers’ opinions on key topics such as mental health and social media. Within Age of Wonder, the Teenage Stories project follows a group of 100 teenagers from the age of 12/13 to 19/20 and uses interviews and group discussions to paint an in-depth picture of teenage lives in Bradford.
Since 2022, Teenage Stories participants have been working with Age of Wonder’s artist-in-residence, internationally recognised photographer, Carolyn Mendelsohn, to create annual portraits of their journeys through adolescence. The portrait series explores the lives of participants, and each portrait is accompanied by a quote from the young person, which is selected from an interview they take part in with Carolyn Mendelsohn.
Twenty-five portraits from the series have been selected for the ’25 for 25’ permanent exhibition which can be found on the Level 1 corridor (near Outpatients West) at the BRI. The official opening of the exhibition took place on Saturday 25th January 2025 and was attended by participants and their families, the Lord Mayor, Councillor Beverley Mullaney, and members of the research team.
Lord Mayor, Councillor Beverley Mullaney, and Teenage Stories participant, Zahra, 12
Dr Kate Lightfoot, Research Fellow on Age of Wonder: Teenage Stories, said:
“The atmosphere at the ’25 for 25’ opening was brilliant – the young people loved seeing their portraits on the wall, and it was great fun seeing them take pictures with their portraits. The Age of Wonder portrait series is a real highlight of the project, as these young people have become the face of Age of Wonder. One of our main aims on Age of Wonder is to highlight teenage voices and make sure that teenagers are listened to and taken seriously and having their portraits and quotes on exhibition at the hospital does just that. We have already received lovely feedback from hospital staff about the exhibition, which is a great feeling.”
Francis, 15, with his portrait
Grace, 16, with her portrait
Salma, parent of Zahra (Teenage Stories participant and portrait subject), said:
“The event went really well. It was so inspiring seeing everyone’s portraits. So proud of them all and Zahra!”
The exhibition can be found on the Level 1 corridor at the BRI.
Age of Wonder: Teenage Stories is still recruiting young people aged 12-14 who live in the Bradford district to be part of the study. For more information, please contact: teenage.stories@bthft.nhs.uk
