"every story matters because every story helps us understand one another"
Bradford South Asian Festival (BSAF) is preparing to launch an innovative storytelling project designed to preserve the city’s diverse voices through shared memories and lived experiences.
Called Storywala, the solar-powered vintage caravan will officially launch at Bradford Arts Centre on August 8, 2026.
The travelling installation has been transformed into a fully functioning audiovisual recording space where visitors can step inside and share personal stories, traditions and memories.
Designed as a living archive, Storywala aims to collect oral histories from communities across Bradford while celebrating the city’s rich cultural diversity.
Unlike a traditional archive, Storywala has been created to travel across Bradford, visiting festivals, schools and neighbourhood events.
As it moves between communities, the caravan will continue collecting new stories while carrying previously recorded memories to different audiences.
Although rooted in South Asian heritage through BSAF, the project welcomes contributions from people of every background.
Its creators hope the initiative will encourage conversations between generations and cultures while ensuring local histories are preserved for the future.
The project has grown from almost two years of engagement with Bradford residents through initiatives including Spill the Chai and A Suitcase of Memories.
Both programmes explored themes of migration, identity, belonging and heritage through storytelling and community participation.
Rahila Hussain, co-director of BSAF, said: “Since Bradford South Asian Festival was founded in 2020, everything we’ve created has started with people.
“Storywala is the natural next step in that journey.
“It has grown from hundreds of conversations with communities across Bradford and from a simple belief that every story matters because every story helps us understand one another a little better.”
The vintage caravan has been carefully upcycled into a fully self-sustaining recording studio powered entirely by solar energy.
Ahead of its official launch, Storywala has already appeared at major community events, including Bradford City Mela and BD Festival.
Visitors have shared memories centred on family, food, music, culture and everyday life.
These recordings now form part of the growing archive and will continue travelling with the caravan as it visits new communities.
Lead producer Aamta Tul Waheed said: “From the beginning, we wanted Storywala to feel like an open invitation.
“Although the project has grown through Bradford South Asian Festival and is rooted in South Asian heritage, it has never been about collecting only South Asian stories.
“It’s about recognising that every community has memories worth preserving and every person has a story worth telling.”
“We’ve also thought about sustainability in every sense. The caravan itself has been lovingly upcycled and powered by solar energy, but the stories are designed to keep travelling too.
“Every community Storywala visits adds something new to the archive while discovering stories gathered elsewhere.
“That’s how friendships begin, conversations grow and communities connect.
“In many ways, Storywala is about writing our shared history, one story, one conversation and one community at a time.”
Storywala will officially launch at Bradford Arts Centre on August 8, 2026, between 10 am and 6 pm.
The event will feature storytelling sessions, live performances, workshops and family-friendly activities throughout the day.
Following the launch, the caravan will continue touring Bradford, creating new opportunities for residents to preserve their memories while strengthening connections between the city’s many diverse communities.
