From Swahili to Ofada Rice: Bradford’s Culture Link Connects Communities Through Culture
Nigerian-born UK-based Creative Wellbeing Curator and Combined Arts Producer, Oluwaseun Dosunmu has launched Culture Link, a new participatory community-building initiative designed to bring people from different cultural backgrounds together through art, culture, food, language and live performance.
Founded through The Care Inn Centre, an emerging creative wellbeing space at the intersection of arts, culture, creativity and wellbeing, Culture Link aims to create opportunities for people to learn about one another’s cultures while building social connections and encouraging meaningful community participation.
The initiative responds to the increasingly diverse cultural landscape of Bradford, where people from different nationalities, communities and backgrounds live alongside one another.
According to Dosunmu, diversity does not automatically create connection.
“Bradford is becoming increasingly culturally rich, with people from different countries and backgrounds making the city their home. But living alongside one another does not always mean that we understand one another. Culture Link was created to provide a space where people can meet, ask questions, share their stories, experience different cultures and build genuine connections.”
“For me, culture is not something we should simply observe. It is something we can participate in. Through food, language, music, storytelling and performance, we can discover the things that connect us while developing a better understanding of our differences,” he said.
The first Culture Link gathering brought together participants through a programme of cultural exchange and creative participation.
Bradford-based Afrobeat & Afro hiphop Artiste/Musician and Rapper, Q-Dee performed some of his music, bringing live entertainment and local creative talent into the cultural experience.
For Dosunmu, showcasing local artists is an important part of the initiative.
“Bradford has incredible creative talent, and Culture Link gives us an opportunity to put local artists at the centre of community experiences. Music can sometimes communicate what conversation cannot. It creates an immediate opportunity for people to connect,” he added.
The programme also featured Sheilla from Kenya, who introduced participants to the Swahili language and shared insights into her Kenyan heritage and Koyo cultural background.
Her contribution created an opportunity for participants to learn directly from someone about her own culture rather than relying on assumptions or second-hand information.
The gathering also became an opportunity to explore Nigerian cultural diversity.
Bunmi, a Nigerian professional who is Yoruba, married to an Igbo man and who previously lived in Kaduna in Northern Nigeria, shared her experiences of navigating different Nigerian cultures and identities.
Her experience highlighted how Culture Link can create conversations not only between countries but also between cultures, tribes and communities within the same country.
“The Culture Link idea is brilliant, novel and very timely,” Bunmi said. “I had the opportunity to share my background and where I came from. Initiatives like this can help people understand one another better and challenge misconceptions about different communities.”
From Ofada rice to new friendships
Food also became an important part of the cultural exchange.
Participants had the opportunity to taste Ofada rice and its accompanying sauce, with some experiencing the dish for the first time.
For Dosunmu, these seemingly simple experiences are central to the philosophy behind Culture Link.
“I made new friends, learnt about different tribes and cultures, learnt some Swahili and tasted Ofada rice and sauce for the first time. These may sound like small experiences, but they are exactly what Culture Link is about. Sometimes building community begins with simply sitting around a table, sharing food and asking someone to tell you about where they come from.” he added
Culture as a tool for connection and wellbeing
While Culture Link celebrates cultural diversity, its wider ambition is to explore how creative and cultural participation can contribute to social connection and wellbeing.
The programme seeks to respond to challenges including loneliness, social isolation, limited community interaction and cultural misunderstanding by creating informal spaces where people can participate rather than simply attend.
The initiative forms part of Dosunmu’s wider creative practice through The Care Inn Centre, which brings together arts, culture and wellbeing through participatory programmes.
His wider portfolio includes Sip & Paint, ArtWell, Rhythm Reset, Rest Contest, De-Stress for Artists and PaintConverse, alongside the developing Care Inn Global Creative Wellbeing Convention.
Culture Link represents another dimension of this practice — using culture as a bridge between people.
“My vision is for Culture Link to become a platform where people don’t just come to watch culture; they experience it, question it, celebrate it and share it.
“I want someone to leave Culture Link having discovered an artist, learnt a new word, tasted a new food, heard a story they had never heard before and, most importantly, met someone they might not otherwise have spoken to,” Dosunmu said.
Culture Link is a participatory cultural and community-building initiative founded and curated by Oluwaseun Dosunmu through The Care Inn Centre in Bradford.
