The Big Blue Bradford House

Now being exhibited at Bradford City Library!

The Big Blue Bradford House was been created for Refugee Week 2025, the world’s largest arts & culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people who seek sanctuary, and Moomin 80, a worldwide celebration marking 80 years since the publication of the first ever Moomin story. Presented alongside What Will We Do Without Exile?, a new installation in The Beacon for Refugee Week 2025, The Big Blue Bradford House has been made for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture by Yorkshire-based arts charity Stand & Be Counted, the UK’s first Theatre Company of Sanctuary. 

The Big Blue Bradford House was designed and built by paper engineer Alex Bennett. It is the centrepiece of a wider project in which people seeking sanctuary, Bowling residents and others were invited to add their own personalised room to the house.  

The paper sculpture is based on the Moominhouse from Tove Jansson’s beloved Moomin stories, with added details reflecting the city of Bradford:  

• The shape of the roof is inspired by the clock tower atop Bradford City Hall, including shapes found in the stonework and windows in place of the clock faces.  

• The dome-topped towers reflect the temples and places of worship throughout Bradford and its wider districts.  

• The chimney takes direct inspiration from Lister Mill and other Bradford mills while also capturing the Moomins’ theme of comfort.  

• The arch-shaped windows poetically represent both Bradford’s Victorian architecture, such as the Wool Exchange, and sacred Islamic geometry. 

‘This house symbolises sanctuary for all, so I felt it was essential to make inclusions that not only reflect the Moomins’ themes of shelter and comfort, but also Bradford’s rich cultural landscape.’  

– Alex Bennett, Designer 

‘We are so proud to bring communities across the city together to get creative and build The Big Blue Bradford House, a celebration of what it means to welcome everyone into Bradford – a city of sanctuary, culture and peace-building.’  

– Rosie MacPherson, Artistic Director and Joint CEO of Stand & Be Counted 

‘Just like the Moominhouse, Bradford is proud to be a place of welcome, where people from all communities and backgrounds are safe, valued, and feel a sense of belonging. It’s the kind of world that the City of Sanctuary movement works to create: a world where everyone is welcomed and included and no one is left out in the cold.’ 

– Tina Brocklebank, Director of Bradford City of Sanctuary