Threads of a City: The Manchester Tapestry Project

Find out about the Manchester Tapestry Project, a large-scale artwork made up of 30 panels celebrating the stories, people, and spirit of Greater Manchester through collaborative textile design.

Threads of a City: The Manchester Tapestry Project

Over 17 weeks, participants have been working as part of the research team to explore a theme from Manchester’s rich history, spanning 1853 to the present day. The aim of the project is to co-create 30 tapestry panels that will visually tell Manchester’s stories.

The research workshops were co-facilitated by Dr Lisa Gold, lead for the Manchester Tapestry Project, with Katie McKeever and Abbie Hawkins from the Manchester Histories team. Each group researched a specific theme, which will later become a tapestry panel. For example, one panel explores Northern Soul, dance, and the Manchester music scene, with researchers uncovering stories, notes, and source material to inform the final design. Other panels will delve into Manchester’s more complex histories, bringing overlooked stories to light.

Currently, the design team is working hard to translate these community stories into the visual design of the tapestry panels. The first opportunity to stitch the tapestry panels was at the Manchester Histories Festival 2026 from 4 to 6 June, at Central Library. The Stitching phase of the project will officially commence in September with public workshops at Manchester Histories Hub and The Whitworth Art Gallery. There will also be a call out for community stitch groups to take on a panel and collaboratively complete it using the designated stitches.

Fan of blue and orange archival document envelopes spread on a carpeted floor, each labeled with handwritten notes about which research theme they contain.
A cluttered table covered with papers, photos, pamphlets, and colorful badges, including LGBTQ+ pride materials and historical references, arranged for a preliminary design for the tapestry panel..
A cluttered table with folders of research notes and a researcher's hand holding a pencil making notes.

Who Can Take Part?

The Manchester Tapestry Project offers many opportunities for public participation – from research and storytelling to the design of tapestry panels and their embroidery. We welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences to help tell the diverse and rich stories of Manchester.

This is a unique opportunity to explore how history, craft, and storytelling come together in a participatory art project that reflects Manchester’s diverse identities. Ideal for people interested in history, visual communication, or community arts, but all enthusiasts are welcome.

A close-up of a person's hand holding a research material over a desk scattered with printed photos, brochures, and papers. Visible materials include gardening publications and a pink booklet titled "Unknown But Not Forgotten," with a computer keyboard partially visible in the background.
A close-up of a person holding a black-and-white illustrated design featuring historical and social justice themes. The artwork includes drawings of women, protest imagery, portraits, and signs reading “Black Women Matter,” “Votes for Women,” and “Need More Women,” with handwritten notes and sketches visible around the page on a desk.

Threads of a City: The Podcast

As part of her placement with Manchester Histories, Yutong Song worked on producing a podcast episode for the Threads of a City project. The process involved developing interview questions, conducting interviews with the project lead, organisers, and participants, and shaping these conversations into a coherent narrative through editing. The podcast was created to spread the word about the project, share insights into its development, and maintain transparency around its collaborative nature.

Listen the podcast episode here or click here to view the Youtube version with subtitles.

This experience allowed me to explore how storytelling, community engagement, and digital media practices can come together to document and share local histories. It was especially meaningful to see how small, personal stories can contribute to a larger narrative of the city and history.

Yutong Song –

Yutong is a postgraduate student in Digital Media, Culture and Society at the University of Manchester.  She completed a placement with Manchester Histories during the spring of 2026.

A hand-drawn and partially coloured hexagonal concept design titled "Cottonopolis: Why Manchester?" on gridded paper. The illustration combines portraits, flowers, textile-themed imagery, buildings, waterways, and labeled spaces connected by a pink outline. Text around the edges references themes including new technology, stilled work, transport links, and damp climate, while the bottom lists Manchester's canals, rivers, and railways. The photo shows an early design for the Cottonopolis tapestry panel.
Overhead view of a work-in-progress Education panel design on a desk. A large hexagonal layout is covered with yellow tracing-paper hexagons featuring pencil portrait sketches and handwritten notes naming notable figures who have influenced education in Manchester. Portraits include Arthur Lewis, Bernard Lovell, Sheena Simon, Susan Isaacs and Brian Cox. The centre includes a sketch of a book labelled “A New Page in the History of Manchester”. Architectural line drawings frame the layout, with "The John Rylands Library" visible in the lower-right corner. Scattered paper scraps, a marker, and a coffee mug surround the artwork, emphasising the creative planning process.

Project timeline:

4th February 2026 – Andrew Crummy, Designer of the Great Tapestry of Scotland, delivered an exciting talk about his large-scale textile artworks and shared advice on how we can approach our project in Manchester.

The Research sessions began, occurring every Wednesday, with groups of participants delving into the themes of the tapestry panels.

4th March 2026 – The Design Team met together for the first time and began the process of turning rich research into a visual representation of the panel’s theme. This will continue until all panels have been drawn up.

1st April 2026 – The Research sessions hit the mid-way point (Week 9 of 17 weeks).

27th May 2026 – The final research session marked a celebration of the participants’ hard work, commitment and enthusiasm so far.

4-6th June 2o26 – The first Stitching workshops were held in the Manchester Histories Hub, during the Manchester Histories Festival 2o26, offering the first opportunity to embroider directly onto a panel.

14 June 2026 – Lisa Gold, Project Lead, gave a talk at the Textile Society’s Manchester Antique and Vintage Textile Fair 2026. We shared the story of the project so far and invited people to join the project in the upcoming stitching phase.

September 2026 – The Stitching phase commences with workshops at Manchester Histories Hub and the Whitworth. There will also be a call out for community stitch groups to take on a panel and collaboratively complete it using the designated stitches.

Lisa Gold leads a community talk about the Threads of a City: Manchester Tapestry Project. A member of the Textile Society stands smiling beside a table while Lisa sits with a laptop and microphone. A large screen displays the project title and the Manchester Histories logo, and audience members are seated facing the presentation in a bright community hall.
Audience members sit facing a large presentation screen showing images from the Threads of a City: Manchester Tapestry Project. The slide displays photographs of early design sketches and planning materials, while the backs of attendees' heads are visible in the foreground as they watch the presentation.

Threads of a City: The Blog

Eleanor Godfrey, MA Textiles student at MMU, is assisting with project coordination on the project. As part of her role, she has created the Threads of a City Blog where she is writing a blog post for each panel theme using the research collated by the participants. Eleanor is also the host for our Threads of a City podcast.

Eleanor’s work focuses on heritage and community textiles, specialising in woven constructed textiles. She has worked as a weaver in residence and run several workshops in different historical settings.

Click here to visit the project’s blog.

A sample of embroidery of a child dressed in a plaid shawl with fringe detail and wearing clogs - like a cotton worker from the 1800's. The figure has closed eyes and short brown hair. Another piece of fabric partially covers the lower portion of the embroidery.
Pencil sketch of a hexagonal tapestry panel depicting a Manchester industrial cityscape. The upper section shows factories with chimneys and warehouses beneath the handwritten dates "1853–1920." Below, a horizontal band contains small geometric and figurative motifs, with wavy lines suggesting water or landscape at the bottom. Faint grid lines and the outline of a larger hexagon indicate this is a work-in-progress design.

With Thanks to Our Supporters

Threads of a city: The Manchester Tapestry Project is generously supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund, This is Us: Tracing Manchester’s Histories Project, Manchester Histories, Manchester City Council, Behrens, Visage Textiles, Spinning Jenny, The Craft Cotton Co, and DeVere Yarns. We are grateful for their support in making this project possible.

Logos for supporters of the Threads of a City Project.