Tapestry Tour at Leeds Central Library

The Leeds Tapestry is a sixteen panelled piece of communal public artwork capturing the heritage and culture of the city. Each panel uses a variety of techniques from photo printing to embroidery and rag rugging. Take a tapestry tour of this unique piece of history art and community representation to understand the people behind it as well as the people woven into its fibres.

Each panel aims to highlight a certain aspect of the city. You can see familiar scenes from carnival, chinese new year and millennium projects alongside allotmenteers, musical ensembles and south asian dancers. Other panels include Enterprise, Sport (which is thankfully not entirely dominated by Leeds United) and the Legal Sector which features some particularly well crafted judges.

Kate Russel, a local community artist, was the driving force behind the creation of the tapestry. Her vision was to capture a rich snap shot of Leeds Life within textile form. It the amount of labour involved in creating such an artwork cannot be underestimated. The section with the judges mentioned above, although its scale is relatively small, required over 50 hours of work to complete.

Local businesses, school children and community organisers all contributed to the final artwork meaning that the community is truly incorporated rather than just represented in the work. It also means that the stories, people and history involved in bringing this large scale work to life have created an oral history within itself surrounding the work. This is where a tour will give you a much deeper understanding and insight of the work rather than just looking at it.

The tapestry is currently on display in Leeds Central Library and even if you can’t attend a tour it’s well worth a visit. Whether you’re a born and bred local or visitor there is something relatable to everyone woven into the panels. You’ll find the beginnings of household names like Marks and Spencer.