Pavilion project uncovers stories of migrant textiles workers in post-war Leeds
Florence, Meeting Point Leeds
Organisers of a major two-year project, aiming to connect local people with the untold histories of Leeds, are appealing to the local community in a bid to uncover and document stories of migrant textile and garment industry workers. Interwoven Histories, which has received a significant boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund, will highlight the important contributions that migrant workers have made to the textiles and tailoring heritage of Leeds.
The project is co-ordinated by visual arts organisation Pavilion, in conjunction with Leeds Industrial Museum and refugee support service Meeting Point Leeds. The intention is to assemble a new archive of visual and oral material over the next two years; Pavilion, whose brief is to encourage diverse audiences to engage with the visual arts, has also commissioned various citywide events, including an artist film and a series of talks and exhibitions, to accompany the project.
Conceived as a positive response to increased hostility towards migrants in the media and among some politicians, Interwoven Histories will explore these wider social and political concerns through a public programme of visual art. “Leeds is a city that has been built through the skills, creativity and labour of people who have come to Britain from all over the world,” explains Director of Pavilion, Gill Park. “As the city prepares its bid to be European Capital of Culture we wanted to foreground the stories of the city’s migrant communities who have made Leeds such a rich and interesting place to live.”
Anyone wishing to contribute stories, documents or visual material to the project should contact Kerstin Doble at Pavilion via kerstin@pavilion.org.uk