Community Created Tapestry to be Unveiled – Bradford Cathedral

A new tapestry that invited visitors to weave their own story as part of Bradford Cathedral‘s contribution to the UK City of Culture 2025, will be unveiled next week.

It will be shown alongside a “sound tapestry” of people’s voices – all part of the Cathedral’s ‘Weaving Stories’, project.

With funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Cathedral invited local communities and visitors to co-create a piece of art through a loom installation, where everyone was invited to add their line.

The tapestry was designed to bring together the rich, shared stories of Bradford’s wool trade—a heritage deeply embedded in the city’s diverse, global communities.

The Bradford Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers gave advice on weaving processes and spun and dyed the wool used in the tapestry.

Bradford wool processing business, Howarth Scouring gave Bradford Cathedral the fleeces for free, and the West Riding Stone Carving Association made Yorkshire stone loom weights which are part of the final artwork.

The woven artwork was led by Shaeron Caton-Rose, a local visual artist.

The ‘sound tapestry’ was compiled by the sound artist Ellen Sargen and drawn from the people of Bradford who shared how and why they came here.

The launch event on the 3rd February will bring together the many participants who worked on, funded, and evaluated the project and will hear from the lead artists on their design processes, as well as from Cathedral staff on the building’s woollen history and the legacy this project will have in its collection before the tapestry will finally be unveiled in the Cathedral’s south ambulatory.