Tapestry

The Tapestry project is about ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. It's about those who have stood up for race equality and marched for equal pay. It highlights campaigners who fought for gay Pride and for disabled rights. In the workplace or on the streets; in the town hall or in Parliament, Tapestry collects and preserves the stories of people who have fought, campaigned, and lobbied for change.

Tapestry is an oral histry project that collects stories about individuals, organisations, and communities who have challenged unfair treatment. It might be racism, sexism, homophobia, religious hatred, ageism or any other form of discrimination. These stories will be disseminated through via an exhibition and a workbook for young people.

The exhibition
As part of the project we have created an exhibition drawing on interviews, photographs, newspaper articles, posters, and more. The exhibition is packed with information about the hidden history of struggle in marginalised communities. You can see more about how we developed the exhibition on our Facebook page here.  It is now touring across Birmingham; most recently we’ve been at Birmingham Central Library and Bournville College. From 8 March, the exhibition will be at Baverstock School.

You can see some of the exhibition's panels below. if you would like to display the full exhibition in your school, college, or community centre email us This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The workbook
With practical, thought-provoking activities, this workbook is a standalone accompaniment to the exhibition designed to get young people thinking about what equality, diversity, and human rights really mean in today’s society. The workbook is available to download for free: just click here.

Tapestry is a community project run by brap and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Its main aim is to collate, preserve and celebrate stories of activism in marginalised communities.