‘I attended the sessions hosted by wonderful artists Hayley Mills-Styles and Elnaz Yazdani.
Threads of Freedom was a new take on the Leeds tapestries, a project by artist Kate Russell taking place in the millennium. It was made by thousands of folks in Leeds who took part representing the different communities that made up Leeds in the year 2000.” – Joanne Coates
By Joanne Coates:
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“There are elements of pop culture, style references, a real tapestry of community. Hayley and Elnaz took inspiration and were making a tapestry for 2025 to be displayed alongside the original. Groups got stuck in, talking, learning new skills. The first session I largely observed, meeting families and talking to them about the tapestries and what they were making. I went home and tried some embroidery with some cheaply printed photos from that first session, piercing the surface of the photo and picking up on the new skills shared. The results weren’t exactly what I had in mind, but it made me think of textures and layers.” – Joanne Coates
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“People who never had an Art Education worked on it [..] people that went to college, been carers earlier who got married young, who worked full time jobs, you know, lots of people. A lot of elderly people worked on it. A lot of those people wanted to go to art college, they never got the chance. The project supplied them with professional embroiderers and taught them skills that they would not have otherwise had the chance to learn. So they got something out of it.’’
– Kate Russell
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“To see people’s faces when they see the work on it, it’s really lovely and it’s why I do what I do. That storytelling and that bringing things together. I help people to find that creative voice and give them the tools to unlock it, and that’s what’s really lovely. People might come back to embroidery or people might have an idea. We’ve been able to talk them through how they can bring that idea to life. They have it – I give them permission to play and explore their ideas.” – Hayley Mills-Styles
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“The next session I recorded with participants and artists involved. Chatting to them about the work. This led to a portrait studio on the opening night. Glimpses of emotions and feelings. People would witness their contribution to a new tapestry before making their way in and expressing whatever emotion they felt.” – Joanne Coates
Joanne Coates
Joanne Coates is a working class visual artist using the medium of photography. She lives and works across the North East of England. Her work explores rurality, hidden histories, and inequalities relating to low income through photography, installations, and audio. Using photography to question stories around power, identity, wealth, and poverty, Joanne was first educated in working-class communities, and then at London College of Communication (BA Hons Photography). Participation and working with communities are an important aspect of her work. She is deeply attached to places, the memories they hold and the people who inhabit them. Her work is often made from a lived experience perspective touching on class, disability and gender.
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