Our Work / Archive / Uncovering Carlisle’s Textile Revolution

Uncovering Carlisle’s Textile Revolution

2018-2021

Funder: The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Artform: Visual Art, Theatre

Participants: Prism Arts Studio Arts, Prism Arts Studio Workshop, Prism Arts Creative Arts and Conversations, Distington Community School and Upperby Primary School

This project has explored Carlisle’s textile industry from the 1700s, looking at how the major changes in technology and transportation made Carlisle into one of the country’s major textile towns. The project began in 2018 and over the course we have worked with many organisations and many people. Work has been created by people from our groups; Studio Arts, Studio Workshop and Creative Arts, as well as pupils from Distington Community School and Upperby Primary School.

Groups researched the textiles industries of Cumbria. They then used their research to create artwork for two exhibitions, one in Carlisle Library and the other at Whitehaven Library.

During the COVID pandemic we commissioned Haltwhistle Film Project to turn the stories created by participants of Prism Arts Studio Workshop into animations which can be seen below. These stories were originally planned to be made into a piece of theatre, due to the pandemic we had to adapt our plan.
We are so pleased to have such an amazing result from this work! We are very excited to share these with you and hope you enjoy them.

Special thanks to Linton Tweeds, Farfield Mill, Sedbergh, Carlisle & Whitehaven Libraries and the Beacon Museum, Whitehaven who offered their time, knowledge and access to buildings and services during this project.