“The links of the chain are of equal strength” celebrates the journeys, long and short, that Courtaulds Ltd employees made, the process involved in creating the yarn, and the diversity of the workforce that came together to contribute to Preston’s rich textiles heritage.
Inspired by the work of students in two Preston secondary schools, local artist Gavin Renshaw developed this mural in Spring 2022.
Workshops took place in schools in March 2022
Working with artist Gavin Renshaw and illustrator Toya Walker, Year 9 students at Christ the King Catholic High School and Penwortham Priory Academy used the memories of former Courtaulds Ltd textile factory workers to think about their own connections to industrial heritage and migration before creating their own art works about factory life in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
Students responded to the research material through activities focused on collage and ink drawing
Gavin prepared preliminary sketches to plan the mural
The school groups visited Gavin during the painting of the mural to check on progress and provide feedback on the design
