An exhibition of historic tapestry on large canvases started in London on 24 April by the charity Care for St Anne’s.
A press conference, facilitated by Taysir Mahmud, General Secretary of the Press Club, was held on Friday, 18th April 2025, at the London Bangla Press Club Office in east London.
The press conference aimed to provide information about the upcoming exhibition at St. Anne’s Church, Limehouse, from April 24th to September 30th. The organisation “Stitches in Time” has been working for nearly 30 years to empower underprivileged women in Tower Hamlets, especially Bengali women, by offering an opportunity to learn new skills, such as needlework, various training programs including English language skills and financial support to help them become self-reliant.
Philip Reddaway, Chairman of Care for St Anne, Christine Sibley, Director of Stays on Times, and Ansar Ahmad Ullah, Care for St Anne’s friends, spoke at the press conference in the hall room of the London Bangla Press Club in the presence of a large number of journalists from Bangla media print, electronic, and online portals.
The representatives of Care for St. Anne said in written statements and response to various questions of the journalists present that a special five-month art exhibition has been organised from Thursday, 24 April, to 30 September. The exhibition will be held at St Anne’s Church, Limehouse, east London. We will exhibit eight historical tapestries in the exhibition.
The paintings depict the diverse cultural heritage of the borough of Tower Hamlets from the Roman era to the 2000s.
This rare tapestry is preserved in the Limehouse Town Hall, which is rarely open to the public. From the Roman period to the year 2000, Tower Hamlets and the people’s lives here have been beautifully documented.
To celebrate the Millennium, 50 tapestries were created. We have to organise eight pieces to be exhibited out of these 50. More than a thousand people from the East End participated in their creation. Local schools, community groups, and corporate organisations such as Morgan Stanley also existed.
This exhibition is jointly organised by Stitches in Time and supported by the “Care for St Anne’s” charity. For almost 30 years, Stitches in Time has been working for the development of disadvantaged women in Tower Hamlets. Women are given different types of training. Most British Bengali women come here to learn English and tailoring and become self-reliant.
On the opening day (Thursday, 24 April), the exhibition will remain open from 10 am to 4 pm. It will then be open from 10 am to 4 pm every Friday and Saturday. On the opening day, traditional Bangladeshi food arrangements will be available for visitors. The women of Stitches will exhibit their work in a workshop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The 300-year-old St. Anne’s Church in Lime House is an example of the extraordinary architecture of the famous English architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. He designed six churches in London.
At the press conference, Philip Reddaway said, ‘We want to make this church a centre of the community. We invite people from all walks of life to participate in the exhibition and view the paintings. Then they will know what Tower Hamlets was like thousands of years ago.’