The Walsall Silver Thread Tapestries is a set of eleven artworks in tapestries, designed by the artist Hunt Emerson in conjunction with the various communities of Walsall, England and hand-stitched by local people there in 2016. They depict the people, places, history and wildlife of the towns and districts that, since 1974, have formed the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall.
The works were commissioned with grant funding of £73,740 from Arts Council England to commemorate the 25th (or silver) anniversary of Walsall Council's Creative Development Team.[1] The team was disbanded before the project was completed.[2]
The tapestries are in three sizes: a large one for Walsall itself, six medium size and four smaller pieces. In total, they cover over 12 square metres (130 sq ft).[3] Work was carried out under the auspices of Creative Factory, a community interest company.[2]
In January 2017, they were exhibited at The New Art Gallery Walsall, and afterwards at several venues around the borough, including St Matthew's Church, libraries, and Walsall Leather Museum.[3][4] As of 2019, the tapestries are exhibited at Walsall Arboretum Visitor Centre.
The work is dedicated to Maxwell Bailey, manager of the Creative Development Team, who secured the Arts Council grant, but died before the work was completed.[2]