A new banner for Rochdale 鈥� Unity Is Strength
Ruth Flanagan, who is an artist, Cartwheel Arts You Live and You Learn Coordinator and Community Innovation Practitioner through Creative Manchester, has developed Unity Is Strength.
Unity Is Strength was delivered by the Creative Manchester partner organisation, and demonstrates how a community arts project can place the participants as 鈥榦wners鈥� and build a space for reflection and conversation. A series of workshops brought together women from the town鈥檚 diverse communities, including women who have experienced forced migration, to create an embroidered banner.
Unity Is Strength is a programme with themes of home, diversity, cooperation, strength and unity. Unity Is Strength was a vehicle for a diverse group of women to communicate to the arts and culture sector the types of engaged practice that best meet community needs and creative aspirations.
During 2025-2026, Ruth Flanagan has been a Community Innovation Practitioner (CIP), working alongside TheUniversity of Manchester researchers through Creative Manchester and the School of Arts Languages and Cultures to introduce a research framework to her work finding connections in diverse communities through craft traditions.
The , are part of the and funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
The Unity Is Strength banner consciously echoed the historic banners of progressive organisations, including the Co-operative Women's Guild. The project was grounded in Rochdale's identity as a progressive town, the birthplace of the co-operative movement and as a home for diverse communities.
The banner's imagery was visualised and created by participants: motifs drawn from Rochdale's 19th century Town Hall sit alongside the Red Rose of Lancashire, Afghan pomegranates, Romany Vardo roses, and symbols representing Jamaica and Barbados as a visual representation of the group's collective identities. The project culminated in an April launch event at the town hall, featuring a Citizens' Jury in which participants reflected on the project's themes and how the shared practice of embroidery had crossed cultural boundaries.
Zulfar, originally from Afghanistan and now settled in Rochdale, spoke at the unveiling:
"I dedicate this banner to Rochdale. This project has been grounding and energising for me. We shared love and friendship, and patience while learning new skills. I chose to embroider a pomegranate, which in my culture symbolises abundance and happiness. For me, the banner also reflects a wish for peace for people all over the world."