Mural honours immigrant ‘women of steel’ who worked in Montreal textile factories

Residents and visitors of Saint-Simon-Apôtre Park, in the Chabanel area, will soon be able to admire a new mural paying tribute to the many immigrant women who worked for years in Montreal’s textile factories.

The project is called “Women of Steel,” or “Le Donne D’acciaio” in Italian.

“We want to render homage to the women who worked in the factories, textile factories of Montreal, because we don’t want them to be forgotten,” said Margherita Morsella, one of the women behind the project.

“We have to give a voice to the women who were always in the background. They were key to the community progressing.”

Morsella believes the factory women deserve artwork and monuments recognizing their contributions.

“If we have professionals in our communities, immigrant communities, it’s because these immigrant women worked so very hard without ever complaining, without ever demanding, and they’re very humble,” she said.

“And so I think that they deserve something grand, to walk on a red carpet and to have a statue in their honour, because that is the ultimate goal.”

“Women of Steel” project honouring immigrant women who worked in Montreal’s textile factories. (Teresa Romano, OMNI)

Earlier this month, a big step was taken in the “Women of Steel” project – when artists Nicole Boyce and Helenka began work on the mural.

“This is a project with a lot of emotion, a lot of stories, and I was happy to be part of that and to give them another life,” said Helenka.

The mural was created with a strong input from the same women it intends to honour. They shared their stories by bringing with them objects and tools from years of working in factories, where they often made little money.

With Helenka, they created a collage that inspired the final version of the mural.

“They actually brought us all the things which were important for them and we included them into the mural,” said the artist.

“We went back 10 days later and the work on the mural is quickly advancing before the official presentation on October 18.”

Open Gallery 5 items

The mural is part of a bigger project to honour grandmothers, mothers, sisters, aunts and even neighbours – those “women of steel” who left their native countries to provide for their families and who greatly contributed to the city’s economy and history.

To carry out such a long-term project, there is a committee of women and organizations, like the Centre des femmes solidaires et engagées, working together on different initiatives to honour the women.

Vera Rosati, director of Inca-CGIL in Montreal, is part of the committee. She’s working daily with many of the women and knows firsthand how much they deserve to be recognized for their contribution to the City of Montreal.

“Everyone is super excited,” said Rosati. “I think they’re just so proud that they’re finally being recognized as women who contributed maybe even more than men. I shouldn’t say maybe – they did contribute more than men. So they’re very, very happy, excited.”