The British Stainless Steel Association (BSSA) and some of its members have assisted young people from around the UK to create a stainless steel sculpture which is now scheduled for a permanent siting on Salford Quays opposite the Lowry Gallery, Salford, UK. The sculpture, inspired by the artist Lowry, formed the centrepiece of the SkillWeld stand at SkillCity, a recent four day event at Salford Quays, where more than 80,000 young people had the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of more than 100 vocational skills. Designed by Jason Boothroyd and a team of students from Manchester College of Arts and Technology, the sculpture depicts a man and his dog, two children playing football and a lamppost. Assisted by welding engineers John Pearsall and Les Ness and artist Tim Tolkien, great nephew of J.R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings, the figures were constructed from small pieces of stainless steel plate and tube, welded together by students from six different FE colleges. The sections were assembled at Mitsui Babcock and completed by the ten finalists of this year’s SkillWeld competition. BSSA members AvestaPolarit and Metalfin contributed the stainless steel plate and tube and Stainless Restoration chemically cleaned the components of the sculpture. Partner organization Metskill provided career information for young people in the metals industry on the SkillWeld stand. The Association of Welding Distributors acted as the main co-ordinator of the project with Arts and Business providing financial support.
