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Supporting a community arts installation for Bradford's successful City of Culture 2025 bid

Authors

Dan Lax

Metal Store - Marketing Manager

2 minutes read

25 Aug 2022

Situation

The People Powered Press is a not-for-profit letterpress and arts workshop based in Shipley and holds the world record of having the largest printing press of its kind in the world.

The organisation works in collaboration with community members, printers, designers, artists and a wide range of writers, to make large scale letterpress works from its workshop at Salts Works in Shipley.

In support of Bradford’s bid to become UK City of Culture for 2025, The People Powered Press was asked to create a huge metal installation for a giant letterpress mural in the heart of the city.

The mural series would feature poems written by local residents and community groups across the region and would be located in Bradford’s City Park during the judging process. The People Powered Press also required a solution which could be achieved quickly.

Oli Bentley of the People Powered Press carefully applying the large letterpress prints to the huge yellow frame

Response

The People Powered Press approached The Metal Store about helping with the cost and supply of the materials to create this unique community arts project. As a company, we were more than happy to oblige and support a worthy cause within our local region.

Firstly, we reviewed the drawings which The People Powered Press provided and helped finalise the parts list to ensure that all the components were going to be as required.

We provided The People Powered Press with powder-coated yellow steel tubes and the relevant Q clamp fittings to enable the artwork to be displayed on a 12-metre long and 2.4-metre-high scaffold frame.

By using a ‘key clamp’ system, the structure made for neater, non-over lapping joints to the poles, creating a more aesthetically pleasing frame to display the work.

A smaller yellow frame sitting to the side of the large mural showing all partners and sponsors including The Metal Store

Results

The collaboration between The People Powered Press and The Metal Store played a part in the local community’s wider contribution to help Bradford be named the UK City of Culture for 2025.

Located in City Park across April and May, the words on the mural changed weekly to give voices from across Bradford a platform. The letters had each been hand-printed by a member of the community on The People Powered Press and were displayed on the frame created using our products.

The People Powered Press will also be able to use the frame for future art installations and projects which it has planned for across the region.

A wide shot of the big, bold yellow mural with Bradford City Hall as a backdrop

Oli Bentley, founder of The People Powered Press, said:

"Thanks so much to The Metal Store for helping us in making this mural. The team’s support has meant we could make something big, bold, flexible and reusable, and in a short space of time. Lots of people commented on how striking the yellow frame looked."

“The products supplied by The Metal Store has given The People Powered Press a way to display the giant murals it makes with community groups across the region for years to come.”

At The Metal Store, you’ll find a range of steel tubes, including a galvanised or powder coated finish, as well as a large range of tube clamp fittings. With tube and clamp fittings, the only real limit to what you can create is your imagination.

If you need some help bringing your ideas to life like the People Powered Press, get in touch today and our expert team will be on hand to offer all the help and guidance you need. Call us 01274 875 479 or e-mail on [email protected]