Arts Bank

Steel Exhibition Moves To The Dorman Museum...

This new exhibition at the Dorman Museum, originally called

Death of Steel 1875-2010 and created and shown by ArtsBank

in 2010 as a response to the closure of the local steel works,

explores the ways in which the steel industry has shaped our

landscape and our lives.

Re-named Steel Life to reflect the recent announcement of the

purchase and planned reopening of the works by SSI, this collection

of work, from many decades, offers an insight into the changing

fortunes of the industry and the lives of the people at its heart.  To

the outsider’s eye, Teesside may seem like an environment

contaminated by heavy industry, but as these paintings, photographs

and sculptures show, to the familiar, the landscape can be awe

inspiring.

The exhibition at the Dorman Museum opens at a much more

hopeful time for steel making on Teesside. The exhibition reflects

this, celebrating the present and looking to the future of the Teesside

steel industry, as well as providing an insight into its recent past.

The new exhibition includes five life-size steel figures by sculptor

Ray Lonsdale, which attracted such acclaim when they were

displayed at ArtsBank. The exhibition also features striking

photographs by Ian Macdonald and Derek Smith, which will provide

visitors with a glimpse into the life of the blast furnace over recent

years.  A variety of new artwork by local painters and photographers

is also on show. The result is a powerful, emotive exhibition of high

quality artwork inspired by our region and its distinguished steel

making history.

Phil Philo, Senior Curator Museums, says - We are so pleased to be

able to stage this exhibition and to re-cast it as a celebration of the

changing fortunes of our local steel industry.  ArtsBank did a

fantastic job in bringing artwork of such quality and diversity together

for this exhibition – as reflected in the number of visitors who saw the

work in Saltburn and their positive comments about it.  We hope that

those who missed it the first time round will take the chance to see it

here in Middlesbrough.