Thursday 29th December 2016 I went to visit the millennium galleries in Sheffield. It was a completely spontaneous trip therefore I have very little knowledge to what the current exhibition being held was, however turned out to be incredibly exciting. It was the 'Made in Sheffield' exhibition that was current, a celebration of all things designed and manufactured in Sheffield. Born and raised in Sheffield, I felt proud to be a part of the creative heritage we hold as a city and the traditions we carry with us.
Walking into the room, I was greeted by a huge variable pitch propeller blade by Castings Technology International. The atmosphere is instantly captivating. Carrying on ahead, objects and mechanisms got all the more exciting. In Sheffield we hold a strong tradition for medical sciences and development in prosthetics, not for the faint-hearted, but incredible to see.
It was also so warming to see so many steel pieces within the exhibition due to being so famous for our steel making heritage. I loved seeing the fact that many manufacturers around Sheffield have carried on the tradition. Alongside this, it was with the metal work and jewellery cabinet I found a new local artist that I love! Janine Barnsley uses silver with gold wire detailing which sometimes she oxidises. Her influences come from natural forms and ancient artefacts from ancient cultures however the few of her pieces I saw were based on that of a modern city scape.
The highlight of the exhibition though for me was the 'explosion' of tools. It's a sphere of Sheffield made tools suspended from the ceiling, and its effect is incredible, really shocking.
The exhibition in itself says so much about the city, from silversmiths to artists, breweries to fashion designers - it's a dynamic coming together of the creative capacities of a city and how they all work so well with each other.