Scunthorpe Steel - The Exhibition

This summer 20-21 is due to celebrate steel making in Scunthorpe with a major exhibition featuring new and archive films, photographs, artworks and objects celebrating and inspired by steelmaking in Scunthorpe.

The exhibition brings together previous photographic projects produced in partnership with the steel mill. Richard Heeps’ Rolled Out project is a visual record of the Bloom and Billet mill, photographed prior to its closure in 2007, and former Scunthorpe steelworker Ian Lee’s 88 and Out series documented the Plate Mill and its decommissioning.

These will be accompanied by a new series of photographs by Ian, documenting the Blast Furnaces and Continuous Casting mill.

Films on show include the cinematic film British Steel - The Movie, reclaimed previously unseen historical footage from the British Steel archive, and the documentary A Steelworkers Story, by artist Michael Burkitt.

We will also be holding an open-call for members of the public to submit photographs that present images of people, places and objects that represent what the steel industry in Scunthorpe means to them.

Alongside the work by artists and photographers will be various objects and artefacts loaned from collections including the Appleby Frodingham Railway Preservation Society, North Lincolnshire Museum and from the personal collections of some of the participants.

20-21 would like to thank British Steel for their support in this project, Nick Bates, Dean Winney and Ian Lee without whom this exhibition wouldn’t have happened, Andrew Plumtree from the Appleby Frodingham Railway Preservation Society, and the apprenticeship team at British Steel.

If you are a professional or amateur photographer, and would like to be included in this exhibition, please visit the group Scunthorpe Steel Through Our Eyes Facebook or the 20-21 Visual Arts Centre Instagram.

Image: The Slab Handling Bay Crane Track. Copyright © Ian Lee 2018