Laying weapons down as sculpture

  • News
  • 4 March 2016

On Tuesday 8 March 2016 The Dean of Manchester will host the official unveiling of a special sculpture by artist Karen Lyons related to gun violence and how this can be transferred into something positive for our communities, as part of the ‘Guns to Goods’ campaign.

The sculpture is a portrait bust of Manchester peace activist Erinma Bell MBE DL, made to a scale 1.5 life-size. It is cast in iron retrieved from guns and weighs 50kg.

The unveiling will take place at 6.30pm in the Cathedral’s Regiment Chapel with Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd performing the ceremony. The artist will then share her thoughts and inspiration for the piece with the audience.

Professor Paul Haywood will address the crowd on the ‘Guns to Goods’ campaign and its plans for the future, with Greater Manchester Police providing an update on the current situation in the UK regarding gun crime, successes and the current situation in Salford.

Erinma Bell will then be pleased to share her thoughts about her current and future work.

Manchester Cathedral has an existing close association with the work of Erinma Bell, who is an active member of the Challenging Hate Forum and the Modern Slavery Multi-faith Forum. The Cathedral has long supported initiatives towards peace, and it celebrates the positive contributions made by diverse communities to the social and cultural richness of the city of Manchester.

Admission is free and refreshments will be provided. Do please join us for what promises to be an inspiring and informative event. All welcome.