The Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship & Learning (METAL) program, led by IACMI – The Composites Institute® with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program, announced a new partnership with the Pittsburgh-based Patterns of Meaning Initiative, an innovative program that introduces steel, specialty materials and metal manufacturing to K-12 students through the arts. 

"Manufacturing - including steel and metal production - is necessary for the future and depends on new artisans capable of the creativity and innovation it requires,” said Cory Bonnet, Pittsburgh-based artist and Patterns of Meaning founder. “The goal of Patterns of Meaning is to update the cultural perception of heavy manufacturing from a dying industry to a creative and vital essential human contribution by revealing its contributions to our past, its critical role today and its potential for solving problems in our future.”

Patterns of Meaning is an unprecedented collection of industrial artifacts, paintings and sculpture honoring the industrial era. Its K-12 initiative is a unique curriculum that combines classroom project-based learning with experiential fine art exhibits, including artwork in steel, glass, ceramics and wood. 

The partnership with METAL will be piloted in public schools in Allegheny County and surrounding counties. It includes classroom presentations, field trips to Patterns of Meaning Exhibit Hall, and hands-on instruction guided by local faculty for class art projects focused on the metalworking industry. Projects may include drawing, painting or collage for younger students, then progress to more complex projects using computer-aided design, wax models, sand casting and additive manufacturing processes for advanced learners.

By introducing students to the creative and technical opportunities within engineering and sciences through fine art, the initiative will reach students not traditionally tracked for careers in these fields.

Since its kickoff in 2023, METAL - a U.S. Department of Defense-funded program that is developing a skilled trade pipeline to fill gaps in the U.S. metallurgical and manufacturing workforce - has gained significant momentum, including a rapidly expanding network of university hubs that assist with K-12 and adult metallurgical training. Tennessee Tech, University of Alabama and Michigan Tech are the most recent additions, but the network also includes The Ohio State University, Penn State and the University of Tennessee.  

"We applaud Patterns of Meaning for its innovative efforts to transform public perceptions of the steel industry and manufacturing through fine arts,” said METAL National Workforce Manager Lucinda Curry. “Patterns of Meaning engages youth in metal manufacturing, aligning with METAL’s mission to strengthen the future metalworking workforce.”

Visit the Patterns of Meaning Workshop and Exhibit Hall in the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. and for a limited time in Brooklyn, N.Y. Patterns of Meaning is displaying its works at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition in the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh’s exhibit entitled “Brooklyn X Pittsburgh: The Industry of Art” in Brooklyn, New York from July 19 to August 24.

For more information, visit https://www.metalforamerica.org/, https://iacmi.org/ or https://patternsofmeaning.org/.