By Natasha Smith

A SCULPTURE celebrating the salt trade has arrived in a town known for its historic role in the industry.

Artist Katy Beinart travelled with her piece of art, called Saltways, from Gloucester Docks to Droitwich, between May 4 and May 6.

The sculpture has been commissioned as part of a Canal and River Trust art project celebrating Worcestershire’s waterways.

The structure of the sculpture was filled with salt from various countries, including Bolvia, Turkey and South Africa, alongside salt locally produced at Churchfield Saltworks.

Droitwich was founded on natural salt brines, and local waterways were used to export valuable salt around the world.

At its peak, Droitwich exported 120,000 tonnes of salt a year.

Tim Eastop, executive producer of the Canal & River Trust’s Arts on the Waterways programme, said: “Saltways promises to be a poignant and exciting spectacle recreating a waterway route that was travelled for thousands of years.

“The artwork will remind people that waterways are historic places that inspire creative insights about their past, as well as offering intriguing glimpses into their future as places of new culture and wellbeing.”

The work was inspired by the last ‘Wych Barge’ salt cargo boat to leave Droitwich in 1916 and is part of the Canal and River Trust’s The Ring art project.

A series of new commissions will be created by local and internationally celebrated artists on behalf of the charity.

Saltways will be displayed at the Salt Museum in Droitwich from May until September and on September 8 the sculpture will feature in Salt Fest.

For more details about the Canal & River Trust’s Arts on the Waterways programme visit https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/waterway-arts or www.theringart.org.uk.