Al Simm

Al is an experienced metal worker, who discovered his artistic talent by chance. He specializes in creating large scale sculptures created from recycled material. He is a juried member of the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council and his work is featured in galleries throughout Nova Scotia. In fall 2017, Simm completed work on The Canada Gate. It is a memorial project installed at Flanders Fields in Belgium. Artist Nancy Keating did the design work and Simm built the 4 metre, one tonne sculpture in his Annapolis Valley studio. The gate’s two arches are designed to encourage visitors to reflect on Canada’s part in the Great War, the wood at its base represents the duckboards that lined the trenches, and the steel poppies represent the Canadians who were there. The barbed wire, which will wind around the stems of the poppies, represents the horrors of war.