A powerful new sculpture highlighting the impact of knife crime, and offering a message of hope for the future, will be installed in Becket’s Park later this year, funded by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (OPFCC).
The piece, designed by Northampton College student Amy Allebone, was selected as the winning entry in the college’s ‘Sculpture of Hope’ competition, where students were challenged to create a public artwork responding to the theme of serious violence and its effect on local communities.
Amy’s design, ‘Holding onto Hope’, depicts a lone figure with a heart-shaped void that allows light to shine through, representing both the devastation caused by knife crime and the belief that recovery and hope can emerge from loss.
The sculpture will now be handcrafted in steel by the College’s Fabrication and Welding team before installation.
Amy said: “I had the original idea a while back and had a few goes at it, before getting it to a position where I was happy with it. I want to raise awareness of such an important topic, that brings tragedy to everyday lives but also show a message that things can get better.”
Students presented their concepts to a judging panel including Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone, partners from Northamptonshire Police, West Northamptonshire Council, and Cheri Curran, whose son Louis‑Ryan Menezes was tragically killed in 2018.
Danielle Stone said: “It was inspiring to see how thoughtfully the students responded to the brief, producing powerful designs that captured the collective grief surrounding knife crime. The creativity and sensitivity shown made the judging process incredibly difficult.”
The competition forms part of Northampton College’s wider Humankind initiative, which encourages young people to engage with real-world social issues. The project has been delivered in collaboration with the Northamptonshire Serious Violence Prevention Partnership, which brings together policing, fire and rescue, health, youth justice and local authorities to reduce serious violence through prevention, early intervention and community engagement.
Danielle and her office are proud to support this work and to continue investing in initiatives that give young people a platform to influence change and help make Northamptonshire safer.
Danielle added: “Thank you to every student for your hard work, I look forward to seeing the winning design brought to life.
