Blueberry Academy young designers create Printing The Petals installation to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in York

Provided with a simple brief of How Can Life Go On?, New Visuality director Greg McGee settled immediately on the motif of the flower. "It's an evocative motif and is used powerfully all the time to celebrate and commemorate," he says.

"But we're an innovative charity and it wasn't long before we thought, 'What about if we worked with a cohort of Blueberry Academy learners to design computer-aided design (CAD) files and print 3D prototypes of permanent flowers?'. It was just a case of calling the Blueberry Academy, who sourced ten very keen young people, and then we took it from there."

Blueberry Academy, at the Melbourne Centre, in Escrick Street, works with young people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities, encouraging them towards employment and stronger CVs.

"Blueberry Academy does such fantastic work and can bring support and guidance to what are exciting questions: how can issues of Holocaust Memorial Day be handled by a group of people traditionally ignored? How can findings reach as wide an audience as possible via bespoke interfaces in computer-aided design, 3D prints and digital, interactive projections?" says Greg.

"The fact that they will be working towards such an important event, when often their thoughts on these issues are overlooked in favour of their friends in mainstream education, is pretty much the reason New Visuality exists: to look at cultural concerns from a new vantage point, celebrating diversity and inclusivity all the while."

The Printing The Petals sessions have involved harnessing more traditional skills, such as drawing the contours of flowers, petals and roots with charcoal, graphite and pastel, and employing artist Jo Rodwell to draw with pyrography.

Transferring initial drawings to CAD files was trickier. "Though it can be satisfying, it's a frustrating process, especially for a learner with complex physical disabilities. A CAD file has to be spot on or the final 3D print will simply not work," says Greg.

A temporary installation at According To McGee, York, running from January 1 to 6, before the Holocaust Memorial Day installation later this month

For technical expertise on this final phase of the workshops, New Visuality approached Ripon business GoPrint3D. "They combine cutting-edge innovation with patient, reassuring guidance," says Greg. "It was incredibly satisfying to watch the faces of the learners as the prints emerged, fully three dimensional and faithful to their initial designs. 3D printing is a miracle at the best of times; this was game changing."

GoPrint3D managing director Joanna Young says: "We were delighted to be able to use our 3D printing technology to help New Visuality with their project; 3D printing is an awesome way to communicate thoughts, feelings and ideas. At GoPrint3D we believe that an image is worth a thousand words and a 3D print is worth a thousand images. Today 3D printing enables people to create, make and fix in new ways and it's more accessible and affordable than ever before."

The resulting Printing The Petals works will be on display in the window of According To McGee, opposite Clifford's Tower. "It's a powerful location for an exhibition like this," says gallery co-director Ails McGee. "Clifford's Tower will forever be chained to one of York's darkest memories, the murder of 150 Jews in 1190. Our small installation commemorating the memories of the Holocaust will hopefully go a tiny way in counterbalancing that, made as it is of hope, innovation, light and the creativity of York's most vulnerable citizens.

"What's been especially exciting is that as the project has progressed, we've dovetailed with other artists. Light installation artist Nick Walters is ready to take over our front window again with some cutting-edge projections, and York College has stepped up with students getting involved with their own responses involving glue guns and balloons. It's really gathering momentum."

"It's a multi-faceted project", agrees Greg, "The question posed by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is 'How Can Life Go On?'. It's a difficult question, especially in the awesome shadow of the Holocaust, but we like to think that by bringing in the creative opinions of our traditionally excluded citizens, and by using some of the most innovative technology, we have opened up the conversation a little."

Printing The Petals will be displayed in the window of According to McGee from January 23 to 29 before moving on to a permanent location in York, with more details to follow soon.