Opening of the Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop

Venue

Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Scotland

When

Audience

Open to the Public

Category

Open Event

Opening of the Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop

Join The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust in partnership with Marchmont Creative Spaces as we launch a new home for silversmithing in the Scottish Borders: The Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop.

Day Programme

To celebrate the opening of the Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop, The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust has created a day programme for everyone from curators to collectors, and industry experts to those passionate about traditional craft. The day will include the formal opening of the workshop, talks, panel discussion and silversmithing demonstrations. Speakers will include Lisa Koenigsberg, President of Initiatives in Art and Culture based in New York City. The day will offer opportunity for networking and discussion, with time to enjoy meeting and talking with fellow attendees.

AT HOME WITH SILVER
DAY PROGRAMME Saturday 25 March 2023

MORNING

09:30              Refreshments on Arrival

10:25               Welcome
                        
Ebba Goring, Chief Executive of The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust

10:30               Marchmont: A new home to makers and creators
                        Hugo Burge, Director of Marchmont Ventures

10:45               The Power of Craft in a Transformational Age
                         How previous movements inform the future of culture

                        Lisa Koenigsberg, President & Founder of Initiatives in Art and Culture NYC

11:15                Refreshments

11:30                The Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop: A New Home for Silversmiths
                        Ebba Goring, Chief Executive of The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust

11:45                The Fifth Bench: International Residency at the Marchmont Silversmithing
                         Workshop: Creativity, Collaboration and Community

                       Professor Sandra Wilson, University of Dundee; Andean silversmithing,
                       Endangered Material Knowledge Programme of the British Museum.

                      We welcome Gabriela Andrade and Fernando Buitron from Ecuador - the first
                       residencies at Marchmont, with residency supported by the Marchmont Makers
                       Foundation and travel to Scotland made possible by The Silver Society.

11:55               Silver in Contemporary Life
                        Panel Discussion moderated by Corinne Julius, Critic & Applied Arts Journalist

                       Bryony Knox, Silversmith & Trustee of The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust
                       Sheng Zhang, Silversmith
                       Colin Fraser, Consultant Silver Specialist, Lyon & Turnbull
                       Anna Gordon, Head of Department, Silversmithing and Jewellery Design at The
                       Glasgow School of Art

12:45              Buffet Lunch and sign-up for afternoon activities

AFTERNOON

14:00              The Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop Formal Opening Ceremony
                       Hugo Burge will cut the ribbon and formally open the workshop.

14:15                Afternoon Activities
                        An informal afternoon of fun activities for silversmiths and visitors. Visitors
                        will be divided into small groups and invited to take part in activities.

                        Silversmithing Workshop Tour: Meet the Marchmont Makers
                       Guided tour of the workshop, meet the silversmiths and watch demonstrations.

                        Raising of a Silver Community Bowl: Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop
                       All visitors are invited to take part in raising from a flat sheet of recycled
                        silver, a ‘Community Bowl’.

                         Refreshments will be available in the Common Room

                        Group Discussion: Sustainability and ethical working practices for silversmiths
                        An opportunity to take part in a practical discussion about steps you can
                        take as a silversmith to make your business more sustainable and what it
                       means for your business with Dr Karen Westland.

16:30              Refreshments

17:00              Day end and transport to Berwick-upon-Tweed Station

To Book

Day Tickets (£90.00 per person) for Saturday, 25 March 2023 include lunch, formal opening of the workshop, talks, panel discussion and demonstrations. Return transfer to Berwick-Upon-Tweed station is also available to book (£10.00 per person).

Link to tickets:

www.tickettailor.com

About the Project

In 2020, The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust was generously gifted the entire contents of late Master Silversmith Graham Stewart’s workshop, including the tools, machinery and books he collected throughout his career and used on a daily basis. It was Graham’s wish, and the wish of his family, that these continue to be used to support early career silversmiths in Scotland.

The Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop will profile silversmithing as an important part of Scotland’s craft heritage and actively support its future. The ethos at Marchmont is in the spirit of the Arts & Crafts movement, inspired by the natural world. The addition of the silversmithing workshop alongside other traditional crafts based there will further enrich the cultural profile of the area and be a welcome addition to Marchmont Creative Spaces.

The workshop will provide opportunities for three early career silversmiths, Katie Watson, Scott Smith and Hannah Keddie, to develop their businesses over a two-year tenancy, with mentoring from master silversmith Ryan McClean.  A fifth bench will provide space for one-week to one-month long residencies, enabling silversmiths across the UK and internationally to develop new work and welcome knowledge and cultural exchange.

The Marchmont Silversmithing Workshop is a partnership project between The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust and Marchmont Creative Spaces. We would like to thank Hugo Burge, Director of Marchmont Ventures, for his vision to make Marchmont a home for makers and creators and ongoing commitment to the project.

We would like to thank the William Grant Foundation and the Marchmont Makers Foundation for their support of this project. Our thanks extends to the late Graham Stewart and his family, and our silversmithing consultants: Rod Kelly, Brett Payne, Bryony Knox and John Andrew.

scottishgoldsmithstrust.org/marchmont-silversmithing-workshop