P & O Makower Trust Commission 2022 for the Victoria and Albert Museum

P & O Makower Trust Commission

2022 commission for the Victoria and Albert Museum

Call for Applications

The Victoria and Albert Museum is pleased to invite entries for the P & O Makower Trust Silver Commission.

An exciting opportunity that looks to support recently graduated and early career silversmiths in the creation of a major piece of silver that will go on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

For over 45 years the Penelope & Oliver Makower (1974) Trust has commissioned major objects of silver to go on long term loan to national museums throughout the UK including the Victoria and Albert Museum, National Museums Scotland, Ashmolean Museum and National Museum Wales. Notable previous awards have been made to Jane Short, Rod Kelly, David Clarke, Ndidi Ekubia and Nan Nan Liu.

The purpose of the commission is both to support a recently graduated or early career silversmith extend their craft as well as provide public exhibition of their work in one of the UK’s leading museums.

This commission will be for the creation of a new work in silver and will prioritise individuals who are using traditional methods in new and exciting ways, be that by embracing digital technology or developing new techniques for working metal. Applicants may wish to explore the use of silver in conjunction with other metals or materials. Please note that any additional materials must degrade at the same rate as silver and materials such as plastic and rubber will not be accepted. The value of the commission is £6,000 to include materials and making and is designed to support recently graduated or early career silversmiths.

The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects, books and archives that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The museum holds many of the UK's national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance.

The commissioned piece will be displayed in the Whiteley Silver Galleries at the V&A, alongside the museum’s modern and contemporary silver collections and previous commissions by the P&O Makower Trust. Key moments in the development and making of the piece will be documented on the V&A’s website.

The judges for the competition will include V&A staff, the Makower family and professionals from the silversmithing craft.

To Apply

If you would like to be considered for this commission, please send a CV with contact details, a personal statement about your practice (max 250 words), and 6 good quality digital photographs of your work via email or Liquid Files to the following address by 6th January 2023: r.knott@vam.ac.uk

Applicants should provide examples of at least three different objects. Please note that a) jewellery is not permitted within this commission and b) entries are sought from recently (last seven years) graduated or early career silversmiths. The images should be size A5, 300 dpi. Any queries should be directed by email to Becky Knott, Curator of Metalwork 1900-Now.

From the images supplied the judges will select a shortlist of candidates who will be invited to present more detailed sketches in person of their proposed piece to the panel at the V&A (London). It is envisaged that the shortlist will be announced by 20th January at the latest and those shortlisted will be interviewed on 30th January. Reasonable travel expenses for shortlisted candidates will be covered by the Trust.