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Goldsmiths' Foundation

@goldsmithsfoundation

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Advancing creative, technical, and vocational skills, education and training through grants, advocacy, and support for our charity partners

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In 2023 we awarded a £500,000 Landmark Programme grant to St. Paul’s Cathedral which will be used to in the major heritage restoration and conservation project of its Cupola, Ball, and Cross.

The structure rises from the Golden Gallery on top of the Dome, which at 365ft high is an iconic symbol of the City of London. Dating from 1710, and last restored in 1821, the Cupola is now reaching the end of its structural life and requires extensive essential repairs.

The multi-million-pound project will raise awareness of heritage craft skills and train apprentices in the skills required for the restoration, such as masonry, lead working and gilding. They recently have brought on two apprentices for the project, Henry (Mason) and Mhairi (Carpenter).

Keep an eye out for updates to this project. Learn more about the Foundation via link in bio

#Goldsmithsfoundation #StPaulsCathedral #Heritage #SupportingCraftspeople by @goldsmithsfoundation

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Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) is a contemporary independent arts centre and charity set in the magnificent surroundings of Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham. Founded in 1962, MAC presents a dynamic programme of art exhibitions, independent cinema, brilliant shows and performances, hands-on creative courses and much more.

At the heart of MAC is a focus on sustainability, accessibility, and inclusion. As the most visited free attraction in the West Midlands (Visit England 2023), MAC works extensively to support international and local artists, and develop programmes for and with our local communities. As a registered charity, MAC is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery through the Postcode Culture Trust and Arts Council England.

The £30,000 grant awarded by the Goldsmiths' Foundation will go towards The Birmingham Bench: a 12-month jewellery artist-tutor development pilot supporting three paid, Birmingham-based Jewellery Artist-Tutor Trainees to move from individual practice into teaching and paid creative work. This will take place inside MAC's live Jewellery Open Studio with mentoring, bursaries and public display through Made at MAC.

Learn more about our latest Open Grants Funding round via link in bio.

📸: @tegenkimbley

#GoldsmithsFoundation #charity #grantsfunding by @goldsmithsfoundation

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Boat Building Academy and Furniture School (@boatbuildingacademy) is a professional boatbuilding and woodworking training provider based in Lyme Regis, Dorset.

Founded in 1997 by naval commander Tim Gedge, they have trained over 2500 people through a range of courses in boat building and craftsmanship. Their world leading courses are focussed on professional training but also provide life-changing opportunities for complete beginners, enthusiasts and those on a gap year.

The £30,000 grant awarded by the Goldsmiths' Foundation will go towards the 2027 bursary fund, enabling disadvantaged students to train on the 40-week traditional wooden boat building course - a Red List endangered craft - and the 12-week furniture making course. Bursaries cover 50-100% of fees plus living costs; 100% of bursary funds reach beneficiaries.

Learn more about the recipiant charities via link in bio

#GoldsmithsFoundation #charity #grantsfunding by @goldsmithsfoundation

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Five jewellers. Five grants. Five very different next steps.

The Goldsmiths' Centre has awarded its 2026 Business Catalyst (Small) Grants to Aaron Caldwell (@ajc.goldsmith) of AJC Goldsmith, Heather Coleman (@heather.coleman.jewellery), Helena Palmeira (@helenapalmeira), Isabel Distassi (@isabeldistassi) and Aaron Whittingham (aw_goldsmith), each receiving £2,000 to invest in a specific area of their business, funded by the Goldsmiths' Foundation (@goldsmithsfoundation).

Aaron Caldwell is bringing laser welding in-house to reduce turnaround times on complex repairs. Heather Coleman is investing in a pneumatic graver system and specialist training to expand into grain and star-setting repairs and engraving. Helena Palmeira is combining new stone-carving equipment with photography, website improvements and digital sales materials. Isabel Distassi is funding advanced stone-setting and digital rendering training to take on more complex bespoke commissions. And Aaron Whittingham is purchasing a Durston drawbench and micro-plating unit to expand his in-house repair and restoration services.

The grants are open to UK-based sole traders and micro-businesses in jewellery, silversmithing and allied trades who have completed a business mentoring, consultancy or diagnostic programme. The next round is open and applications close on 11 October 2026. Full details at goldsmiths-centre.org/apply-for-grants by @goldsmithsfoundation

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Today the cohort of Craft and Design T Level jewellery students, studying at Aston University Engineering Academy (AUEA) in Birmingham, began their training with a visit to the Goldsmiths' Company at Goldsmiths’ Hall – the historic home of the jewellery industry – to participate in a creative inspiration day, part of the course’s integral work experience programme.

This two year course provides industry-level manufacturing skills, design process expertise, and business knowledge. The qualification provides students with a unique opportunity to blend creative jewellery-making techniques with essential business and industry knowledge.

In 2023 Aston University was awarded a £500,000 grant from the Landmark Programme towards the development of the new ‘Goldsmiths Institute’, a pioneering institute offering hands-on jewellery training for young people and educators.

#supportingcraftspeople #goldsmithsfoundation #astonuniversity by @goldsmithsfoundation

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19 days ago

We are pleased to announce that £628,000 in funding has been awarded to support organisations and projects focused on craft and the teaching and practice of hand skills through the Goldsmiths’ Foundation’s Summer 2026 round of Open Grants funding. The Goldsmiths’ Foundation funds organisations and projects that focus on vocational skills and training, working at the intersection of creativity and social change.

Projects supported in this round of funding range from an eight-month collaboration between Dame Zandra Rhodes and 20 young creatives from Stoke-on-Trent to create a collection of clay jewellery and accessories for the 2027 British Ceramics Biennial, through to the creation of a bursary fund that will enable students from disadvantaged backgrounds to train on a 40-week traditional wooden boat building course in Lyme Regis, and the live conservation of Gloucester Cathedral’s medieval Great Cloister through its Heritage Craft Skills and Public Engagement Programme.

Speaking about today’s announcement, Michelle O’Brien, Director, Goldsmiths’ Foundation said – “As the use of artificial intelligence and automation begins to reshape the working world – particularly for those entering industries for the first time – the development and support for skills and crafts that cannot be replicated by machines but live in the hands remain critically important. The projects we have funded in this round span the length and breadth of the United Kingdom and will create real opportunities for people working in endangered crafts, and those who have special educational needs, are turning their lives around in the criminal justice system or are from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds. In every case, building or convening communities to share the very human experience of learning, working and growing together.”

Learn more about the recipiant charities via link in bio

Image: Gloucester Cathedral

#GoldsmithsFoundation #charity #grantsfunding

Image: Sir John Soane’s Museum by @gardnergareth

Image: The Silk Heritage Trust by Dan Hearn

Image: Intoart, artwork ‘Totem Pole of Spirits (Big Tongue) by Danielle Green

Image: The Scottish Crannog Centre by @martinsh by @goldsmithsfoundation

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🎓✨ What a wonderful celebration of achievement, resilience and possibility!

This week Goldsmiths’ Foundation colleagues had the pleasure of attending the MBA 30 Graduation Ceremony 2026 with the @blackbritishinitiative (BBI) at SOAS University of London.

The valedictory speeches were powerful and deeply moving, with graduates sharing stories of perseverance, overcoming barriers and redefining what’s possible. Watching them celebrate their achievements was truly inspiring. 💫

The MBA 30 is about so much more than education. It’s about breaking barriers, building confidence, creating opportunity and developing the next generation of Black leaders.

Goldsmiths’ Foundation is pleased to be supporting through our Wardens’ grants programme which aims to strengthen civic life, widen opportunity and celebrate the people, institutions and traditions that shape the City of London.

Huge congratulations to all the graduates. You should be incredibly proud of everything you’ve achieved! 👏🏾🎓 by @goldsmithsfoundation

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The Foundation team were delighted to be invited to St Magnus the Martyr, London for an exclusive preview of the @hist_towns upcoming Atlas of London, marking the 360th anniversary of the eve of the Great Fire of London.

It was a fascinating evening celebrating London’s history, stories and remarkable heritage, and an opportunity to get an early glimpse of what promises to be a very special publication!

As part of the Goldsmiths’ Foundation’s ongoing commitment to the City of London, @thegoldsmithscompany Wardens were pleased to make a grant towards this project.

Looking forward to seeing more as we approach the launch in autumn 2027! 🌏 by @goldsmithsfoundation

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The Goldsmiths' Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Prideaux as its new Chair of Trustees. Michael succeeds the Foundation’s inaugural Chair, Dame Lynne Brindley.

Speaking about his appointment as Chair, Michael said: “It’s a great honour to have been asked to follow in Dame Lynne’s determined footsteps. The Foundation is rightly focused on the Goldsmiths’ heartland of technical and vocational training, within both our own craft and the wider creative industries. We want to become a real force for good in the sector, combining strategic research, major partnerships, such as The Goldsmiths’ Centre and the Landmark Grants, and open grant funding with, above all, rigorous research.”

One of nine trustees that were recruited to the Goldsmiths’ Foundation’s first board in 2025 for the depth and strength of their skills and experience across a variety of sectors and professions from charity to education, arts, culture and business, Michael started his career selling advertising space for the Financial Times in the 1970s and went on to spend the next three decades working in public relations. Firstly, as the Chief Executive of Charles Barker City – a leading corporate and financial public relations, advertising and design business – and latterly as Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Director for British American Tobacco, where he served as a member of their management board until his retirement in 2012. by @goldsmithsfoundation

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Today we are looking back at the annual Goldsmiths’ Foundation Summer Reception where we welcomed our charity partners to Goldsmiths' Hall. The event was held to celebrate the impact they have achieved in the last 12 months, and mark the announcement of our bold new five-year strategy (2025-2030) focused on creative and technical craft skill.

The initial impact of our new strategy is celebrated in the Goldsmiths' Foundation 2026 Impact Report. The report covers the second year of the Landmark programme, the first full year of its open grant-making, and the conclusion of its three-year partnership with organisations working to reduce reoffending through training and mentorship.

Read the latest from the Goldsmiths’ Foundation via link in bio.

📷 @jayne_lloyd

#GoldsmithsFoundation #charity #charitynetworking #tbt by @goldsmithsfoundation

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A Goldsmiths' Centre Business Catalyst (Small) Grant helped jeweller Estelle Burton (@estelleburtonjewellery) buy a lathe, and it changed the course of her practice.

Estelle works with industrial metal alloys and waste scientific glass, collaborating with a local glass factory to repair and fuse discarded materials into jewellery. After finishing her MA at Central Saint Martins, she needed a lathe to continue working independently. She found one on Facebook Marketplace: a Myford ML7, previously owned by an elderly gentleman who had used it until the end of his life. The grant covered the machine, transport, and local mentorship from ex-naval engineer Chris King, who rebuilt it alongside her and has since become an ongoing collaborator.

The lathe is now central to everything she makes, and the grant was just one chapter in a longer relationship with the Centre that has included a Precious Metal Grant, the Getting Started Online course, skill swap sessions, and short courses in chain making and filigree.

Estelle's full story is now live in the News section on our website. If a specific piece of equipment or investment would make a similar difference to your practice, Business Catalyst (Small) Grant applications are open. £2,000 for UK-based jewellers, silversmiths and allied makers. Full details at goldsmiths-centre.org/apply-for-grants.

Business Catalyst Grants are funded by @goldsmithsfoundation taken in The Goldsmiths' Centre by @goldsmithsfoundation

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