FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

University education usually emphasises design, and often does not offer professional experience. Our integrated approach features tailored individual, one-to-one support, with a mix of quality exhibitions and more informal selling opportunities to showcase new work and there is a strong emphasis on business skills. This is what makes Bishopsland unique.

This has been a proven success over the past 30 years. Over 200 makers have passed through our doors, with the majority of these still making their own work or in the industry and over 40 have gone back to studying at a higher level including at the Royal College of Art. Many Bishopsland Fellows (alumni) have gone on to gain important awards and commissions.

The majority have established their own business, either designing and making in their own workshop, managing their own gallery, or designing for the retail sector.

Whilst you are at Bishopsland you will have a range of opportunities to learn more about how to effectively run your own businesses (marketing, pricing, finance, working with clients) and gain hands-on experience of designing and making new work.

The programme is punctuated with a series of public exhibitions, linked to our masterclasses. Masterclasses vary from year to year, but they introduce and drive up specialist skills; exhibitions are where the resulting work is showcased and made available to a wide range of visitors and collectors.

We have worked with some of the UK’s top curators of contemporary craft, to stage exhibitions of Fellows’ work with the British Museum, Crafts Council at Saatchi Gallery, Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, National Museum Wales, Somerset House and the V&A Museum.

We also take part in more commercial events, such as Art in Action, Craft in Focus, Henley Festival and Presteigne Festival.

The cost of a one year residential stay at Bishopsland should not be prohibitive to any talented emerging silversmith or jeweller. As part of our Admissions process we will direct you towards income sources spanning bursaries, Universal Credit and paid work, all of which you are able to progress in tandem with your application.

During your time at Bishopsland you will be supported in your developing career through practical, development opportunities designed to provide our resident makers with specialist design and technical skills of the highest standard.

Short, intensive master classes are offered in specialist areas. These vary from year to year, but have included raising, chasing, engraving, enamelling, gold fusion and more; see ‘Community’ for details of master craftspeople who have led our master classes to date.

Alongside your technical development, networking, gallery introductions, together with professional exhibition opportunities are very important, as is a grounding in what is entailed in running your own business: costing and pricing, display and presentation, book-keeping and marketing.

We are open to applications from overseas but you do need to ensure you are applicable for the relevant visa.  We can offer only limited advice on the most suitable visa and how to apply from overseas and you may need to source further specialist advice.

During your residency at Bishopsland, you will be given business advice, combined with ongoing insights from our self-employed silversmith tutors. This advice will improve your understanding of how to manage your business as a self-employed designer maker.

In addition, you will have the opportunity to attend specialist training at the Goldsmiths Centre.

Bishopsland has well equipped facilities with space for up to 12 Makers with the workshops at the heart of our residential programme.  Each year, the work made here on site is shown in our exhibitions, where visitors and collectors can see new work by our current resident makers alongside work by our more established Fellows, and other artists and designers who work in precious metal.

Please check out our events page to see what we are up to or sign up to get updates from Bishopsland via our homepage.

Your residence at Bishopsland is overseen by the Principal, Angela Cork MA RCA, working closely with visiting experts that include Sheila McDonald, Patrick Davison, Bryony Knox, Peter Musson (RCA), all independent silversmiths and jewellers in their own right.

Their expert, supportive one-to-one and group tuition and advice is supplemented by masterclasses in specialist areas. These vary from year to year, but to date have included raising, engraving, chasing and repousse, enamelling and gold fusion.

During the Admissions process we will share in more detail the schedule of masterclasses and tutorials that will be on offer.