British Library and Artquest collaborate to find their first Jewellery Designer in Residence
The British Library has collaborated with Artquest to find the Library’s first ever Jewellery Designer in Residence. With the Library’s unique and vast collections at the heart of their research, the practitioner will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to access original content to inspire their designs and do something extraordinary in their field, from anatomical diagrams to Russian Avant-Garde posters to 1920’s fashion designs, as well as receiving expert advice from curators. The application deadline draws closer (Monday 9 July) with under a month to go. http://www.bl.uk/bipc/
Not only will the jewellery maker have unrivalled access to fascinating material and expertise, but the Library’s Business & IP Centre will give them a platform to build their idea into a product, guiding them from that very first idea through to its commercialisation. Over the last year the Library has run an ongoing support programme for jewellery designers and makers, from its Spring Market on its famous piazza to let designers who have used the Library for inspiration to sell their work, to ‘Make it, Sell it!’ speed mentoring sessions with brand such as Tatty Devine and Etsy.
The six-month residency is just one of the efforts the Library is making to support the creative industries in the UK. From fashion to film-making, the Library is an inexhaustible resource to inspire creatives, with collections including every magazine published in the UK, sheet music and music recordings, artists’ sketchbooks, Chinese woodblocks and calligraphy and Kodak Ltd’s historic archive to name but a few.
To enter the competition the practitioner must be based in London and have at least five years experience in making jewellery. The successful applicant will receive a £3,000 bursary and marketing support to develop and potentially commercialise a new and exciting body of work, as well as access to the Library’s collections and Business & IP Centre.
Frances Taylor, Marketing Manager, Creative Industries, British Library commented: “We are very excited about the wealth of innovative and exciting jewellery designers working in London and we’re delighted to be able to give one of them this fantastic opportunity. We think the residency will open the collections to be used in new ways. We want people to have fun, play with the collections, discover uncharted territory, and help to develop existing work in practical ways and maybe stumble across their next big idea!”
