Six commissions to celebrate 700 years – Goldsmiths’ Company announces 2027 Anniversary Awards
A wall sculpture giving voice to male mental health. Migratory birds and fish, inlaid in gold, tracing one maker's own family history of movement. A tribute in silver to the freedom a city once gave a young artist. The remnants of a lost industry, recast in metal by the granddaughter of the landscape it shaped. Six silversmiths, working in six corners of the UK, are each making a piece that could only have come from where they're standing.
As the countdown to its 700th anniversary begins, the Goldsmiths’ Company has today announced the six recipients of its 2027 Anniversary Awards, and the craftspeople they will be working with: The Ulster Museum, National Museums NI | Caitlin Murphy; Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales | Beca Fflur; Birmingham Museums Trust | Morvarid Alavifard; Sheffield Museums Trust | Abigail Asher; The Fitzwilliam Museum | Miriam Hanid; National Museum of Scotland | Caiyang Yin.
The 2027 Anniversary Awards – which highlight the Company’s centuries long commitment to the trade and craft of silversmithing – provide each institution up to £8,000 in funding to commission a piece that contains a significant element of precious metal, and that relates closely to the local area, landscape, audiences or communities.
Speaking about the Awards, Goldsmiths’ Company Curator, Dr Frances Parton said – “We are thrilled to be working with such a diverse and talented group of people on this exciting project in celebration of our 700th anniversary. Stepping outside of our home, in the City of London, the Awards have created the opportunity for the Goldsmiths’ Company to collaborate with curators from some of the most exciting museums and galleries in the United Kingdom. Together, they are commissioning pieces of unique, thought-provoking precious metalwork from a cohort of superbly talented silversmiths – work that will engage visitors within their communities for generations to come.”
When the finished pieces go on display in 2027 it will enable people across the UK to enjoy new and thought-provoking metalwork relevant to their local areas, landscapes and communities.’
Each of the pieces will be hallmarked and accessioned into the museum’s permanent collections and be on public display within their galleries from 2027.
Ulster Museum, National Museums NI x Caitlin Murphy
Ulster Museum, part of National Museums NI, located in Botanic Gardens, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
“The Ulster Museum is absolutely delighted to be part of this nationwide commission to celebrate the 700th Anniversary of the Goldsmiths’ Company. It is such a fantastic initiative by the Goldsmiths’ Company to bring together emerging silversmiths with notable museums to create a new commissioned artwork. Caitlin Murphy was the obvious choice for us, as a third-generation Northern Irish silversmith, her work is outstanding and deserves recognition in a national art collection.” – Kim Mawhinney, Senior Curator of Art
“I was over the moon when Kim Mawhinney reached out to me to invite me to take part in this milestone commission. As an emerging maker, it feels incredibly special to contribute to the celebrations of the Goldsmiths' Company's 700th anniversary.
Having grown up in Northern Ireland and spent much of my childhood visiting the Ulster Museum, it's a real honour to now create a piece that will sit within its collection. The work celebrates the legacy of the Goldsmiths' Company while reflecting the landscapes of home and the architectural character of Belfast.” – Caitlin Murphy
Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales x Beca Fflur
National Museum Cardiff, Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales. Photography by FfotoNant
“As Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales approaches the centenary of the opening of National Museum Cardiff in 2027 and works towards a major redevelopment of the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, we are excited to be able to work with the Goldsmiths’ Company on the occasion of their 700th anniversary to commission work from an emerging Welsh silversmith.
In her proposed piece Beca Fflur uses Wales itself as inspiration, looking at the impact of the slate industry on the landscape of Wales and re-imagining it in silver. It captures the remnants of a once thriving industrial heritage still visible today. This work also links two areas of the collection together: industry and art.
When we consider the impact of industry on the landscape during that period time it makes us think of what the future could be for the environment, for artists and for Wales.” – Elaine Manley, Curadur Crefft | Craft Curator
Beca Fflur
“I’m delighted to be taking part in the 700th year celebration of The Goldsmiths Company. As a maker and proud Welsh woman it’s a huge honour to have been chosen to create a piece of work for The National Museum of Wales in its 100th year that celebrates and illustrates landscape and history of where I grew up. Diolch am y fraint.” – Beca Fflur
Birmingham Museums Trust x Morvarid Alavifard
Birmingham Museums Trust ©
“Birmingham Museums is delighted to be working with Morvarid Alavifard and the Goldsmiths' Company on this commission. Birmingham is a city with a long history of metalworking, so we’re thrilled to have this opportunity to acquire a piece of contemporary silver by a young maker who trained in Birmingham. Morvarid’s piece is inspired by the skills of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, the historic jewellery in Birmingham’s collection, and her own heritage and experiences. It will be an exciting addition to the city's collection.” – Rebecca Unsworth, Curator (Decorative Art)
Morvarid Alavifard. Photography by George Baggaley
“Whispers of Freedom is a silversmithing project rooted in personal narrative, cultural memory, and the idea of freedom. Birmingham was the first place where I was able to experience freedom fully — creatively, emotionally, and personally. This commission has given me the opportunity to return to that formative experience and to honour a city whose identity is deeply connected to jewellery, craftsmanship, and metalwork.
Being selected by the Goldsmiths’ Company and Birmingham Museums is a great honour, and it has given me the opportunity to realise a work on a much larger and more ambitious scale than would otherwise have been possible.” – Morvarid Alavifard
Sheffield Museums Trust x Abigail Asher
Millenium Gallery. Photography by Andy Brown
“Abigail Asher’s commission provides a wonderful opportunity to further develop the city’s internationally significant Designated Metalwork Collection, and to also celebrate the Goldsmiths’ Company anniversary here in Sheffield. Abigail’s thoughtful response to both the collection and the industrial heritage of the city brings together contrasting materials of silver, steel and stone to deftly acknowledge the histories of craft and industry Sheffield is renowned for. We’re thrilled that the Goldsmiths’ Company commission will see work by one of Sheffield’s most gifted silversmiths join the city’s collection and look forward to sharing this important new acquisition with visitors in early 2027.” – Sian Brown, Head of Collections, Sheffield Museums
Abigail Asher.
“I am grateful to the Millennium Gallery for inviting me to design and create a piece of contemporary silverware inspired by the city of Sheffield. As my chosen home, Sheffield’s heritage, community, and landscape continually shape my practice and growth as a maker. Through this commission, I aim to produce a modern tribute to both the industries and materials that define Sheffield, as well as the skilled tradespeople whose work represents both its history and its future.” – Abigail Asher
The Fitzwilliam Museum x Miriam Hanid
Fitzwilliam Museum. Photography by David Valinksy
‘The Fitzwilliam Museum is grateful to the Goldsmiths’ Company for this Anniversary Award, which supports the commission of a substantial piece of contemporary silver from artist silversmith, Miriam Hanid. Miriam has taken inspiration from silver in the Museum’s collection and will produce two tea caddies that speak to historic worldwide trade and the use of precious commodities. She will chase these caddies and inlay them with gold, depicting Arctic Terns and Atlantic Salmon whose migratory journeys reflect her own family’s international movement, bound up with a long history of metalworking.
This work connects strongly with many of the Fitzwilliam’s aims: to tell more global stories about the movement of objects and people; to increase the proportion of works made by women in the collection; to support artists in the East of England; and to champion the importance of craft skills. This commission represents a significant addition to the Museum’s collection and we look forward to displaying it in 2027.’ – Helen Ritchie, Senior Curator Modern & Contemporary Applied Arts
Miriam chasing the 'Cascade Jug' Britannia silver. Photography by Andrew Florides
‘The making of the Migration tea caddies presents one of my most challenging technical commissions to date. Both pieces are asymmetric hand raised forms with hinged lids, chased and repoussé chased using my signature style of flowing high relief. I am additionally applying the Japanese Takaniku Zogan high gold inlay technique.” – Miriam Hanid
National Museum of Scotland x Caiyang Yin
National Museum of Scotland. Photography by Ruth Armstrong
“Thanks to this generous award, we have commissioned Scottish based silversmith Caiyang Yin to create a new sculptural work that highlights issues around male mental health. A dramatic wall sculpture in silver, it will visualise the anger and agony of isolation, frustration and inability to express emotions, through the technique of repoussé that Caiyang is highly regarded for. Our vision at National Museums Scotland is to inspire people whilst addressing the challenges of our age. As such we’re delighted to have the opportunity to commission this new work, which will be an important and powerful acquisition for our Contemporary Craft collection.” – Sarah Rothwell, Senior Curator, Modern and Contemporary Design
Caiyang Yin at Glasgow School of Art. Photography by Alice Biolo
“This commission will allow what I’ve been doing to resonate beyond myself and reach a wider public through the platform of National Museums Scotland. Receiving this award affirms the value of my artistic methodology and the way I approach making work — and that recognition is deeply meaningful to me, even exhilarating.” – Caiyang Yin