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1396 Educators providing Courses in London

Stanley Picker Gallery

stanley picker gallery

Kingston upon Thames

Fabien Cappello Streetscape (2015) installation view. Photography Ellie Laycock About 7 March 2022: Stanley Picker Gallery and our partner venue Dorich House Museum are shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent events over the past weeks. We share the concerns raised by Arts Council England and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) about the risks faced by cultural professionals as well as the threats to cultural heritage because of this conflict and we send our support to all creative practitioners and cultural organisations and institutions affected. 5 June 2020: Stanley Picker Gallery and our partner venue Dorich House Museum recognise we must do more as cultural organisations to be actively anti-racist. We commit to taking immediate steps to implement a clear plan of action to address systemic racism at every level of our organisations, whilst actively seeking and welcoming critical engagement from diverse perspectives in this process. Stanley Picker Gallery at Kingston University is one of the leading university galleries and commissioning venues in the UK, working with artists, designers, students, academics and members of the local community to encourage creativity, learning, research and innovation. Established in 1997 with the ongoing support of the Stanley Picker Trust, the Gallery forms part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio and is a principal cultural interface between Kingston University and its civic communities in South-West London and beyond. From its island location on the Hogsmill River, our venue is a creative hub, a production site and a presentation space that functions as an “expanded studio” dedicated to commissioning and curating contemporary art and design practice, generating a dynamic programme of exhibitions, events and participation activities staged onsite, offsite and online. Appointed each year through public open call, our Stanley Picker Fellowships in Design and Fine Art support a diversity of contemporary practitioners to research, create and premiere ambitious new work, by providing generous grants, free studio space, professional expertise and valuable access to the world-class workshop facilities at Kingston School of Art. The call for applications opens annually in May. Our Participation Programme involves us working collaboratively with schools, colleges, community groups and local residents of all ages, to deliver a range of creative activities and shared learning and professional development opportunities for students, that engage everyone in the life of the Gallery, our partner venue Dorich House Museum and the wider University. Follow us Twitter @PickerGallery, Instagram @stanleypicker and sign up to our mailing list for the latest updates on the programme, and to receive invitations and newsletter on our activities and how to get involved.

Kelvin J Birk

kelvin j birk

London

Kelvin J. Birk produces jewellery as well as larger objects, mainly in silver and gold with all types of gemstones. Within his work he crushes precious gemstones and glues them back together, sometimes in a random uncontrolled shape, other times in a more controlled manner and then combines these stones with jewellery pieces or objects in precious metal. Within his work he is consciously disregarding what is traditionally considered precious. Birk revels in a lack of control, allows chaos to take over and the nature of the precious materials to dictate the final outcome of the pieces. His collection is constantly developing and through different creative processes new pieces emerge all the time, ensuring that no two are identical. Like the experiences of personal life, there is always destruction and loss yet out of these processes come new things and new orders. Kelvin J. Birk’s jewellery illustrates this theme of chaos and re-creation. There is always order in chaos, we lose things and we gain things. It is a constant. After Graduating in Goldsmithing and jewellery making at the Berufsfachschule fuer Glas und Schmuck, Germany, Kelvin J. Birk took his MA in Silversmithing and Jewellery (awarded with distinction) from the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art in London, UK (1997). Kelvin exhibited at various fairs and exhibitions in Great Britain, Europe, the USA, China and Taiwan. His work won him several prizes and awards and he received several grants from different funding bodies. His work has been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers and in a range of jewellery and design books. Kelvin is available for consultations and happy to discuss special commissions and bespoke pieces. He became a specialist in up-cycling old jewellery, where he recycles your unworn jewellery into a stunning new wearable piece of jewellery.