Rajesh Gogna

25 Years Supporting Silversmiths

RAJESH GOGNA

Chair 2020 - 2023

Rajesh Gogna has over two decades of significant and progressive experience forged by establishing a career as a contemporary craft practitioner and academic within the field of Contemporary Silversmithing commanding interest from a worldwide audience since 1998.

Rajesh is the fourth generation of goldsmith/ silversmith in his family who creates one-off pieces of functional and sculptural collectable art objects.

Rajesh is the current Chair of Contemporary British Silversmiths and a founding trustee of the CBS Charity. He aims to make a significant contributes to the future development of the Silversmithing industry by consulting on strategic developments of the association.

Rajesh is a freeman of the Goldsmiths' Company and gained freedom of the City of London in 2013. He uses traditional handcrafted techniques to produce all of his work with the addition of his unique concepts to contemporise the ancient craft of Silversmithing renowned for his master craftsmanship.

He has established an impressive portfolio and his work has become collectable classics of the future commanding interest from both national and international collectors and Museums.

Rajesh’s creations are in the permanent collections of the Kamm Teapot Foundation USA, National Museum of Wales, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and Cartwright Hall in Bradford. His work has also been featured at the V&A Museum within numerous exhibitions, Koldinghus Museum in Denmark and Hame Castle, The National Museum of Finland to name a few.

In my first year as Chair, I have overseen and directed the process of recruiting founding trustees and registering the new CBS Charity with the input of our committee members. I have been approaching funders to support the next phase of our very successful Skills training programme which came to the end of Phase 1 in June 2021.

Our current and future ambitions include:

Creativity & Aspiration
Supporting and developing the voice, audience and understanding of contemporary silversmithing through creating opportunities to extend the portfolios of our diverse range of members. Deliverable through creative themed exhibitions/collaborations- national & International/ scaling up business/ challenging new ideas for the context of silver in sustainable life.

Community & Networking
Organising and delivering an International symposium titled ‘Celebrating Silver’ to mark the significant milestone of our 25th Anniversary. Bringing together our strong network to reflect on the past and to look ahead and influence future opportunities whilst highlighting the challenges of contemporary silver within a global context. Build on current International networks to draw in a wider perspective and engage broader audience towards contemporary British silversmithing.

Skills & Knowledge Transfer
As founding trustee of the new CBS Charity, direct and support the future ambitions and objectives of both organisations to further the subject and transfer knowledge, whilst maintaining the highest standards within our field.

Champion the routes of access to entering the world of silversmithing with a diverse and broad cultural perspective.

Create a research platform for academics and makers to explore, exchange and investigate the richness of the subject beyond the norm to push the boundaries of cultural heritage and innovation potential.

Legacy & Archive
Establish the start of the CBS silversmithing collection that will act as a critical and aspirational case study for the purposes of education and training. (Loaned to museums/ galleries and educational institutions to inspire others).

CBS Chair Rajesh Gogna
Rajesh Gogna
Rajesh Gogna
Rajesh Gogna

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