We are delighted to announce funding for four exceptional craftspeople through the Heritage Crafts bursary scheme. The City & Guilds Foundation provides up to £4,000 per person to support heritage crafts trainees whose talent might otherwise be lost to the sector were it not for vital additional hands-on training at the start of their career. This round we were happy to fund Ayham Aldoghim, Ziyaad Lorgat, Exauce Mondo, and Marcia Vidal.
Ayham Aldoghim, from Bristol, is originally from Syria and has been living in the UK since 2021. He will learn travel the UK to learn from experts in lime plastering, organised by Bristol Heritage Skills with the support of SPAB. Ayham wishes to develop his skills in order to help preserve his newly-adopted British heritage.
Exauce Mondo, from London, is currently working as a costume trainee at The Royal Exchange Theatre, where she receives a standard trainee wage to cover her living expenses, bills and childcare. She will train in fashion pattern cutting and garment construction with Susan Backhouse. Exauce plans to progress her career to Costume Assistant maker for performances, and work freelance in the future.
Exauce Mondo said: “I am so grateful to have been picked to receive the heritage craft bursary, which will help me progress my skills in pattern making and garment construction. I am currently working in a costume department for TV/film. I know with the training I will be receiving it will allow me to be more versatile in my career path and also independent.”
Ziyaad Lorgat, from Leicester, has begun to specialise in the repair and restoration of Islamic holy texts after being encouraged by members of his faith community. He will train in bookbinding with Chris Narayan and others. Ziyaad aims to become a skilled master bookbinder and eventually host bookbinding classes for others.
Ziyaad Lorgat said: “I’m very grateful for having been selected for a Heritage Crafts bursary which will give me an opportunity to learn techniques and skills from master bookbinders, which would not be possible otherwise.”
Marcia Vidal, from London, is a jewellery maker who wishes to develop her silversmithing practice in order to produce larger sculptural forms. She will train one-to-one with Russell Lownsbrough and Charlotte Desyllas, to be able to create highly sculptural pieces of wearable art, where the sculpted lines of the cast gold meld with the carved gemstones.
Marcia Vidal said: “I’m so excited and honoured to receive this bursary to enable me to study one-to-one with two masters of their craft, which will have such a massive impact on my ability to progress in my work. As a predominantly self-taught jeweller, it can take a while to figure out the best way to go about fabricating designs when working with a new technique (currently wax carving for me) and I know that studying with Russell and Charlotte will give me a much deeper understanding of the sculpting process and stimulate my imagination in new ways.”
To find out more about the Heritage Crafts bursaries, including 25 other recipients funding during this round by other organisations, see their website here: heritagecrafts.org.uk/our-stories/29-new-training-bursaries-awarded