The Culture of Cutlery
- Date
- 22 Apr 2026 - 24 Jun 2026 · 9am - 6pm
- Price
- Free admission
- Venue
- The Goldsmiths’ Centre, London EC1M 5AD
- Programme type
- Exhibitions and Showcases
The exhibition The Culture of Cutlery explores examples of European knives, forks and spoons designed for dining, dating from 1425 to the present day. It seeks to celebrate the extraordinary diversity of these forms and inspire innovations of the future. Drawing from the collections of the London Cutlers’ Company and Goldsmiths’ Company, and a range of modern and contemporary makers and businesses, it highlights the materials, techniques and cultural shifts that have informed the design and evolution of these tools of consumption.
A designer of cutlery takes agreed forms – handles, a blade, prongs and a bowl – and shapes them for comfort, beauty, taste, texture, balance, impact, experience and more. Research has proven that the particularities of the design can influence the experience of the food consumed. Whether eating quickly over a keyboard at lunchtime or savouring a meal during a fine dining experience, we will each know whether the cutlery is comfortable, and meal-enhancing or not, and so through history the form has been the site of great experimentation. Join us to explore this journey, from the personalised cutlery of the medieval period that travelled with its owner, to the boundary-pushing winning entries of the Contemporary Cutlery Design Competition, founded by the Cutlers’ Company in 2021.