The Young Artist Award (YAA) competition recognizes innovative work created by a jewelry artist early in their career. Through the Young Artist Award, AJF supports new and exciting work that will direct the future development of the field.
AJF’s award and grant programs are made possible by individuals who believe funding art creation is an important way to show their appreciation for the arts. For the third cycle in a row, the Young Artist Award competition is generously supported by collectors Karen and Michael Rotenberg, whose collection focuses on the innovative use of alternative materials by emerging talent and mid-career artists. AJF is deeply grateful for their commitment. Their leadership and generosity are funding not only the prize for the winner but US$1,000 awarded to each of the four finalists.
Follow AJF on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to our mailing list to keep up to date on the different award and grant opportunities we offer.
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
PURPOSE OF AWARD
To acknowledge innovation and individuality in the work of a contemporary jewelry artist who:
- Is early in their career
- Has created an independent body of work
- Shows potential for continuing to create new work and is rigorous in their approach to creating and producing new, exciting, and thoughtful viewpoints
- To advance the career of a promising artist
AWARD
- Unrestricted cash award of US$7,500 for the winner
- Unrestricted cash award of US$1,000 for each of four finalists
- The winner will be recognized as a member of AJF on AJF’s website for one year
- An interview will be conducted with the winner and each of the four finalists, to be published on AJF’s website during the spring of 2024
- The applicants who make it to the second stage of the jury’s three rounds of deliberations will be highlighted in a photo essay on AJF’s website
This year’s jury will consist of:
- Artist Mallory Weston (US), winner of the 2022 AJF Young Artist Award
- Gallerist and collector Atty Tantivit (Thailand)
- Artist and educator Ted Noten (the Netherlands)
ENTRY CRITERIA
The applicant must be
- A maker of wearable art jewelry
- 35 years of age or younger on December 31, 2023
- Not currently enrolled in a formal academic degree program (BS/BA, MS/MS/MFA, etc.) or a vocational training program. If you are enrolled in a PhD program, we will review your eligibility on a case by case basis.
- Work submitted must have been unsupervised; work from thesis and/or graduate degree shows is not eligible
- Submitted work must have been completed within the previous two years, i.e., for the 2024 award, work must be completed in 2022 and 2023
- Applicants who have applied previously must submit new work, i.e., work submitted in a prior AJF Young Artist Award application may not be resubmitted in the current application
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS
The following information must be submitted in English via the CaFÉ website, which is here.
- Current resume (one page long maximum)*
- Artist statement relating to the work submitted, maximum 1000 characters*
- Date of birth (you must be 35 years of age or younger on December 31, 2023)
- Whether you’re currently enrolled in a formal academic degree program (yes/no); if yes, you are not eligible
- If you’re represented by a gallery (yes/no); if yes, name of gallery(ies)
- If you’ve applied for the Young Artist Award previously (yes/no); if yes, when
- How you learned about this competition (e.g., instructor; posting at school; curator; gallerist; SNAG News; magazine [specify]; social media; collector; AJF newsletter or website; or former award winner)
- Level of professional training (BA, BFA, MA, MFA, or self-taught) and date of completion (month/year graduated)
- A minimum of six and maximum of 10 digital images showing up to eight pieces of work*
- One image must show a piece being worn on the body; one image must show the back side or underneath side of a piece
- Image requirements: Follow the image requirements on the CaFÉ website (Link will be active on August 6, 2023)
- Please note: All images submitted must be available at 300 dpi, landscape preferred, TIFF or JPEG, and file size 3000KB. If your application makes it to the finalist round, we will request high-resolution images from you, to be used by AJF for print media and promotion
- Each image file must be labeled with the following:*
1. Title of piece
2. Year produced
3. Materials
4. Dimensions in millimeters
5. Photo credit
*Do not include your name on the resume, artist statement, or images, as the jurying process is blind.
Applications close at 11:59 p.m., Mountain Time Zone (Denver, CO, USA), on November 6, 2023. Incomplete and late entries will not be accepted.
WINNER’S RESPONSIBILITIES
- The winning artist and finalists shall ensure delivery of work to AJF member gallery Platina to be displayed during Munich Jewellery Week 2024
- The winning artist and finalists will be presented to the audience at the Internationale Handwerksmesse, on Saturday, March 2, 2024, during Munich Jewelry Week. The winning artist is expected to travel to Munich, Germany, in March 2024 for the award presentation, where they will deliver a 10-minute presentation about their work. The artist will arrange travel at their own expense. The four finalists will also be invited to attend, but are under no obligation, and will also arrange their own travel
- The winning artist is expected to participate as a juror in the next Young Artist Award competition, to be held in 2026
AWARD NOTIFICATION
- Jury review will take place in December 2023 and January 2024
- Work will be judged on originality, depth of concept, continuity of design, and quality of craftsmanship
- There will be three rounds of review. The top 10%–15% scoring artists in the first round of individual juror review will be moved to the second round. After the second round of individual review, the top scorers will advance to the third round, where the jury will meet to select the winner and four finalists
- The winning artist will be notified in mid-January by telephone and email, and is expected to arrange travel to Munich Jewellery Week—at their own expense—to be present when the award is formally announced
- The four finalists will also be notified by telephone and email in mid-January
- All applicants will be informed by email after the winner and finalists have been notified
- The winner and finalists will be announced just before Munich Jewellery Week so they can enjoy being celebrated as such during the event. The award ceremony will take place on Saturday, March 2, 2024
AJF does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, race or color, religion or creed, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.