Happy day-after-Bastille-Day! In honor of the holiday that commemorates a major event in the French Revolution—the storming of the Bastille prison, on July 14, 1789—today’s photo essay takes you to France.
Espace Solidor – Musée du Bijou Contemporain is in the city of Cagnes-sur-Mer, on the Riviera, in the south of France. Olga Zobel Biró, from Galerie Biró, in Munich, played a key role in founding this little museum, and has curated more than 20 exhibitions there. Without her commitment, this museum would not exist. It currently has 298 pieces in its permanent collection. The museum only sees itself growing, and it’s open to accepting donations. If you’re a collector and seek a home for your pieces down the line, consider emailing the museum’s curator, Emeric Pinkowicz, at e.pinkowicz@cagnes.fr.
Pinkowicz started working with the museum three years ago. He brings a background in art history and museums, with a specialty in conservation. That makes him interested in protecting the jewelry collection, archiving it, and collecting all associated background information, including artists’ bios. His associate, Myriam Theveniaud, has worked for the city for 20 years. She focused on graphic design in art school. She creates promotional materials, works with the curators to help set up exhibitions, and catalogs the pieces. (And rounded up many of the photos for this photo essay.)
Contemporary jewelry is growing in France—slowly, but it’s growing. The issue, says Roland Constant, first deputy to the mayor of Cagnes-Sur-Mer, is that France has no university or school specializing in contemporary jewelry. The country only has schools that teach traditional jewelry, or art and design schools—ENSA, in Limoges, and HEAR, in Strasbourg—that have departments for contemporary jewelry. France has hosted four iterations of the triennial event Parcours Bijoux, however. And Espace Solidor – Musée du Bijou Contemporain hosted the first Destination Bijoux Cagnes-Sur-Mer this past May.
Click on the photos to learn about what they show.
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