April 2026, Part 2
Art Jewelry Forum is pleased to share all jewelry news. If you’re a member of AJF, you may add news and ideas to this bi-monthly report by submitting here. If you aren’t a member, but would like to become one, join AJF here.
Some of the news items below have no accompanying images. AJF regrets not having the staff capacity to request imagery and permissions from non-members of AJF. You may send us a high-res image (1 MB or larger) for a news listing that concerns you by emailing our managing editor at nathalie [at] artjewelryforum [dot] org. We will promptly add it to the corresponding newsbyte.
TODAY! AJF LIVE: RINGS THAT ROCK AT THE DIVA MUSEUM
Monday, April 20, 2026, 12 pm EDT (18:00 Belgium/CEST). Register here for this free online program. Diamonds have never been merely precious stones—they have served as symbols of authority, marked political and family alliances, and sealed intimate commitments. Rings That Rock, at DIVA museum, in Antwerp, Belgium, brings together an exceptional selection of diamond rings to show how these small objects tell big stories about changing ideas around status, identity, emotion, gender, and craftsmanship. Join NYCJW founder and AJF board member Bella Neyman and DIVA curator Catherine Regout for a fascinating journey of the diamond ring from the 15th century to modernity. You’ll never see diamonds the same way again.
FEEL LIKE SEEING A JEWELRY SHOW?
Find listings from around the world on our dedicated exhibition page.
EVENTS
We have a dedicated page for them. Go here to see the list.
NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS
AEDO MAGAZINE PRESENTATION
On April 23, 2026, a series of one-off sessions presents content and insights into the first edition of aedo, the independent magazine dedicated to the culture of contemporary ornamentation. The magazine aims to be a rich source of information on the topic: a true bridge between Italy and the international scene. Conversations on the boundaries of art, design, graphics, and experimental jewelry with Eliana Lorena, Paola Stroppiana, Sara Barbanti, Francesca Mo, Carla Brusa, Eleonora Tironi, Eliana Negroni, #aedoers & friends. Info.
OPENING SOON: GERALDINE FENN’S DISPATCH FROM THE COLONIES
Fenn won the 2025 AJF Solo Exhibition Award. This $20,000 grant supports her upcoming exhibition at Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h, in Montreal, Canada. The show will run June 13—August 1, 2026, and AJF will attend the opening. (Maybe you can join us there?) Works in Fenn’s exhibition will explore power dynamics in the European colonization of Africa in a number of ways: with her ongoing series of narrative pieces that reinterpret historical portrait jewelry in silver and trade beads; with an exploration of micromosaic, a technique new to her; and with the expansion of a collaborative project with the beading collective Marigold, from Zimbabwe, that translates pixelated versions of the historical portrait jewels into woven beaded panels.
3RD LISBON CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY BIENNIAL—SEPTEMBER 17–27, 2026
With Coexistências/Coexistences, the biennial seeks to reflect on how jewelry expresses and represents the web of relationships between humans and the Earth’s ecology in its broadest sense. This edition focuses on an urgently relevant theme: our ecological survival and the place of the human in the 21st century. Artists explore utopian spaces and alternative realities, combining fiction and spirituality to suggest new and radical forms of coexistence. Activating the power of imagination becomes a liberating exercise in cosmopolitics, proposing connections to other systems of knowledge—such as mysticism, magic, and Indigenous epistemologies—as well as to artificial intelligence as a new way of organizing and understanding the world. There will be Masterclasses with Ted Noten and Sofia Bjorkman; registration for those is now open. Info.
BE PART OF NYCJW26!
NYCJW invites designers, artists, curators, and organizations worldwide to share bold, engaging programs for NYCJW26 that celebrate how jewelry shapes culture. The organization welcomes fully developed activities for exhibitions, workshops, performances, and more that inspire, educate, and bring people together. Have an innovative or collaborative idea? Get info. Deadline: June 30, 2026. NYCJW26 will take place November 16–22, 2026.
KEKE CRIBBS IS AMONG JRACRAFT 2026 SPRING CRAFT WEEKEND HONOREES
This year, JRACraft has recognized three outstanding artists as Masters of the Medium for their exceptional skill and influence in their given mediums: glass artist and AJF member KeKe Cribbs—congratulations!—fiber artist Piper Shepard, and ceramicist Winnie Owens-Hart. This award celebrates remarkable contributions to American craft education and a commitment to innovation and excellence in the field. The organization has also given the Distinguished Educator Award to Bruce W. Pepich, founding director of the Racine Art Museum, and Tom Loeser, the head of the wood/furniture area at UW-Madison, 1991–2020. More.
MATERIAL WITCHCRAFT, AT FOUR
How do objects change the life of people? How much do they carry in their sometimes humble forms? The most intimate of them—jewelry—clings to our bodies, creates ripples of meaning. In this exhibition, the works of three artists converge in a shared territory where jewelry becomes more than adornment. It becomes a ritual object, a spell, a fragment of the invisible. Tereza Seabra, Catarina Silva, and Marta Costa Reis meet here as alchemists of form, weaving together memory, desire, and transformation. Through May 16, 2026. IG.
BIJOU, CAILLOU…, AT GALERIE NOEL GUYOMARC’H
The show brings together nine international artists—Lin Cheung , Julia Maria Künnap, Craig McIntosh , Felicia Mülbaier, Julia Obermaier, Edu Tarin, Olaf Tønnesland Hodne, Oles Tsura, and Tarja Tuupanen—who reveal the raw stone in all its power and delicacy. In their hands, the material awakens to reveal unexpected jewelry. This isn’t about stones cut for setting in precious metal, but about artists who draw from stone fascinating and spectacular jewels, through a combination of traditional and contemporary techniques. The stone is no longer a fragment serving metal but becomes both artwork and adornment. Through May 16, 2026. Info.
APPLY FOR THE “HERE WE ARE” EXHIBITION AWARD
This award honors an accomplished Black, Indigenous, or POC jeweler with a rich body of work, providing $5,000 to bring a solo exhibition to life at NYCJW26. Receiving the HWA Exhibition Award is your chance to share your vision, creativity, and craft with a wide audience. Deadline: June 30, 2026. Info.
20 YEARS OF HEIDI LOWE GALLERY—CONGRATS!
The gallery will host a celebration in Lewes, DE, US, on August 28, 2026. For details: hello [at] heidilowegallery [dot] com.
MATRICES, WORK BY ROBIN DERIAZ, AT BORAX
A cage and a nest share the same anatomy: an empty space delimited by a material boundary, capable of protecting just as much as of enclosing. This exhibition will explore the point where these two concepts intertwine and merge, and it takes place in a disused prison. There, the artist will question the way the conditions of a space influence how we feel about it. Silver, copper, steel, aluminum meet organic matter such as resin or fibers. This mix references both the language of the nest and of the cage. It’s a study of the empathy of matter: aggressive structures attempting to protect fragile interiors, and vice versa. The cage and the nest are no longer opposites but equals. The body becomes the territory. Each piece exists as an autonomous ecosystem resting upon the skin. The wearer becomes the guardian of these spaces, the host who allows the object to exist. May 30–31 and June 6–7, 2026,13:00–18:00. Opening reception with the artist on May 30 at 18:00. More.
AT THE CELLULAR, SOLO EXHIBITION BY ELENA GORBUNVA, AT GALERIE DOOR
Gorbunova explores the idea of identity on a microscopic level. Her artistic practice focusses on upcycling polypropylene and other plastics. Opening: May 2, 2026, 15.00–18.00, in Nijmegen. Both the artist and her academic advisor, Naresh Yandrapalli, will be present.
MAD ABOUT JEWELRY: MAY 5–9, 2026
Now in its 26th year, the pop-up brings together 45 creators from more than 20 countries, including England, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Argentina, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and beyond. As the only American museum with a gallery dedicated exclusively to jewelry, MAD has spent over a quarter-century championing this medium. Info.
JELO6 ATHENS 2026, MAY 13–17, 2026
The central exhibition, Jewelry + Objects + Our 6 Senses, will be hosted at the Benaki Museum – Pireos 138. Satellite exhibitions and events will unfold across collaborating galleries and art spaces, as well as in alternative venues throughout the center of Athens. Website.
KONSTFACK STUDENTS PRESENT BODY DOUBLE AT SWEDEN’S SCIENCE MUSEUM
Inspired by the exhibition Hyper Human, at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm, 10 bachelor’s students from Konstfack’s Jewellery and Corpus: Ädellab program present a jewelry exhibition on the body, technology, and identity. Drawing on themes from such as gene editing, surveillance, artificial intelligence, ageing, and death, the works explore where the body begins and ends in a digital present and how the boundary between human and machine can be renegotiated. Through December 6, 2026. More.
DESTINATION BIJOU CAGNES-SUR-MER, JUNE 4–7 2026
Cagnes-sur-Mer, in France, will host its second jewelry week. With its seaside, its medieval Castle Grimaldi, its scenic medieval old town, and Espace Solidor—the only museum solely dedicated to contemporary jewelry in Europe—Cagnes is the perfect French Riviera location for a four-day event packed with a dozen exhibitions by international collectives and galleries, lectures (in French and English), open studios of local artists, guided tours, and workshops for kids and family. Destination Bijou will present an exhibition by Noel Guyomarc’h and Platina, and a lecture by Jennifer Altmann. More.
WANT TO PRESENT AT THE BJC?
The Baltimore Jewelry Center is seeking proposals for the speaker portion of its annual symposium on October 10, 2026. The theme of the symposium, Steady Hands, coincides with Handwork 2026, a year-long initiative presented by Craft in America that encourages organizations, educators, and makers to celebrate the diversity of the crafts that define America, bringing compelling stories and underrepresented art and artists into the spotlight. Deadline: June 21. Selected presenters will be notified by July 8, 2026. More.
NEWS FROM ALL AROUND
RUDEE TANCHAROEN TRANSFORMS PLASTIC WASTE INTO TREASURES
“It seems like we insist on inheriting plastic trash for future generations. So I’m improving their appearance to be suitable for being inherited,” says the Thai maker. More, from Garland magazine.
LEGNICA JEWELLERY FESTIVAL SILVER 2026 GRAND OPENING MAY 8–9, 2026
The town of Legnica, Poland, will soon once again become a European center of contemporary jewelry as this highly anticipated event brings together artists, designers, and audiences from around the world. During the opening weekend, visitors will experience a dynamic program spread across multiple venues in the town center, including exhibition openings, meetings, performances, and the ceremonial highlight—the awards gala of the 34th International Jewellery Competition EVERY BODY. More information along with the schedule and exhibition program here. General info here.
OPEN CALL: ENJOIA’T
The International ENJOIA’T Contemporary Jewellery Awards 2026 is accepting submissions. It celebrates innovation, excellence, and sustainability in contemporary jewelry. Prizes and recognitions include exhibition of selected artists at Disseny Hub Barcelona, September–November 2026; selected works for sale at Hannah Gallery; participation in CONTEMPORANIA Barcelona High Craftsmanship 2027 for the first-prize winners in the professional and student categories; Alliages Gallery award for one professional and one student artist. Deadline: June 14, 2026. More.
OPEN CALL FOR YOUNG MAKERS
In support of the new generation, designers of contemporary jewelry under the age of 26 may apply to AUTOR Young Designers—3rd edition at no cost. Deadline: April 30, 2026. More.
MUNICH 2027: MARCH 10–14
But mark your calendar and get ready for another whirlwind of a jewelry week
CARDI B COMMISSIONS BRACELET MADE WITH UMBILICAL CORD
Had you heard of this? It’s a thing! Although this news dates back to November 2025, it seems noteworthy enough to report late. The rapper celebrated her new baby by commissioning a gold heart-shaped keepsake cast from the dehydrated umbilical cord. More.
PAGES SPOTLIGHTING JEWELRY
WHEN JEWELLERY BECOMES ART, BY PAOLA STROPPIANA
An anthology of internationally renowned artists who have engaged with the theme of artist’s jewelry— from Lucio Fontana to Ada Minola, from Salvador Dalí to Man Ray, from Giò Pomodoro to Giovanni Corvaja—with 32 portraits originally published in the “Maestri orafi” column of the Corriere della Sera. Between memories and encounters, art and enterprise, the jewel emerges as an intellectual and identity-bearing language, capable of illuminating private experiences and public works of art, places and people in their daily and symbolic dimensions. An original perspective on 20th-century goldsmithing creativity, autonomous and fully accomplished work of art. Info.
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