October 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.
OPEN CALL: AJF’S 2027 SOLO EXHIBITION AWARD
Open to jewelry artists of any age and nationality, this $20,000 grant has as its objective to support the creation of a solo exhibition to advance an artist working in the field of art jewelry. The proposed project should be about jewelry, loosely defined. Deadline: November 15, 2026. More.
SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR NEXT AJF LIVE: OCTOBER 23, 2026
Our guests will be American maker Aaron Decker and RISD Museum assistant curator Emily Banas. More info to come.
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
SHOP ERIKA NOVAK’S TRUNK SHOW AT MFA HOUSTON
The Chicago-based jeweler combines traditional metalsmithing with advanced design technology. Experience her innovative creations September 25–26, 2026, 11 am–6 pm. Info.
APPLY FOR 2027 RESONANCE RESIDENCY AT BKMW
Brooklyn Metal Works’s residency offers jewelry artists an opportunity to develop their studio practice while utilizing the unique advantages that come from being in New York City, an important hub of the contemporary jewelry scene. The three-month residency will enable jewelers at every level of their career to expand their practice or create a new body of work. Semi-private studio space on the educational floor of BKMW; resident artist reception; unrestricted stipend of $300 per month; $300 credit for use in the BKMW Tool Shop; $600 credit for coursework at BKMW; $500 stipend for an artist lecture; paid opportunity to instruct or assist a BKMW workshop; professional review of work created during the residency; and more. Deadline October 9, 2026. Get info here.
JANE BOWDEN SELECTED AS 2027 SALA FEATURE ARTIST
Every year, an established South Australian artist is celebrated as the South Australian Living Artist. This artist’s work features on the SALA poster and printed program and is exhibited during the SALA Festival. “It’s going to be an exciting year working on the SALA monograph with writers Eleen Deprez, Rebecca Evans, and Ingrid Goetz, graphic designer Rachel Harris, editor Penelope Curtin—not to mention making new work!” said Bowden. She owns Zu design, which turns 30. Double congratulations! More.
CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY COLLECTION EXHIBITION – TEREZA SEABRA
This isn’t an anthology of Seabra’s creative work, but a reflection of her vision as a collector, author, teacher, and gallery owner. Donated to Lisbon’s MUDE – Museum of Design, the collection embodies a museological strategy for the recognition of jewelry as a specific expression of design. This “closed collection,” assembled since the late 1960s, comprises over 300 works and represents a visual map of Seabra’s professional collaborations. At MUDE, September 25, 2026–January 31, 2027. More.
KERIANNE QUICK | OH WELL WHATEVER NEVERMIND, AT BKMW
The exhibition confronts the machinery of violence—and the apathy that allows it to become ordinary. At Brooklyn Metal Works through November 8, 2026. More.
COULEUR MATIÈRE, ENAMEL IN CANADA, AT PARCOURS BIJOUX
Enamel is experiencing a resurgence of interest among many Canadian creators. An ancient, demanding, and sometimes unpredictable technique, it requires patience, precision, and meticulous craftsmanship. Organized by Noe. Guyomarc’h. Info.
COSE DELLA VITA, AT GALERIE ROSEMARIE JÄGER, 27 SEPTEMBER 27–NOVEMBER 29, 2026
Works by Giampaolo Babetto, the outstanding goldsmith of the Paduan School; photos combined with small-format paintings and text fragments by Stefan Kraus, the former curator of the Kolumba Museum; and oil pastels by Katja Krumbeck. What unites the three artists? A delight for the eye, lived experience, and a quiet sense of humor in dealing with the “things of life.” More.
SEE ANGEL OR DEMON, OCTOBER 8–24, 2026
Curated by Elsa Vanier, it brings together 10 designers—including AJF members Niki Stylianou and Karin Roy Andersson—who reveal their vision of harmony or the apocalypse while drawing on the figures of the angel and the demon. Some propose a sensitive exploration of their relationship with nature and humanity, some question their work at the workbench, others address failures or anxieties, courage or gratitude. At Jérôme Guillochon – Pagliani, 16 Rue Vavin, 75006 Paris, France, as part of Parcours Bijoux. Info.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY: THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF JEWELRY, AT MFAH
The museum’s Millennium Corridor currently hosts an exhibition that pairs historical and contemporary jewelry pieces that carry private meanings. Closes November 1, 2026. More.
EARTHLY PARADISE—DANIEL KRUGER AND THE ART OF SEDUCTION
What do a shell, a gemstone, a piece of plastic, a relic and a fetish have in common? In Kruger’s work, they can be combined in a single piece of jewelry. His art jewelry is surprising, exuberant, sometimes mischievous, and always seductive. At Galerie Door, October 3–November 14, 2026. More.
DAVID HUYCKE: A CLOUD THAT WEIGHS MORE THAN THE MOON
Can a cloud weigh more than the moon? In his first solo exhibition in the Netherlands, the Belgian artist shows how silver can make intangible phenomena tangible. Huycke’s work moves between science and imagination, between precision and wonder. The silver pieces are reminiscent of planets, clouds, atoms, or landscapes. From a distance, they appear sleek and simple. Up close, a world of hundreds of tiny silver spheres unfolds. At Zilver Museum Schoonhoven, October 3, 2026–April 25, 2027. More. Huycke teaches at AJF member School PXL-MAD.
WINDOWS OF DESIGN, AT GALERIE ALINE VANDEPLAS
Features works by AJF members Anneleen Swillen and Märta Mattsson, Gesine Hackenberg, Isabelle Azaïs, Studio Do, and Jorge Manilla, one of the jurors for AJF’s 2026 Solo Exhibition Award. September 30–October 11, 2026. More. In collaboration with Design Museum Ghent.
CRAFTING CAREERS: CREATING A LIFE IN CONTEMPORARY ART JEWELRY
This hybrid workshop, taught by AJF member Jessica Armstrong (of Pistachios) and Heather Guidero, investigates the concept of jewelry as a small business by exploring the idea of production—the ins and outs of designing and creating a line of reproducible jewelry geared toward the market. Its primary focus is learning how to successfully take a design from conception into production. At Arrowmont, October 11–16, 2026. Get more info and register here.
ONLY WEEKS LEFT TO APPLY FOR LOEWE FOUNDATION CRAFT PRIZE 2027
The annual international award celebrates excellence and innovation in craft across all its forms—jewelry among many others. All shortlisted works will be exhibited in Europe in spring 2027. The winner is awarded €50,000, and two special mentions receive €5,000 each. Deadline: October 15, 2026. Rules and submission form here.
ALL ISSUES OF METALSMITH ARCHIVED AND FREE TO READ
SNAG’s Internet Archive is fully searchable by text—it not only searches the articles but the advertisements and all non-editorial content as well. Find them here.
CITATIONAL ART, AT MUSÉE DU BIJOU CONTEMPORAIN
Citation is a process in which an artist takes a world-famous work and uses it for certain well-defined purposes. For this update of a 2023 exhibition curated by Elsa Vanier for Parcours Bijoux, jewelry artists have reinterpreted famous works by artists such as Van Gogh, Soulages, Magritte, Cartier jewelers, or Roy Lichtenstein. They’ve transposed a work or a series which moved them with their own vocabulary. October 24, 2026–January 31, 2027. Info.
MARIANNE HUNTER COVERED IN PALOS VERDES PULSE
Hunter started working in enamel as a teen. “I’d been focused on the arts,” she said, “that had always been the trajectory for my life, and when I was still in high school, my boyfriend at the time said, ‘Have you ever tried enameling? It’s really fun. I did it in camp.’” They bought a kiln at a hobby shop, and that changed her life. More.
VERONIKA FABIAN AT ORNAMENTUM OCTOBER 1–NOVEMBER 3, 2026
Fabian—who serves on AJF’s Editorial Advisory Committee—won the 2026 Friedrich Becker Prize. More.
NEWS FROM ALL AROUND
MARJAN UNGER LECTURE 2026
What does craft have to offer now that artificial intelligence is taking over knowledge work? Through the example of the goldsmithing technique of filigree, goldsmith Eva van Kempen and archaeologist Maikel Kuijpers explore what craftsmanship means, from the individual maker to the broader sweep of human history. At the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 2, 2026, 19:00–22:00. More.
METALSMITH INVITES SUBMISSIONS FOR JULY 2027 SPECIAL ISSUE
The magazine is offering four pathways for being published: “Newly Minted,” Vision Board,” “Throughlines: The Past Is Present,” and “Call and Response: Rethinking Reviews.” Deadline: January 19, 2027. Info.
KYOTOOOOOOO JEWELRY 2026: OCTOBER 24–NOVEMBER 1, 2026
This new community-based art project takes jewelry into the streets, spaces, and everyday life of the Japanese city. It brings together artists, makers, businesses, and cultural organizations through exhibitions, events, and encounters across town, asking what happens when jewelry becomes more than an object to wear or purchase by becoming a starting point for exchange, expression, and connection. Info.
OPEN CALL—ISRAEL BIENNALE OF CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY
The organizers invite artists and designers worldwide to explore this year’s theme: “Silent Resonance—Between Independent Thought and the Movement of the Masses.” Jewelry is more than an ornament—it’s a statement, an idea, and a quiet force capable of sparking dialogue. Examine the dynamic tension between individual freedom and collective momentum. Deadline: November 1, 2026. Details.
RUUDT PETERS RETROSPECTIVE OPENS SOON
BEZIELING (afflatus) will showcase the artist’s career-long focus on bezieling (Dutch for “to infuse or bestow a soul onto an object”) and afflatus (“to blow or breathe upon”), standing for divine or deeply intuitive inspiration. At Museum Arnhem, in the Netherlands, November 21, 2026–February 7, 2027. Opening: Friday, November 20, at 5 pm.
REFLECTIONS IN JEWELLERY: MEMORY AND IDENTITY, OCTOBER 24, 2026–JANUARY 17, 2027
The show includes a large-scale public presentation of the Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry’s collection and masterworks brought to Japan from Germany after a 50-year absence, presenting approximately 350 pieces by post-war jewelry artists. The exhibition adopts a specifically Japanese perspective to examine the potential of jewelry as a form of artistic expression that has penetrated the wearable space. At the National Museum of Art, Kyoto, in Kyoto, Japan. More.
RADIANT PAVILION RETURNS FOR ITS SIXTH EDITION
With more than 300 artists participating in 59 events, the festival presents Australian and international contemporary jewelry and object practice across Melbourne. Through exhibitions, talks, workshops, performances, urban interventions, and roaming presentations, artists explore the many roles jewelry and objects play in our lives. Questions of identity, belonging and connection sit alongside cultural narratives, memory and our relationships with the environments we inhabit and care for. Check out the program here.
NEXT GEMFEST: OCTOBER 24, 2026, IN AUSTIN, TX, US
The event, which takes place throughout the year, is Shop LC’s free celebration of gemstones, jewelry, crystals, beading, shopping, learning, and community. More.
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