Elena Karpilova, Steven KP, Anneleen Swillen, and isabel pontoppidan wang

Steven KP is an artist, jeweler, and educator based in Providence, RI, US, whose work and research is centered around investigations of material culture and empathy, queer and intergenerational ecologies, and the human body as a site of resilience. KP received their MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in jewelry and metalsmithing and graduated with a BFA in metals and painting from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. They currently teach as a visiting assistant professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. KP’s work and critical writing has been widely featured in publications such as Metalsmith magazine, Ornament magazine, The Decorative Arts Trust, Art Jewelry Forum, and the German arts and culture magazine Art Aurea. Their practice is represented by Gallery Loupe, in Montclair, NJ, US; Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h, in Montreal, Quebec; and Galerie Beyond, in Antwerp, Belgium. Photo courtesy of Steven KP

Elena Karpilova was born in Belarus in 1987. Since 2022, she has lived in Lisbon, Portugal. From 2005–2009, she studied art at Glebov Art College (Belarus); from 2010–2016 she studied at the University of Culture and Arts (Belarus) as a comparative art critic. She is an art critic, an artist, and the head of an interdisciplinary project for children and youth, the Architectural Thinking School for Children, which now works in Portugal with families of migrants. “Due to a lack of education in the jewelry field in Belarus," says Karpilova, "I've been studying the subject on my own." Finalist of the AGC Italy - Association of Contemporary Jewellery's Maria Cristina Bergesio Award 2024. Member AGC (Association of Contemporary Jewellery). Website: https://elenakarpilova.com/. Instagram: @elena__karpilova. Photo courtesy of Elena Karpilova

isabel wang pontoppidan studied audiovisual arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and graduated with an MA in artistic research from the University of Amsterdam. Her work has been shown at the Stedelijk Museum, Salotto SPJ, Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, Hartwig Proxy, Stichting Perdu, and IHM Talente, among others. She works out of her independent studio in Amsterdam and as a freelance editor for Current Obsession. Photo: Tyler Chan

Dr. Anneleen Swillen is a researcher and lecturer at PXL-MAD School of Arts and Hasselt University, Belgium, where she also leads project coordination and fundraising focused on emerging technologies and the arts, connecting higher arts education and research in the arts with societal partners. Her practice—encompassing artistic projects, writing, and curation, among others—addresses themes, questions, and methods around, and with, more-than-human entanglements, intra-actions (Barad) between technologies and bodies, and co-creation with nonhuman actors. Her background in jewelry design, gold- and silversmithing (BA), object and jewelry (MA) and curatorial studies (postgraduate) formed the foundation for her PhD: an artistic research on jewelry and presentation through performative installations, active archives, and experimental publications (2015–2019, PXL-MAD and Hasselt University). In 2020, as part of her postdoctoral research (2020–2025, PXL-MAD and Hasselt University), she co-founded Artificial Intelligems together with composer and digital artist Greg Scheirlinckx. Through participatory projects involving more than 100 participants and a custom AI model, they co-create Ornamutations and Ornamisms. By creating space for diverse forms of knowing (embodied, relational, artistic) alongside transdisciplinary dialogue, artistic-philosophical experimentation, and critical reflection, they aim to broaden perspectives on themes such as human-centered design, materiality, and authorship. Swillen has curated exhibitions, conferences, and debates internationally, and is regularly invited as a speaker, writer, and jury/committee member. She is a member of the editorial board of Collateral Journal and an invited reviewer for the Journal of Jewellery Research. Her work has been exhibited internationally and included in various publications. Photo courtesy of Dr. Anneleen Swillen