Lecture

We recently featured some examples of art jewelry being worn—here and here—so we thought we’d follow up by exploring the idea of whether art jewelry has to be worn at all. Can installation work be considered jewelry and live within our field? In this brief video from 2016, artist and AJF contributor Courtney Kemp delivers […]

March 24, 2018 AJF board member Susan Cummins discusses the work of MacArthur “Genius” Joyce J. Scott. Scott is a master craftsperson—having adapted many techniques from around the globe to incorporate into her wearable sculptures. Photo courtesy of Craft in America Craft in America, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission

November 16, 2017 These days, young silver artists in Mexico are not producing endless interpretations (and copies) of the great designs from the 40s and 50s. They have given themselves the ultimate challenge—to develop exciting new ideas while maintaining the silver techniques that were the great innovations of the maestros—innovations that should not disappear. The

August 11, 2018 A talk by Chicago-based artist Kiff Slemmons on the occasion of the opening of her exhibition, Collective Presence. Slemmons speaks about her evolution as an artist and also the 17+ year collaboration with the Taller Arte Papel of Oaxaca. Photo courtesy of Craft in America Craft in America, Inc. is a Los

In this humor-filled 14-minute talk, filmed at AJF’s 2018 Collectors Symposium on January 14, 2018, Sarah Thornton (who writes on art, the art market, and the art world, and is the author of Seven Days in the Art World and 33 Artists in 3 Acts), gives her thoughts on art, artists, and status—thoughts, she says,

In this talk, given at AJF’s 2018 Collectors Symposium on January 14, 2018, then-executive director Rebekah Frank describes Art Jewelry Forum—what the organization does, why, and how things get accomplished. Among other things, she discusses AJF’s awards and grants programs, its publishing mission, and the events and lectures it hosts—and explains the importance of having these things

In this 19-minute video, filmed at AJF’s 2018 Collectors Symposium on January 14, 2018, Jack da Silva gives a presentation describing the history of the jewelry and metal arts program at California College of the Arts (CCA), which was founded in 1912. The 2018 Collectors Symposium was held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Art Jewelry

This talk, held during AJF’s 2018 Collectors Symposium, finds Susan Cummins and Susan Beech, who were part of the group of collectors who founded Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) in 1997, in conversation about their jewelry collections, their approach to curating them, their interest in meeting jewelry artists, and more. The conversation is moderated by David Cole, a

Since 2005, AJF has been funding catalogs and exhibitions as part of its aim to advocate for contemporary art jewelry through education, appreciation, and support for the field. AJF believes that exhibitions and catalogs are an essential part of the contemporary art jewelry infrastructure, by documenting history, fostering curatorial skills, providing opportunities for writing about contemporary art