In Dialog with the Jurors for AJF’s Solo Exhibition Award

In the present day we interview the three jurors for AJF’s Solo Exhibition Award: Caroline Broadhead (from the UK), Grace Lai (NZ), and Mike Holmes (US).

This prize provides US$20,000 for the creation of a present by an artist of any age or nationality working in artwork jewellery. Purposes are at present being accepted, however not for for much longer—the decision for entry will shut January 12, 2025. You will discover the rules right here.

The winner will probably be introduced in Munich, throughout Schmuck, in March 2025.

Artwork Jewellery Discussion board: First, a bit of background. Please clarify the way you have been launched to modern jewellery, and what you’re doing now in relation to it.
Caroline Broadhead: I turned conscious of the time period “modern jewellery” once I began visiting and exhibiting at Electrum Gallery, in London, when it opened within the early Seventies. There have been exhibitors, corresponding to Emmy [van Leersum] and Gijs Bakker, Onno Boekhoudt, Marion Herbst, and Gerd Rothmann, who have been making work from a really completely different set of goals than I had been used to, which was very thrilling. Working with beads in the meanwhile, I’m fascinated with their historical past and the potential for creating buildings from the repeated actions of becoming a member of small models collectively. The act of constructing issues by hand and the time invested in each bit are additionally essential.

Grace Lai: My introduction to modern jewelry was as a lot serendipitous because it was inevitable. Since starting my function in 2017 as curator of utilized arts and design at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland Struggle Memorial Museum, the place I oversee a outstanding assortment of nationwide and worldwide craft, I’ve all the time been captivated by the jewellery drawers. Conventional items from the previous neighbor dynamic modern improvements, mapping a variety of supplies, methods, and types from across the globe. Partaking with the gathering has impressed acquisitions, exhibitions, writing, and analysis initiatives.

From my first collaboration with the CLINKProject in 2017, the place modern jewellery college students have been invited to answer the Museum’s assortment and areas, to final yr’s presentation of Candy Labour at Radiant Pavilion, which questioned the worth society locations on labor via the lens of up to date craft, I’ve labored to heart jewellery in conversations and areas the place it’s typically ignored. This ongoing exploration has influenced my curatorial follow, changing into a framework to look at advanced narratives inside cultural, social, and environmental contexts.

Mike Holmes: I took my first jewellery class on the School of Marin, within the Bay Space, once I was 17. I then studied on the College of Alaska Fairbanks, the place my advisor was well-known Inupiat sculptor and jeweler Ron Senungetuk. His jewellery is featured within the essential Objects USA guide from 1970. Though I earned my diploma in geography, I went on to check jewellery and metalsmithing on the California School of Arts and Crafts. I participated in a lot of San Francisco gala’s till a gaggle of buddies and I opened Velvet da Vinci, in 1991. I closed the bodily gallery in 2017 to look after my mother and father however stay lively within the discipline. Along with talks, writing, and curating, I proceed to promote (a bit beneath the radar) via my @velvetdavincigallery Instagram feed. And I nonetheless accumulate and put on jewellery.

That is the primary time AJF is presenting this award, and it’s because of Linda Peshkin’s generosity and love for artwork jewellery. The award advantages a solo exhibition. What do you suppose is essential for a solo present and the way it can affect an artist’s profession?
Grace Lai: A solo exhibition provides artists an unparalleled alternative to current a cohesive physique of labor that captures the essence of their follow at a particular second in time. It provides a platform for exploration—whether or not via difficult materials and conceptual boundaries or a extra reflective have a look at their inventive journey. Finally, it turns into a robust car for storytelling, permitting artists to speak concepts with readability and intent for a wider viewers. For rising artists, a solo present typically marks a transformative milestone—typically the primary probability to outline their voice, push inventive limits, and set up their id throughout the discipline.

From a curatorial perspective, solo exhibitions are vital in offering the depth and focus essential to contextualize an artist’s work inside broader cultural or inventive discourses. Solo exhibitions facilitate significant engagement with numerous audiences, from critics and collectors to fellow practitioners and most of the people. This stage of visibility can open doorways to substantial profession alternatives, together with vital critiques, acquisitions, or invites to future initiatives corresponding to exhibitions, collaborations, or residencies. Past the rapid gallery context, a well-realized solo exhibition leaves an enduring affect, serving to to form the trajectory of an artist’s profession and solidifying their contribution to the sector. It’s each a fruits of previous efforts and a springboard for future prospects.

Mike Holmes: I mounted many one-person exhibits at Velvet da Vinci and perceive how essential these initiatives might be. I additionally understand how a lot work it’s. Reveals enable an artist to stretch their follow, to concentrate on a coherent physique of labor which will result in new ideas, new supplies, or methods of working. Consideration of how an artist’s work is put in is a crucial a part of this effort. A considerate set up reinforces the concepts of the exhibition and, together with a well-designed catalog, offers the present enhanced significance. Advertising and marketing the exhibition to collectors via social media and different press shops can be essential. The mix of all of those parts reinforces the concept that the artist takes their work critically and needs the general public to take action as nicely.

Caroline Broadhead: A solo exhibition is usually a pinnacle of a profession. It’s an thrilling alternative to construct a physique of labor centered on a robust thought, and provides the chance to develop and perceive works in relation to at least one one other and, as such, it marks a selected second in an artist’s growth, a summing up of concepts to this point. It additionally permits an viewers to enter into the world of an artist’s considerations and abilities. And, after all, concentrating on making work for a time with out the related monetary fear may be very particular.

What do you suppose is the only most essential dialog for artists to be having right now?
Mike Holmes: The long-standing problem for artists and people passionate in regards to the modern jewellery discipline is how will we improve the visibility of what we do.

Caroline Broadhead: A very powerful dialog for an artist is the one that may be a response to being alive at this explicit second in time, one that’s personally felt and pushed by the necessity to discover, categorical, and talk.

Grace Lai: Whereas there are various vital conversations available right now, one which frequently resurfaces inside craft is the ethics of manufacturing. Modern artists face the twin problem of not solely contemplating how they make but in addition why they make. Central to this dialogue are problems with moral sourcing, waste discount, and the life cycle of supplies. These conversations demand a deeper interrogation of the environmental and social impacts of inventive practices.

In modern jewellery, which exists on the intersection of artwork, craft, and design, the crossing of those boundaries permits artists to interact with broader questions of id, tradition, and setting. By addressing these wider narratives, jewellery turns into a robust medium for reflecting and shaping a extra acutely aware, equitable, and enduring future—one the place the act of constructing is as significant because the work itself.

In addition to grants corresponding to this one, in what different methods do you suppose that artists might be inspired and supported?
Mike Holmes: Put on jewellery. Assist artists and the galleries that present them by shopping for jewellery. Our jewellery has tales to inform, and choosing what to placed on for every state of affairs is a part of the enjoyment of the sector.

One in all my favourite jewellery moments was whereas [I was] carrying an fascinating artist brooch. A stranger requested, “What does it do?” I replied, “It’s doing it …”

Caroline Broadhead: Grants like this—for somebody with a particular challenge in thoughts and that are open to worldwide candidates—are sensible. Though just one individual can win, those that apply can profit from the method of placing collectively a submission—getting ready the applying and placing ideas into phrases—which might solidify an purpose and future path.

Usually, I believe entry to training—formal or short-term workshops, and so on.—is essential, in that it serves to immediate dialogue and discussions in addition to to construct a neighborhood of events.

Grace Lai: Artists might be inspired and supported via acquisitions, mentorship, and significant engagement with their work and concepts. Acquisitions, whether or not by non-public collectors or public establishments, are very important for sustaining an artist’s follow. They not solely present monetary backing but in addition make sure the longevity and visibility of an artist’s work. Mentorship is equally vital. By sharing information, methods, and insights, skilled practitioners can information rising artists, fostering each neighborhood and continuity whereas serving to them navigate the complexities of a inventive profession.

From my perspective, curatorial work additionally performs a key function in supporting artists by representing numerous supplies, methods, and narratives in collections, in addition to via contributions to the discourse. By linking inventive practices to broader societal points, corresponding to sustainability, we are able to encourage recent views to make sure the sector stays deeply related to the world round it.

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