The Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) has released its comprehensive bi-monthly digest of international jewelry news for September 2026, capturing a vibrant season of major museum exhibitions, prestigious grants, career development opportunities, and global festivals. As the international art jewelry community enters the fall season, institutions and organizations worldwide are rolling out robust programming that highlights both historical milestones and cutting-edge contemporary practices.
AJF members and non-members alike contribute to the global dialogue surrounding art jewelry, and the organization continues to serve as a central hub for community news, professional listings, and critical discourse. The current updates span continents, reflecting an active and interconnected field.
Major Grants and Open Calls
Among the most notable announcements is the open call for AJF’s 2027 Solo Exhibition Award. Open to jewelry artists of any age and nationality, the prestigious $20,000 grant is designed to support the creation and realization of a solo exhibition that advances an artist’s career within the field of art jewelry. The proposed projects must center on jewelry, albeit in a loosely defined sense. Applications for this major funding opportunity close on November 15, 2026.
In addition to the AJF Solo Exhibition Award, several other international opportunities are currently accepting submissions. Brooklyn Metal Works (BKMW) has opened applications for its 2027 Resonance Residency. The three-month residency provides jewelry artists at various career levels with semi-private studio space on BKMW’s educational floor in New York City—a vital hub for the contemporary jewelry scene. The comprehensive residency package includes an unrestricted stipend of $300 per month, a $300 credit for the BKMW Tool Shop, a $600 credit for coursework, a $500 stipend for an artist lecture, paid instructional opportunities, and a professional review of the work produced. The deadline for the residency application is October 9, 2026.
For makers focusing on craft excellence on a global scale, the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2027 is accepting applications through October 15, 2026. This annual international award celebrates excellence and innovation across all forms of craft, with art jewelry prominently featured among the disciplines. Shortlisted works will be exhibited in Europe in the spring of 2027, competing for a grand prize of €50,000, alongside two special mentions of €5,000 each.
Meanwhile, the Israel Biennale of Contemporary Jewelry has announced an open call for artists and designers worldwide under the guiding theme "Silent Resonance—Between Independent Thought and the Movement of the Masses." The biennale encourages participants to explore jewelry not merely as an ornament, but as a statement, an idea, and a quiet force capable of sparking dialogue about individual freedom versus collective momentum. Submissions for this exhibition close on November 1, 2026.
Upcoming Events and Virtual Engagements
AJF’s ongoing virtual programming, AJF Live, has announced its next session scheduled for October 23, 2026. The upcoming conversation will feature American maker Aaron Decker and Emily Banas, assistant curator at the RISD Museum. Registration is currently open for the virtual gathering.
Educational and professional development opportunities are also expanding this autumn. At Arrowmont, a hybrid workshop titled "Crafting Careers: Creating a Life in Contemporary Art Jewelry" will run from October 11 to 16, 2026. Taught by AJF member Jessica Armstrong of Pistachios and Heather Guidero, the workshop investigates the business side of jewelry, focusing on production, market strategies, and how to successfully transition a design from conceptualization to a reproducible market line.
Museum Exhibitions and International Spotlights
The fall calendar is rich with significant institutional exhibitions spanning Europe, North America, and Asia.
In Lisbon, MUDE – Museum of Design is hosting a landmark exhibition dedicated to the contemporary jewellery collection of Thereza Seabra, running from September 25, 2026, through January 31, 2027. Rather than serving as an anthology of Seabra’s own creative output, the exhibition reflects her multifaceted vision as a collector, author, teacher, and gallery owner. Assembled since the late 1960s, the "closed collection" comprises over 300 works, serving as a visual map of Seabra’s professional collaborations and underscoring jewelry as a specific expression of design.
In the Netherlands, Zilver Museum Schoonhoven is presenting the first solo exhibition in the country by Belgian artist David Huycke, titled A Cloud That Weighs More Than the Moon, running from October 3, 2026, to April 25, 2027. Huycke, who teaches at AJF member institution School PXL-MAD, uses silver to make intangible phenomena tangible, creating works that bridge science, imagination, precision, and wonder. At a distance, his silver pieces appear sleek and simple, but up close they reveal a meticulous world composed of hundreds of tiny silver spheres.
Also in the Netherlands, Museum Arnhem is preparing a major retrospective for Ruudt Peters. Titled BEZIELING (afflatus), the exhibition will showcase the artist’s career-long exploration of infusing objects with a soul and engaging with deep, intuitive inspiration. The exhibition runs from November 21, 2026, through February 7, 2027, with an opening reception scheduled for November 20.
In Germany, Galerie Rosemarie Jaeger is presenting Cose Della Vita from September 27 to November 29, 2026. The exhibition unites works by Giampaolo Babetto, a master goldsmith of the Paduan School; Stefan Kraus, former curator of the Kolumba Museum, showcasing photographs combined with small-format paintings and text fragments; and artist Katja Krumbeck through her oil pastels. The works share a common thread of lived experience, visual delight, and subtle humor regarding the "things of life."
In Paris, Galerie Jérôme Guillochon – Pagliani is hosting Angel or Demon from October 8 to 24, 2026. Curated by Elsa Vanier as part of the Parcours Bijoux festival, the exhibition brings together 10 designers, including AJF members Niki Stylianou and Karin Roy Andersson, to explore themes of harmony, apocalypse, human vulnerability, and the creative struggles of the workbench.
Vanier is also curating Citational Art at the Musée du Bijou Contemporain, running from October 24, 2026, to January 31, 2027. This updated iteration of a 2023 exhibition explores how contemporary jewelry artists reinterpret world-famous works by icons such as Van Gogh, Soulages, Magritte, Cartier, and Roy Lichtenstein, translating familiar imagery into their own distinctive wearable vocabularies.
In Houston, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is hosting a trunk show featuring Chicago-based jeweler Erika Novak from September 25 to 26, 2026. Novak is celebrated for blending traditional metalsmithing techniques with advanced design technology. The MFAH is also currently exhibiting For Your Eyes Only: The Secret Language of Jewelry in its Millennium Corridor through November 1, 2026, pairing historical and contemporary pieces that carry intimate, private meanings.
Further exhibition highlights include Galerie Door’s presentation of Daniel Kruger’s Earthly Paradise—Daniel Kruger and the Art of Seduction from October 3 to November 14, 2026; Brooklyn Metal Works’ hosting of Kerianne Quick’s Oh Well Whatever Nevermind through November 8, 2026; and Ornamentum Gallery’s exhibition featuring Veronika Fabian, recipient of the 2026 Friedrich Becker Prize and member of AJF’s Editorial Advisory Committee, running from October 1 to November 3, 2026.
Festivals and Global Community News
Festivals are set to animate urban centers this autumn. Radiant Pavilion is returning for its sixth edition across Melbourne, Australia, bringing together over 300 artists across 59 events. The festival features exhibitions, talks, workshops, urban interventions, and performances exploring identity, belonging, and environmental care.
In Japan, the inaugural Kyotooooooo Jewelry 2026 will take place from October 24 to November 1, 2026. The community-based art project places jewelry directly into the streets, local spaces, and everyday life of Kyoto, fostering exchange and connection among artists, makers, and local businesses. Additionally, the National Museum of Art, Kyoto, is mounting Reflections in Jewellery: Memory and Identity from October 24, 2026, to January 17, 2027, presenting approximately 350 post-war masterworks from the Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry collection alongside pieces brought to Japan from Germany after a 50-year absence.
In archival and publishing news, the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) has made its entire archive of Metalsmith magazine fully searchable and free to read via the Internet Archive, covering not only editorial content but historical advertisements and auxiliary pages. Furthermore, Metalsmith has opened submissions for its July 2027 special issue, offering four distinct publishing pathways with a submission deadline of January 19, 2027.
As the international art jewelry community moves deeper into the autumn season, these diverse initiatives underscore a thriving, globally engaged discipline dedicated to pushing the boundaries of material, meaning, and wearable art.
