The Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) has released its bi-monthly global news report for November 2026, highlighting major international exhibitions, prestigious award winners, institutional milestones, and critical open calls across the contemporary art jewelry community. As always, the international organization welcomes news, submissions, and participation from its global network of members, artists, gallerists, and enthusiasts dedicated to advancing the field of art jewelry.
AJF Events at NYC Jewelry Week 2026
AJF has announced a dynamic lineup of two public events slated for NYC Jewelry Week 2026, both taking place at The Jewelry Library.
The first event, titled Wear Next? The Many Lives of Art Jewelry, is scheduled for November 18, 2026, from 4:30 to 7:00 PM. This panel discussion will trace contemporary art jewelry’s journey from the intimate setting of the artist’s studio into private collections, prestigious museums, and the secondary market. By examining how provenance, patronage, and personal relationships shape a piece’s significance over time, the session offers deep insight into the lifecycle of wearable art. The panel features an impressive roster of speakers, including gallerist Sienna Patti, collector Jennifer Clowe, a featured contemporary artist, and Sarah Klass Retallick, specialist in jewelry and watches at Rago.
Following closely is Cocktails, Queries, & Karats, set for November 20, 2026, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Co-hosted by AJF and Radical Jewelry Makeover, this lively happy hour and pop-up exhibition will invite attendees to consider what society chooses to preserve, how jewelry engages contemporary audiences, and where the medium is heading in the future. Guests will have the opportunity to preview the new Radical Jewelry Box lending program, wear their own favorite pieces from the Radical Jewelry Makeover project or try on new ones, step into AJF’s interactive photo booth, and join an open conversation about sustainable and conceptual jewelry practices.
News from Our Members
The global contemporary art jewelry community is experiencing a season of significant transitions, retrospective celebrations, and international accolades among AJF members.
After an inspiring 33-year run promoting contemporary jewelry and organizing groundbreaking exhibitions in Portugal, Galeria Tereza Seabra has officially closed its doors. The gallery’s final exhibition, Jardin d’Agrément, featuring the delicate work of Catarina Silva, concluded on October 31, 2026. To celebrate Seabra’s lifetime of dedication and legacy, the extensive Tereza Seabra Collection is being formally donated to Lisbon’s MUDE (Design Museum), accompanied by a commemorative publication celebrating a remarkable era for Portuguese jewelry.
Meanwhile, museum exhibitions and traveling showcases are drawing crowds across Europe and Asia. The traveling exhibition Preziosa Young 2026, organized by the esteemed Florence-based jewelry school Le Arti Orafe and curated by Alice Rendon, is concluding its tour at the Thereza Pedrosa Gallery from November 7–29, 2026. The exhibition highlights award-winning work by emerging talents Lulu Tian, Jiangling Wang, Nga Ching Ko, and Lois Lo.
In Tokyo, Japan, Gallery Deux Poissons is hosting Noon Passama: Grey Loops from November 14–22, 2026. Passama, the winner of AJF’s 2012 Emerging Artist Award, is celebrated for her ability to navigate the space between the classic and the unfamiliar. For this exhibition, she has chosen the chain—a foundational archetype of jewelry—as her primary canvas, applying exceptional technical skill and conceptual vision to reinvent its structural meaning.
Swiss art space Espace Borax is preparing for Everything’s Under Control, a major group exhibition running across three weekends in late November and December 2026. The exhibition features an international lineup of prominent makers, including Dua Fatima Baig, David Bielander, Amal Yung-Huei Chao, Nicolas Christol, Dominik Cunningham, Poras Dhakan, Esteban Erosky, Shilpa Gupta, Matti Höfert, Yaning Liu, Jorge Manilla, Teresa Milheiro, Matteo Staffaucher, Sinem Yildirim, and Melane Zumbrunnen.
In print and publishing, master goldsmith Robert Baines is the subject of a comprehensive new monograph titled Robert Baines: Plenitude, published by Arnoldsche. Bridging his extensive research in archaeometallurgy with modern innovation, Baines connects the techniques of ancient Greek and Etruscan goldsmiths with a distinctly contemporary, witty, and technically brilliant sensibility. The volume features critical texts by AJF member Barbara Gifford, along with contributions by Nicholas Bastin, Diane Soumilas, and Rüdiger Joppien.
Lisbon’s MUDE Design Museum is currently hosting two major exhibitions highlighting the power of adornment. Through January 31, 2027, visitors can view Coexistências: Jewellery and the World’s Beauty, an exhibition co-curated by Marta Costa Reis, chair of AJF’s board. The show explores how contemporary jewelry can foster fairer, more empathetic interconnections between cultures, species, and technologies. Concurrently, MUDE is presenting Contemporary Jewellery: Tereza Seabra Collection, a comprehensive visual map featuring more than 300 works that reflect Seabra’s profound influence as an author, teacher, collector, and gallerist.
In Paris, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is presenting Marion Delarue: Stone, Feather, Scissors through January 10, 2027. Delarue, a finalist for the 2022 AJF Young Artist Award, spent three months immersed in the museum’s historic collections to research traditional Asian body adornment and ancient Chinese tian-ts’ui kingfisher-feather craft. Her resulting works incorporate feathers, mother-of-pearl, porcelain, glass, and lacquer, anchored by four oversized, striking headdresses. The exhibition has received critical acclaim, including a glowing feature in The French Jewelry Post.
Gigi Mariani’s artistic universe is the focus of a new intimate monograph, Gigi Mariani: My Private Garden, published by Thereza Pedrosa Gallery. Featuring texts by Thereza Pedrosa and Paola Stroppiana, the richly illustrated volume traces Mariani’s transition from painting to contemporary art jewelry through unpublished sketches, collages, and paintings.
In the United States, artist and educator Sharif Bey has won the prestigious 2026 Spector Craft Prize. Known for ceramic sculptures that explore adornment, identity, and material history through the lens of modernism and the African diaspora, Bey transforms traditional vessels and jewelry into monumental forms. As part of the award, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will acquire his notable sculpture Raptor Return.
The 3rd Lisbon Jewellery Biennial recently celebrated its competition winners during the opening of the exhibition O Que Nos Cega at Convento dos Cardaes. Viktoria Austmeyer claimed first place, followed by Maria Benedita in second and Carla Solheiro in third. Each winner received a Silver-level annual membership to the Art Jewelry Forum, valued at $500, presented by Marta Costa Reis and Marina Elenskaya.
At Gallery Loupe in Providence, Rhode Island, AJF 2026 Young Artist Award finalist Steven KP presented their solo exhibition Pick-Up-Sticks through November 13, 2026. The works use carved wooden forms, knots, and gestures to explore empathy, material culture, and queer experiences.
In Berlin, Martina Dempf’s studio in Kreuzberg is hosting Delicate Creatures by Märta Mattsson and Sona Kobanova from November 6 to December 6, 2026. Curated to explore the emotional ambivalence of human daily life, the exhibition showcases fragile yet striking works using unconventional materials by both artists, both of whom are AJF members.
Additionally, Lori Talcott has been named the recipient of the Seattle Metals Guild’s 2026 Project Grant. The award will provide Talcott with dedicated time away from teaching and commercial commissions to research and prototype innovative new forms.
News from All Around
International festivals and institutions continue to highlight emerging voices and critical discourse within the broader jewelry community.
At Romanian Jewelry Week 2026, Korean artist Hoyeon Chung received the Grand Award for her sculptural jewelry series Shape of Time. Crafted from polyester mesh and organza, the ethereal works translate intangible memories and personal transitions into wearable forms.
In institutional exhibitions, the Idar-Oberstein student-founded collective Astonish is celebrating a decade of international acclaim with an anniversary exhibition running through February 14, 2027, at Villa Jakob Bengel in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. At the DIVA Museum in Antwerp, Belgian designer Charlotte Vanhoubroeck is presenting Inspired by Queen Louise-Marie, a contemporary reinterpretation of the lost sentimental jewelry of Belgium’s historic queen, on view through April 11, 2027.
The Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau in Germany is hosting two notable exhibitions. Through April 11, 2027, the museum presents On Friday: Vivi Touloumidi, featuring the Greek artist’s politically and socially charged works that examine hierarchies between craft and fine art. Additionally, the foyer of the museum is hosting From the Senses: Jewellery by Therese Hilbert through January 17, 2027, showcasing blackened silver and evocative brooches that translate emotional depth into sensual imagery.
In Vienna, Austria, Galerie Slavik recently presented Face to Face | Nicola Heidemann and Stephan Hampala, an exhibition exploring the contrasting approaches of two artists who use color and surface as a shared dialogue through November 21, 2026.
Opportunities
Several major international competitions and open calls have announced deadlines for artists and designers:
- Paradox – Prezentacje 2027: The Association of Goldsmithing Artists (STFZ) invites entries for the 23rd edition of its international contemporary jewelry competition. Exploring the coexistence of contradictory qualities, selected works will be exhibited during Amberif 2027. Deadline: January 31, 2027.
- Preziosa Young 2027: Organized by Le Arti Orafe in Florence, this global platform offers emerging goldsmiths and designers a vital springboard into the international art jewelry arena.
- 35th International Jewellery Competition Authenticity: Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER invites global designers to interpret the theme of "Authenticity" using any materials or techniques. Deadline: January 17, 2027.
- Koru9 – Traces of Labour: Exploring the intersections of jewelry, labor, and identity, this competition recently closed its application window in November 2026.
Pages Spotlighting Jewelry
Design historian Amy Azzarito has released a new volume titled Secret Language of Victorian Jewelry: The History and Lore of Gems, Charms, and Talismans. Published by Penguin Random House, the guide explores how modern jewelry motifs—from hearts and butterflies to hair brooches and pearl necklaces—trace their symbolic origins directly back to the Victorian era.
