Following the great success of the inaugural 2021 event, Arts Council Nelson welcomes makers, wearers and viewers to Whakatū, Nelson from 13 to 23 April to celebrate everything contemporary jewellery.

Nelson Jewellery Week 2023 includes 35 exhibitions with participants from Aotearoa, Australia,and the United Kingdom; 15 workshops and masterclasses aimed at beginners and early careermakers as well as experienced jewellers; panel discussions to share current contemporary jewellery discourse; floor talks with makers speaking about their practice; activations and eventsaround the central city including the much anticipated pin swap, Buildings Need Jewellery, and Pecha Kucha.

Nelson Jewellery Week is a celebration of contemporary jewellery making - for everybody.

Nelson Jewellery Week invites a wide lens to art and jewellery with an array of exhibitions, workshops, public talks and events for the public to view and participate in. Jewellery is to be seen, talked about, read about and especially worn and celebrated. It is a means of expression for maker and wearer alike, and offers an invitation to experience contemporary art in both a uniquely personal way and as part of a community. 

Nelson Jewellery Week wishes to “hone the eye of a broader public for art jewellery...and rejoice in realising that artworks are not only to be hung on walls but can also be worn on the body” (Dirk Allagier, Klimt02 news, 2022). 

Everyone is welcome to participate, engage, make, view and wear over ten days in April 2023.

All our exhibitions, public events and floor talks are free to attend, and we are offering a special youth concession rate for some of our workshops that are appropriate for rangatahi who are interested in art and jewellery making. 

• Introduction to Jewellery Making with Jen Laracy from The Jewel and The Jeweller
• Radical Acts of Transformation with artist, researcher and educator Gabby O'Connor
• Drop Spindle Cord Making with artist and weaver Annie Mackenzie
• Making Heirlooms for the Future, using objects you already have with Jacky Morren
• Thing Thing String Thing with Sharon Fitness & Jack: jewellery and cowboy electronics - fun!!
• Resin Jewellery Workshop: make your own resin piece of jewellery with Maca Bernal

All our workshops can be booked via Eventfinda:

https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/user/nelsonjewelleryweek

For more information, visit: nelsonjewelleryweek.nz

IG: @nelsonjewelleryweek 

FB: @nelsonjewelleryweek2023

Or contact the Nelson Jewellery Week Project Managers: Kay van Dyk & Katie Pascoe

Email: nelsonjewelleryweek@gmail.com