Get Involved with So Fresh + So Clean 2023
The content of this article reflects the views of the writer, and not necessarily those of Ethical Metalsmiths. This article was written for The Source.
Ethical Metalsmiths Online Student Exhibition
EM Students is an important branch of Ethical Metalsmiths that examines what it means to be an artist in the 21st century. A 100% sustainable practice is an unachievable goal. But, how close can we get? The first step is becoming aware of the ways our work impacts environmental and human health, hopefully affecting the creative decision making of artists.
We are curating an online student exhibition to showcase the most innovative jewelry and metalsmithing work made by students who acknowledge the need for responsibility in the field.
~Chelsea Rowe, So Fresh So Clean Student Jury Committee Member
Call for Entry - A Letter from 2023 EM Students Committee Jury:
EM Students invite you to respond to this year’s So Fresh + So Clean design challenge! What do you hope will be the life cycle of your work? How does that impact the materials you choose? In what ways do your studio habits support your need for sustainability?
Our work has a social and environmental impact. Together we face a world that is increasingly unpredictable. As artists, we have the opportunity to respond to these environmental and social concerns. Have you considered how long your work will last? Is it passed on from generation to generation? Is it ephemeral? Is it biodegradable? Can it be disassembled and the materials reused? How do you envision your piece reentering the material supply chain? Will it re-enter the supply chain at all? With these questions, EM Students are asking you to consider materials, sources, processes, and design within your studio practices. Intention is critical to the outcomes of an artist’s work and the choices you make will ultimately determine the life cycle of your work.
This is an opportunity for creative empowerment. We are eager to showcase the ingenuity and innovation of the EM Students community and inspire future students.
As artists it is our imperative to lead the way in forging a sustainable future. We can do this by participating in cultural production in ways that innovate how we use materials and consider their life cycles. It is our hope that such considerations are being made in your evolving commitment with sustainable metalsmithing practices. Addressing the future of our work and its “life cycle” is as much a part of the design process as the wearability of a jewelry object, or the origin story of the materials we chose to make with. We look forward to viewing all of the inspired applications this spring!
Yifei Kong, Shannon Kurzyniec, Chelsea Rowe
EM Student Committee, Virginia Commonwealth Chapter
EMstudents@ethicalmetalsmiths.org
A Note to Educators:
We hope that educators will consider adopting this Call for Entry in your courses this semester. To assist you with this we are providing a collection of curriculum tools to the Call for Entry page on the EM website including:
Lecture by Emily Stoehrer, unpacking this year’s call for entry theme.
Technical handouts
Assignment prompts
Additional Resources
Submission Deadlines
Call for Entry deadline: May 15th
Notification of acceptance: July 1st
Exhibition Launch: Sept 1st
Emerging Artist Page launch: October 1st
Awards
$1,000 Ethical Metalsmiths Emerging Artist Award
The Emerging Artist will also receive an exposé on the EM Students website.$500 Guest Juror’s Choice Award
$250 EM Student’s Choice Award
How to Apply
Students will submit all images and writing to the So Fresh + So Clean 2023 Application Form. You can access this form when you login to your EM Students account at www.ethicalmetalsmiths.org.
Your Account is created when you join as a Student level member of Ethical Metalsmiths. JOIN HERE
How to Become an EM Student Member JOIN HERE
The 2023 Jurors
Jina Seo
Jina Seo headshot. Photo courtesy of Jina Seo.
Jina Seo (b. South Korea) is Assistant Professor in Metal + Jewelry at Missouri State University. Her practice explores the relationships between body, clothing, sexuality, fetish, and space. She received her MFA in Metal at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and her BFA in Metalwork and Jewelry Design at Kookmin University, Seoul.
Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including Munich Jewellery Week 2017; Brooklyn Metal Works, Brooklyn, NY; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL; Sung-Gock Gallery, Seoul, Korea; and (AV17) Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania. She recently participated in an exhibition “Colorful Minds: Contemporary Enamel and Jewelry” in South Korea in 2022.
Dr. Emily Stoehrer
As the Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of Jewelry at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Emily Stoehrer is an international presence in the jewelry field. At the MFA she oversees a collection that spans 6,000 years and includes more than 22,000 objects—highlights include ancient jewelry, a growing collection of nineteenth and twentieth-century high-style jewelry, and the Daphne Farago Collection of contemporary jewelry. At the MFA, Emily curated Past is Present: Revival Jewelry, co-curated Boston Made: Arts & Crafts Jewelry and Metalwork and Hollywood Glamour: Fashion & Jewelry from the Silver Screen.
Emily is a frequent lecturer and has been invited to present at museums, conferences, and organizations around the globe. The diversity of Emily’s interests in the field are evidenced in her publications and lecture topics, which range from nineteenth century jewelry to works by contemporary makers and designers.
In addition to her work as a curator, Emily has spent more than a decade as an adjunct professor at Boston-area colleges and for four years managed three robust undergraduate programs in fashion design and merchandising. Most recently, Emily developed a History of Jewelry course for the Art History Department at Massachusetts College of Arts & Design (MassArt).
A leader in the field, Emily served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Society of North American Goldsmiths from 2017 until 2020, and is currently the spokesperson of the jewelry vetting committee of all three of The European Fine Art Fairs (TEFAF).
Emily’s academic work has focused on the history of material culture and the philosophy of identity. She is particularly interested in the evolution of taste and her dissertation focused on the influence of the Hollywood red carpet. Emily holds a PhD in Humanities from Salve Regina University, Master of Arts in Fashion & Textile Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
EM Student Committee Jury
Dr. Emily Stoehrer headshot. Photo courtesy of Emily Stoehrer.
Chelsea Rowe headshot. Photo courtesy of EM Students.
Chelsea Rowe (she/her) is an artist and jeweler originally from the Midwest. Currently based in Richmond, Virginia, she is a first year Craft/Material Studies Graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. Rowe completed her BFA in 2018 at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. She is a member of Ethical Metalsmiths. Participation includes Radical Jewelry Makeover: Artist Project and EM Student VCU Chapter Co-Chair.
Shannon Kurzyniec (b.1984) is a candidate in the MFA program in the Department of Craft/Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond,VA. She received her BFA from Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, concentrating in Metalsmithing. Utilizing body adornment, installation, and video, Kurzyniec explores new ways in which to express her opinions about the personal and social impacts of prescription medication on the human condition.
Shannon Kurzyniec headshot. Photo courtesy of Shannon Kurzyniec.
Yifei Kong headshot. Photo courtesy of Yifei Kong.
Yifei Kong is originally from Beijing, China. She is a metalsmith and enamelist. She received her BFA in Metal from SUNY New Paltz, NY. Currently a first year in the Craft/Material Studies MFA program in Virginia Commonwealth University.
You can find more information about the members of the VCU Chapter, the team responsible for the SO FRESH + SO CLEAN exhibition each year on their profile page: https://ethicalmetalsmiths.org/vcu-chapter-members
Other Ways to get involved:
Purchase a Student Membership Package, which sponsors 5 Student Memberships.Student Membership Packages available for $150.00.
“We are a small team of passionate jewelry industry professionals and writers. We’d appreciate your support to grow our team and continue to be able to provide the best responsible jewelry content for years to come!”
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