An overview of the Biennial and the theme of my talk on the cultural meaning of jewellery.

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The Event

Every two years, the Beijing International Jewellery Art Exhibition brings together artists, designers, scholars, and educators from around the world to reflect on jewellery as an art form and as a cultural phenomenon.
The 2025 edition — opening on October 18, 2025, at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology — carries the title “Harmony and Coexistence.”

The Biennial spans six thematic domains (Digital, Craft, Material, Concept, Future, and Enterprise) and includes exhibitions, lectures, a fashion show, and a symposium. It will later travel to Shenzhen, Guangxi, and Yunnan.
Since its first edition in 2013, the Biennial has become one of the most significant international forums dedicated to jewellery art and research.

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My Talk — Abstract

Title: Why Do We Need Jewellery?

In this lecture, I reflect on the cultural and existential meaning of jewellery — a practice that has accompanied humankind since its beginnings.
Jewellery is not only an ornament or a sign of value; it is a gesture of connection. It marks belonging, memory, love, protection, and transformation. Across civilizations, it has carried the symbols of harmony and coexistence long before these became words of theory or diplomacy.

Today, when global production often distances the maker from the object and the object from its wearer, it feels essential to recall the deep human roots of adornment.
Through examples from history and contemporary practice, I will discuss how jewellery remains a living language — a way to think and feel with the body, and a bridge between people, materials, and cultures.

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Looking Ahead

It is a great honour to contribute to this important event and to share ideas with so many colleagues from across the world.
The Biennial reminds us that jewellery, however small, carries the potential to express large truths — about identity, coexistence, and the human desire for beauty and meaning.

Updates and images from Beijing will follow soon here on my site.