The Art Jewellery Bank – the seed of an idea, a group exhibition

Value experience over ownership? Turn heads at your next big event with unique, ethical and contemporary haute couture jewellery and then send it back. The ‘The ART JEWELLERY Bank’ exhibition provides you with a selection of locally crafted statement jewellery pieces available for hire.

‘The ART JEWELLERY Bank’ initiated by Bridget Kennedy explores the notion of why art jewellery is collected but often never worn, hidden away from the public eye, as well as the lack of contemporary jewellery in Art Banks around the world.

Although jewellery is often studied alongside other art forms, its inclusion in the contemporary art community is less common. The idea of building and renting out a collection of art isn’t new, but does perpetuate this exclusion of jewellery. One exception is the Danish Arts Foundation which began collecting jewellery in 1978. Now, with over 300 pieces in their ‘jewellery library’, the works gain public exposure when worn at public events including (but not limited to) exhibition openings and movie premieres.

This exhibition also speaks to the share economy and participatory/social art, an area Kennedy often explores in her practice. As she explains, “the people who loan out the jewellery will be invited to take a selfie of themselves wearing the work and provide a few notes of their experience. This will then be documented, building up a history of the work and its public interactions”.

For ‘The ART JEWELLERY Bank’ exhibition, selected jewellery artists were invited to submit a statement piece of their own work which will be made available for lease by the broader community. A collection of related works will also be for sale. The vision for this exhibition is that this seed of an idea might grow into something akin to an Art Bank of Australian Art Jewellery where pieces can see the light of day on the bodies of people who delight in the opportunity to promote Australian wearable art.

The exhibition opens 25th November at 53 Ridge St North Sydney with VIP drinks and 20% off gallery stock on one night only.