Current Obsession: Can you describe the events you’re working on in connection to OBSESSED! Festival?

Astrid Ubbink: For the Arnhem/Nijmegen weekend, 1ˢᵗ – 2ⁿᵈ November, I curated the exhibition Wear Now: Jewellery Alumni from ArtEZ 2020–2025, showcasing jewellery graduates from the ArtEZ Product Design department over the past five years. For the last decade, the department has placed an increasing emphasis on jewellery design, a focus that is now clearly bearing fruit. Since 2020, a growing number of designers have graduated with jewellery-related collections, and this exhibition brings their work together for the first time, asking where they are now in their practice, their thinking, and their making. It will be held at Rozet in Arnhem.

During OBSESSED!, a presentation featuring work by jewellery designer Riet Neerincx (1925–2012) will also take place at the Heritage Centre in the basement.

Besides this, I am involved with Erik Lijzenga’s lecture Contemporary Jewellery in Arnhem, where I will give an introductory lecture on contemporary jewellery history and the role Arnhem played in the broader development of the field. Erik will discuss his work and his relationship with beads, and Fleuri La Belle will also talk about her work and practice. The lecture is aimed primarily at the general audience in the region — people who may have never encountered contemporary jewellery and who might become enthusiasts interested in attending more jewellery-related events.

CO: What is unique about the area you’re representing during OBSESSED! Festival?

AU: Arnhem and Nijmegen as a region are really a jewellery hub in the Netherlands, with Galerie Marzee and Galerie Door in Nijmegen, Museum Arnhem with its substantial jewellery collection, and ArtEZ as an institute educating a new generation of makers. For all kinds of jewellery-interested groups, the region has something to offer — for collectors, for makers, and for spectators — with a long history connected to the field.

The art academy in Arnhem has taught some of the driving forces in the field, and Museum Arnhem has been collecting jewellery for many decades. In Nijmegen, Galerie Marzee has thrived for over 45 years as an institute for jewellery. There is also a younger generation emerging that focuses on jewellery in the region. Although we are talking about two different cities, you can really see them as one region where everyone knows each other well. Cultural cooperation and exchange are a given.

CO: What do you hope to be your main contribution through this work?

AU: I hope to act as a connector for the jewellery field. As a trained art historian and programmer, I notice that I approach jewellery differently from many of the artists active within the field. I find it incredibly interesting to learn to look at jewellery from their perspective, but I hope to bring a different, perhaps more reflective and analytical view to the field.

CO: And finally, one hot tip for Arnhem/ Nijmegen?

AU: In Arnhem, it’s certainly worthwhile to have dinner at restaurant Konijnenvoer, a vegan restaurant with a beautiful interior, which was recently awarded a Michelin Green Star. Arnhem is also known as the ‘fashion city’ of the Netherlands, so the Arnhem Fashion Quarter (Modekwartier) is a very nice area with lots of small boutiques and vintage shops.

In Nijmegen, it is highly recommended to visit the Lange Hezelstraat, the oldest shopping street in the Netherlands, which is filled with concept stores, cafés, record shops, and small galleries.