The third cycle of Current Obsession’s Talent Accelerator Programme, GEMZ, has reached its grand finale!
From a pool of 57 international participants, and after months of lectures, workshops and one-to-one tutorials, six emerging talents – Stefan Boerkamp (NL), Ruochong Cheng (CN), Tina Jiao (CN), rae richards (US), Anna Rusínová (CZ) and Zoé Kiner-Wolff (FR) – are set to unveil their never-before-seen speculative jewellery collections in a pop-up exhibition and accompanying book.
GEMZ: WET is the programme’s first ever publication documenting the works of the six artists, guided by the visionary eye of Artistic Director Min Dai, whose tools – constructed photography and artificial intelligence – conjure dreamscapes where adornment glistens like skin after rain, melting into new forms of being.
This edition was born from the practices of our GEMZ talents, each one tracing fluid lines between intimacy and excess, artifice and nature, digital matter and living touch. Their shared attraction to the otherworldly and the unexpected carried this book forward, pulling jewellery out of its traditional frames and into speculative worlds soaked with desire and possibility.
The showcase will take place at Rotterdam’s hottest creative hub, De Kunstfabriek – a vibrant space where narrative and connection reign, giving voice to bold ideas and next-generation talents. Join us for a night celebrating jewellery and emerging adornment artists, with delicious cocktails by Hennessy and bites from Ronja Calle!
Programme:
• 17:00 VIP opening & visual performance by Timaeus
• 19:00 Exhibition opening
• 20:00 Book launch
• 21:00 Live set by Faustin
• 23:00 DJ sets by Pemzzi and Nabila Ernada & Luthanthyo
Image credit: Zoé Kiner-Wolff in collaboration with François Briand, Parasite. Images by Alicia Gardes.
This event is supported by Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and Gemeente Rotterdam, and sponsored by Hennessy.
