The 92nd Street Y is looking for jewelry artists who have ideas so big that they need a city like New York to house them all.
The 92nd Street Y’s Jewelry Center is seeking applicants for its fifth Jewelry Artist Residency, which will take place Aug. 21–Sept. 17. The 92NY is accepting applications through March 31, and the chosen jeweler or metalsmith will receive notification of their selection by mid-April.
The Jewelry Artist Residency includes travel expenses to and from New York, access to a 24-hour private studio working space, and accommodation in a studio apartment with a private bathroom and kitchenette in the 92NY residence.
In return, the resident artist is asked to share their “aesthetic, technical, or design style” with the community through a two-day lecture and workshop at the 92NY Jewelry Center during the last weekend of the residency, says Jonathan Wahl, director of the Jewelry Center.
“We’re trying to broaden the scope of what our students see and consider,” Wahl says, so having an artist in residence brings value to both sides of the equation. He hopes to see a “garden of ideas” come from the artist and the 92NY patrons, students, and visitors as a result of their interactions over the monthlong residency.
Wahl, who describes the residency as the only one devoted to jewelry artists and based in New York City, seeks domestic and international applicants in hopes of finding someone who not only needs time and inspiration but can also offer their inspiring ideas to NYC.
“New York is known for pushing the boundaries on art and fashion, and it should be the same for jewelry,” Wahl says. “This residency gives an artist time to do research, explore ideals, do some deep thinking, and dig deeper into New York.”
In fact, the applying artists are asked to note in their requests for residency specifically how the New York environment will impact their work, hoping that having a space in one of the most creative cities in the world will bring new perspectives to what they’re doing or will do, Wahl says.
The residency is inspired by the jewelry Wahl would see during art shows and fairs in cities such as Munich. He wants to bring that kind of exuberance and innovation to New York and 92NY in particular, which is known for its jewelry classes, weekend workshops, and specialized training.
Previous Jewelry Center Artists in Residence have included Alexander Blank (2022), Claudia Lepik (2019), Ineke Heerkens (2018), and Göran Kling (2017). There was a two-year pause in the residency because of the pandemic, but it returned last year with Blank, who brought his abstraction and photography into the process, which was a fascinating way to view the impact of the pandemic on individuals, the artist, and the community, Wahl says.
A rotating panel of experts and professionals in the arts and humanities will independently review applications and materials. Previous juries have included artists, curators, and museum professionals from major cultural institutions and auction houses in New York.
Top: The 92NY is entering the fifth year of its celebrated Jewelry Artist in Residency program, which is currently accepting applications for 2023 (photo courtesy of 92NY).
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