Past events

In Amsterdam

Ted Noten & Co. – On Value

Exhibition

In Apeldoorn

SOULMATES – Jelle Kampen and Lucy Sarneel

Exhibition

In Amsterdam

OBSESSED! Headquarters Programming

Festival

In Heusden

mille feuille

Exhibition

In Amsterdam

Fata Morgana

Exhibition

In Antwerp

Closer Distant

Exhibition

In Amsterdam

Marjan Unger Lecture at the Rijksmuseum

Symposium

In Den Bosch

Loan Favan, Hans Appenzeller & Love, Designed: jewellery in Design Museum Den Bosch

Special Tour

In Den Bosch

Ted Noten: Who the fuck am I?

Open Studio

In Arnhem

Wasi Sani

Exhibition

In Amsterdam

Cherished Chemistries

Exhibition

In Hasselt

Let’s Get Phygital

Exhibition

In Amsterdam

The Artist Sex Worker Artist Show

Special Tour

In Amsterdam

Crafting Dimensions: Dreams of Augmented Gems

Exhibition

In Amsterdam

Melt Jewellery

Exhibition

OBSESSED! Jewellery Festival

OBSESSED! Jewellery Festival focuses on jewellery-related exhibitions, lectures, workshops and open studios – in a programme put together by Current Obsession.

OBSESSED! runs 1—30 November in various cities across the Netherlands and Belgium, accompanied by a free edition of Current Obsession Paper and an interactive webpage.

 

A bit of history

OBSESSED! began as an attempt to connect, promote and discuss a number of significant, yet uncoordinated jewellery events (exhibitions, fairs and symposia) occurring throughout The Netherlands in November 2017.

The aim was to achieve a larger cultural impact by uniting these events and institutions (such as Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum, CODA Museum, Design Museum Den Bosch, among others) into one programme under one name, and inviting local and international artists and public to join in.

Several years prior, Current Obsession team have been contemplating the idea of organising a ‘jewellery biennial’ in The Netherlands, to reflect the local heritage and the history of the discipline. A happening that would be avant-garde, edgy, creative, but also include different kinds of jewellery (such as antique and fine jewellery) as well as body-related practices from neighbouring disciplines (fashion, design, performance, etc.)

So when back in 2017 it came to our attention that a series of major jewellery-related events would incidentally occur in different cities throughout The Netherlands, we immediately knew this was our chance!

With the guidance and support of Marjan Unger (art historian, author of the book Jewellery Matters, and one of the organisers of the eponymous Rijksmuseum Symposium) and Ruudt Peters (renown jewellery artist), Current Obsession began setting up the festival’s framework, developing in-depth content and the possibilities for exchange.

The Festival aims to boost public interest towards the local artistic jewellery scene and to help re-establish The Netherlands as a leading creative force in the field of contemporary jewellery, underpinning rich history of innovation, experimentation and fresh ideas.

We see OBSESSED! as an ideal project to help attract a larger public to the field of artistic jewellery, and that is why our main goal is to create accessible content that would introduce jewellery to general public in a captivating way, and distribute this content for free, making it available countrywide at a range of locations dedicated to design and culture.

All Strings Attached!

Are you obsessed with jewellery? We are too!

And what’s more satisfying than rifling through your most precious pieces and rediscovering beloved treasures?

Obsessed! Jewellery Festival returns for its fourth edition this November, to collect every loose strand of jewellery across the Netherlands and Belgium, holding each piece up to the light to tell its story.

Themed All Strings Attached! this edition brings us on a multi-weekend treasure hunt from Amsterdam to Antwerp, assembling our family of jewels around fresh new cords.

Obsessed! continues an initiative by Current Obsession Magazine to link artists, galleries and institutions across the Netherlands and Belgium, through jewellery-related events that incorporate every format from digital adornment to films to physical objects… as ever, exploring jewellery as a vessel for meaning, empowerment and belonging.

Plan Your Trip

This edition proves there are so many ways to do OBSESSED!, with truly something for every palate. Short on time? Spend a Day in Den Bosch! Prefer to promenade? Hop on the Museum Path! You can jump in and Get Involved with events designed for a participatory and hands-on experience, or shed the white cube and explore jewellery in informal and intimate surroundings, with Impromptu Encounters. Let us be your guide for a personalised take on OBSESSED!

Let’s talk

Craving a good chat? Hungry for some heady discourse? Dig deep into the conversations of the field with this series of panel talks and symposia sure to provide plenty of food for thought. The esteemed Marjan Unger Lecture features Corinne Gardner, on Rapid Response Collecting, while Mining for Solutions at Fashion for Good tackles sustainable practices in fashion and jewellery. A Sunday Talk with Chequita Nahar delves into Diasporic adornment and craft practices, and Let’s Get Phygital discuss embodiment in a digital age.

– Marjan Unger Lecture 2023: Design Matters: Collecting for the Real World
– Let’s Get Phygital: Embodiment in a Digital Age 
– Mining for Solutions: A Panel Talk on Sustainable Practices in Fashion and Jewellery
– A Sunday Talk with Chequita: Shifting Perspectives: Diasporic Practices of Adornment & Craft Nahar

 

Behind the Scenes

Wanna pull back the curtain, see the inner workings and hear stories not everyone is privvy to? This selection of private tours offers both the expert and the casual observer a glimpse into the lesser known aspects of art and commerce.

– Steltman Jeweller Craftsmanship: Behind the Scenes
– Design Museum Den Bosch
– The Artist Sex Worker Artist Show

 

Get Involved

Sometimes you just gotta roll those sleeves up and get to work! This track offers two workshops and three participatory exhibitions, for those who wanna do more than just watch. Go ahead, get activated!

– Ted Noten – Who the fuck am I?
– Daniela Malev – Two sides – one story: Pin mechanism and brooch back design
– GemZ – Unpacked
– Kontrapunkt In Conversation
– Annelieke Landré- Ready for Fake Off

Talk to us!

Email: obsessed@current-obsession.com

 

OBSESSED! Team:

Guusje de Bruin — Fundraising

Katja van Deurzen — Internship

Marina Elenskaya — Creative Direction

Matthias Kispert — Sound Design

Vivian R. Morad — Project Management

Margaret Munchheimer — Obsessed! Paper Editor

Sofia Nikolaeva — Graphic Design

Sven Raju — Website Design

Frank Verkade — Programme Management

Marc Ferrer Vives and Etto Pacoste — Visuals and Identity

 

We thank all the participating artists:

The sun stayed wan and dot, dot, dot…
Meeree Lee , Jinzi Liu

Ready for Fake Off
Annelieke Landré

Das Leben am Haverkamp: screening alter egos
Lisa Konno, Sarah Blok

HATCH: Sanctuary
Caroline Bach, Darius Wojdyga, Maria Stella Lidyaki, Chella Giis, Claire Normand

GEMZ: Unpacked
Andreea Cojocaru, Dominik Cunningham, Elise Hoebeke, Fleuri La Belle Ngapy, Karoline Healy Maureen Kortenbusch, Pauline Hepner, Sulo Bee, Xinyi Wang, Yu Fujiwara, Zofia Skoroszewska

Awn – Obsessed!
Josephine Winther, Marie Rimmen, Ruth Gilmour, Kathleen Reilly, Gitte Nygaard

Make A Difference
Bachelor students of the jewellery department at Sint Lucas Antwerpen & Tim Carson.

My Forbidden Garden
Hyewon Jeong

Come Rain or Come Shine // Moving Things #6
Jeannette Jansen & Gésine Hackenberg

When lions learn to swim 2023
Kalkidan Hoex

FOTOCOPY S04
Elsken Atrops, Volker Atrops, Ada Chen, Lin Cheung, Jacopo Calonaci, Kiko Gianocca, Stefan Gougherty, Corrina Goutos, Adam Grinovich, Alex Ju, Luisa Kuschel, Margherita de Martino Norante, Simon Marsiglia, Florian Milker, Noon Passama, Annika Pettersson, Kellie Riggs, Moniek Schrijer, Georgina Treviño, Julia Walter, Mallory Weston, Ashley Khirea Wahba

Kontrapunkt 2.0
Rita Besnyői, Vica Gábor, Lieta Marziali, Luca Sági

MASieraad In Flux
Yotam Bahat, Jana Brevick, Laila Marie Costa, Ana Escobar Saavedra, Daniel Jirkovski, Diana Kirdeeva, Jeannette Knigge, Meeree Lee, Jinzi Liu, Into Niilo, Mengying Sun, Jiawei Xu
Yili Zhao

Wie wat vindt heeft slecht gezocht / Those who find, haven’t searched well
Anneleen Swillen, Charlotte Vanhoubroeck, Jesse Magee, Joani Groenewald, Liesbet Bussche
Madeli Viljoen, Maria Konschake, Patricia Domingues

Two sides – one story: Pin mechanism and brooch back design
Daniela Malev

Burn Baby Burn
Margherita Chinchio, Marguerite Bones, Martina Turini

Crafting Dimensions: Dreams of Augmented Gems
Natalia Krasnodebska, UTOPIA BLU – Philip H. Wilck and Tiia Vahula, Noel Wilson
Dinuo Liao, giosampietro

Melt Jewellery
Prachi Jain

Let’s Get Phygital
Dijun Sha, Mandy Dai, Chu-Hui (Mary) Lin, Yawen (Elwen) Luo, Yunru Xie, Madalena Apolinario, Sousa Nunes Sereno, Shiyu Huang, Mia Vilcins, Kung- hsuan Chang, Qiuwen Lyu, Xinmiao Yu, Katrin-Maria Terras, Lisandra Türkson, Anni Vallsalu, Epp Vislapuu, Sarah Nicolai, Tyana Verstraete, Guus Vandeweerd, Giusi Schuller

huis / dům / בַּיִת / casa
Ana Escobar, Daniel Jirkovsky, Yotam Bahat, Ruudt Peters

Paramnesia
Samantha Sloane & Kristina Merchant

Closer Distant
Silke Fleischer

City Pearls
Machteld van Joolingen, Sophia Zobel, Lena Kosztyucsenko, Iris Nieuwenburg, Anouk Schepers, Nastasia Gendreau, Esmee Muijlwijk, Judith Schwendener

Fata Morgana
Stefanie Verhoef

Elemental Connections
Julia Duff Hundermark & Sandra Savelli

Who the fuck am i?
Ted Noten

Cherished Chemistries
Caroline Bach, Ela Bauer, Marguerite Bones, Paul Derrez, Morgane De Klerk, Alex Gasparis
Gabriella Goldsmith, Floor Mommersteeg, ShinkaQ, Triin Kukk, Martina Turini, Chloe Valorso
Stefanie Verhoef, Sophia Zobel

From Tim to Time
Triin Kukk, Anna Tamm

[IN] + [TUH] + [TWYND]
Arne Van De Mierop, Chanyoung Chang, Emma Gregory, Fengyang Jiang, Gaëlle Van Durme, Ildze Bogana, Jade Houben, Jill Depuydt, Julia Mercier, Karen Vanmol, Luca Sági, Machteld Lambeets, Seunggwan Kang, Shunxin Chen Sophia Oberhauser, Vivi Touloumidi, Wieke Aerts, Xinyao Ding
Yuyeong Choi

 

 

 

 

Keen to participate in the OBSESSED! 2025 programme?

The application for our next edition will open in Spring 2024!

Selection Guidelines

OBSESSED! Jewellery Festival is an initiative that carefully strings together various jewellery related events throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. In order to create as widely accessible a programme as possible, we reserve the option to include or prioritise applications, which are in alignment with the OBSESSED! spirit and the following ideals:

Multidisciplinarity — The festival programming invites a multidisciplinary approach, including all manner of events from the full spectrum of the jewellery universe.

Accessibility — We encourage events which allow accessibility for the general public, and reserve the right not to include proposals which focus too narrowly in any niche of interest as to discourage participation on a wider scale.

Community — The festival aims to foster and strengthen a sense of community from within the field of jewellery. Therefore, we encourage and may prioritise group exhibitions, collective practices, collaboration and cooperation between multiple artists, etc.

Relevance — In keeping with the festival’s objective to respond to and amplify voices within the field, we actively work to address common themes which we observe to be of particular urgency and interest to broad segments of the jewellery community at a given time. While we strive to spotlight all avenues of artistic inquiry, for the 2023 Edition, a few examples of themes we are broadly working with include: 1. Collective Making and Communal or Participatory Practices; 2. AI and Digital Embodiment; 3. Ritual, Memento and Object as a Mediator; 4. The Ethics of Materials.

As facilitators and coordinators, our main focus and attention goes toward providing digital and printed communication, and providing the information necessary to connect all interested parties, to give you the best possible festival! For this reason, we will also prioritise those artists who have a secured location or leads for locations for their event first, before providing whatever assistance we may be able to offer to less comprehensive proposals.