The Jewellery - Linking Bodies department at the Rietveld Academie approaches the field of jewellery as an art form at the interface of applied arts and fine arts. It moves from the understanding that jewellery is a framework for art practice, and art practice is a framework for an engaged approach to the world around us. By expanding on the significance of contemporary jewellery practice and stressing its role as the link placing bodies in relation to one another, the department can focus on the space in-between – the ways in which all bodies connect with one other and their contexts.
Jewellery enables social exchange, is embedded in everyday life and can act as a platform for political enquiry. Its small scale facilitates experimentation with diverse materials and techniques – and the understanding that dimension and ecology matter. Bringing into conversation questions of form, function and the body, jewellery promises the practitioner transferrable skills. Beyond aesthetics per se, the field poses relevant critical questions regarding material ethics and the investigation of materials in their historical, political, social, ecological and economic contexts. Through these lines of inquiry, we can explore the ways in which bodies interact, attract, move and repel. The context of jewellery and body-related objects then offers a practical framework for thinking about both relationality and difference. The department values collaboration and interdisciplinary projects within the academy as well as outside, with external partners such as grassroots communities.
