Global Perspectives: Contemporary Jewellery Across Borders
Wednesday 23 September
Talk: 9:30am to 10.30am
Free entry with a Fair ticket – registration essential
Bella Neyman, Founder of New York City Jewelry Week, in conversation with Castro Smith, Megan Brown, Joy BC and Alice Biolo.
Bella Neyman brings together four leading makers to explore the ideas, influences and creative exchanges shaping contemporary jewellery today. From craftsmanship and storytelling to international audiences, this conversation offers a global perspective on the future of the discipline.
About Bella Neyman
Bella Neyman is the co-founder of New York City Jewelry Week. She is also an independent curator and journalist specializing in contemporary jewelry. Most recently she served on the Curatorial Advisory Committee for “45 Stories in Jewelry: 1947 to Now” at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Since graduating with a Master’s Degree in Decorative Arts and Design History from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum & Parsons, The New School for Design in 2008, she has worked for some of New York City’s leading design galleries. Bella’s articles have been published in The New York Times, American Craft, and the Magazine Antiques. She is also a frequent contributor to Metalsmith magazine. Bella lectures on topics related to the history of jewelry at the 92NY Jewelry Center and Christie’s Education. She is on the Board of Art Jewelry Forum. Bella and her family reside in Brooklyn.
About Castro Smith
Castro Smith started his training as a painter and printmaker, a style that comes through in his engravings. He began with an apprenticeship through the Goldsmiths’ Company and studied engraving with RH Wilkins. In 2017 he was awarded the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust scholarship and travelled to Japan to study with a variety of Japanese masters under the guidance of Hiroshi Suzuki. Castro has worked from his studio at the Sarabande Foundation in East London since setting up his business in 2017 and spends his time working predominantly on bespoke commissions. He uses his knowledge of engraving to create contemporary pieces exploring personal customer stories through a mixture of European and Japanese engraving techniques. He has won multiple awards including Apprentice of the Year 2017 at St James’ Palace; GCDC Gold Award; Podolsky Award and Theo Fennel Award.
About Megan Brown
The fusion between metal and textiles is what drives Megan Brown’s innovative approach to fine jewellery creation. Hailing from North Yorkshire, Megan grew up surrounded by the industrial machinery of her family’s century-old textile mill. This sparked a fascination for the physical process of weaving, with the intricate textures and dynamic movement of the looms recaptured in her work today. Now based in the heart of Soho, London, Megan’s work unites her manufacturing roots with contemporary design to create unique and elegant works of art.
About Joy BC
Joy Bonfield-Colombara, professionally known as Joy BC, is a distinguished goldsmith and artist. Joy’s work is at once an ode to, and a deconstruction of, classical representations of femininity and beauty. Born in London, England, in 1989, she holds a BA in Jewellery and Silversmithing from the Glasgow School of Art (2014) and an MA in Jewellery and Metal from the prestigious Royal College of Art, London (2019).
About Alice Biolo
Alice is an Italian jewellery designer based in Glasgow, Scotland. She began her journey at Liceo Artistico Pietro Selvatico, earning a diploma in Contemporary Jewellery Design in 2018. She then moved to the UK to study Silversmithing and Jewellery Design at the Glasgow School of Art, graduating with first-class honours in 2023. Since then, she has exhibited nationally and internationally, receiving multiple awards. Her work explores hidden, internal struggles through a minimal aesthetic, featuring intricate and kinetic elements.