Schmucksymposium Zimmerhof

This year, the symposium’s programme was put together by the French association la garantie. The program will tackle, on the first two days, the different public spaces in which contemporary jewellery can be found, and how actors in the field have sought to challenge the boundaries between those spaces. The last two days will focus more specifically on private spaces and the body.

Our primary aim is to deal with issues that have cropped up recently in opinion pieces and academic texts, and in contemporary practice: how makers sometimes produce for museums, and forget the user; how museums in turn try to propose ‘hands-on’ exhibition projects; how some individuals have literally gone ‘on the street’ to meet the user; how the body is at once a destination, a reference, and an arena of transformation. In short, we intend to provide a platform for debate on the exciting and problematic to and fro of contemporary jewellery between maker, wearer and institution.

Secondly, we hope that this program will give the attendees an opportunity to test a growing interest in the field for exhibition design against the larger historical and theoretical context of museology and (contemporary) jewellery exhibition history.

The results of this symposium will later be published both online and in print.

Come numerous: frog legs might be served!

Brune Boyer, Emmanuel Lacoste & Benjamin Lignel, für la garantie

About Zimmerhof

Zimmerhof is a yearly reunion of around 200 members of the jewellery field - students, makers, designers and historians - taking place in an impressive old farmhouse estate in Bad Rappenau-Zimmerhof.
While the four-day event revolves around talks and presentations, it also provides the opportunity to chat at length with those peers we often only ‘bump into’ in other events: it’s an occasion to exchange information, communicate about one’s work, and generally have a good time together.

In order to keep both the attendants and the organisers on their toes, the lectures are always organized by a different team of jewellery professionals: two, sometimes three, people choose a theme, and select a roster of international speakers accordingly. The speakers come from Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and France; alumni students from academies throughout Europe also present their work (talks are given either in English or German). According to the tradition, visitors are encouraged to bring a couple of their own pieces, which are shown on Friday night on the now legendary Schmucktisch (jewellery table).

Zimmerhof Symposium is the longest existing symposium of it´s kind. Through the years it has grown to be the time and place to be for contemporary jewellery people to meet and greet, to talk and discuss. Bolstered by tradition and ever changing programs, we feel sure that the symposium will continue to inspire for many years to come: we hope to see you there!