The Thuthuka Jewellery Award exhibition
will be open to the public at the FADA Gallery at the University of
Johannesburg, Bunting road Campus, Auckland Park, from February 21 to March 12,
2015.
Adjudication
for the 2014 Thuthuka Jewellery Awards for young aspirant contemporary jewellers
is completed. The competition, in its seventh year, is supported by the
partnership between the Department of Arts and Culture and the Thuthuka Jewellery
Development Programme. The intention of the Thuthuka Jewellery Awards is to showcase the best of South Africa’s young up
and coming jewellery designers, who are learning jewellery making skills at
community jewellery schools or at tertiary jewellery design departments, and
who have had the additional advantage of having been mentored in contemporary
design through the Thuthuka Jewellery
mentorship programme.
With a high
number of entries from jewellery design students across four provinces in South
Africa, the Thuthuka Jewellery Awards is established as the industry benchmark
for innovation and excellence in the design of contemporary handmade jewellery .
The 2014
competition focused on the fashion industry and in particular on accessories, in
this instance shoes, aptly captured in
the theme ‘Sho! Shoe Jewellery?’
Students have been challenged to construct multifunctional contemporary pieces
inspired by the South African insect. Entrants were judged on how they
interpreted the natural shapes, textures and unique patterning of insects and
translated these into multifunctional jewellery pieces that can double up as
shoe trimming, beautiful jewellery or hair accessories.
Founder of the
Thuthuka Development Programme, Carola Ross, says, “With the fashion industry
as the focal point for this year’s competition, entrants have had to raise the
level excellence in both design innovation and manufacturing to create sturdy,
wearable and beautiful multifunctional handmade pieces. The standard of entries
we have received this year is testament to the critical insight students have
gained into the principles of contemporary design and public preference.”
According to
Ross, the competition is aimed at providing a platform for student jewellers to
have their work professionally showcased. The competition theme in the past has
been aligned to practical design-related industry sectors such as homeware, tableware,
lighting and now, fashion. The intention is that this additional experience
could ultimately broaden their employment opportunities. The exposure through
the annual Thuthuka Awards exhibition also benefits entrants in building an
industry profile and public interest in their work.
Due to the
growing popularity of the competition among the South African design community
and the broader public, the work of the finalists will be showcased in an
exhibition from at the FADA Gallery at
the University of Johannesburg, Bunting road Campus, Auckland Park, from
February 16 to March 12 2015.
About Thuthuka
The Thuthuka Jewellery Development Programme
is a Gauteng-based peer mentorship programme that provides a mentorship
programme in jewellery design and manufacturing to jewellery students from FET
colleges and community jewellery schools across four provinces in South Africa.University
jewellery design students also participate in the competition.
The curriculum is focused on enhancing innovation and excellence in the production
of contemporary handmade jewellery.
The Thuthuka
Jewellery Awards is an annual competition that provides a national platform
for student jewellers to have their work professionally showcased. Winning
designs are awarded bursaries as well as prizes in the form of the tools
essential to the jeweller’s practice to galvanise their entry into industry.
For more
information, please contact Carola Ross on:
Telephone: +27 11 726 2502
Mobile: + 27 83 653 5540
Email: carolaross@mweb.co.za