Maria Hanson in live jewellery performance ‘JUNK: Rubbish to Gold’

Maria Hanson, Reader in Metalwork and Jewellery at Sheffield Hallam University, is one of 50 jewellers taking part in JUNK: Rubbish to Gold, a playful exploration of community economies (exchange, giving, bartering, gathering, earning, harvesting); putting on display the process of creating the ‘work of art’. The performance is being live-streamed on screens in the mac Birmingham and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter.

Reusing is often perceived as the up-cycling of one object to another, from unwanted to desired, consumer leftovers turned into new desirable luxury consumables to buy. This reuse is the cornerstone of jewellery as a discipline, with materials shifting form to adapt to the newest fashion and trend. Yet the re-imagining of one object into another is infinitely more complex than it is often portrayed.

Partnering charities will supply JUNK jewellery on account. Local businesses will provide tools and equipment. The School of Jewellery will provide a venue. Performers well-established and newly emerged will come to ‘gift’ skills in a performance which will be live-streamed. The resulting pieces will be exhibited and sold via a silent auction.

More information is available on the project website here, and on Facebook here.

Maria Hanson is Reader in Metalwork and Jewellery and a researcher with the Art and Design Research Centre (ADRC) at Sheffield Hallam University