Every year, CPM sponsors metals for students at the University of Stellenbosch for their exhibitions or year-end awards prizes. Falling within the Visual Arts Department, the division of Creative Jewellery and Metal Design is focused on educating jewellery design as a critical discipline that allows students to reflect on their surroundings and translate their ideas into three-dimensional wearable artworks that communicate and stimulate thought.
This year we were delighted to gift these hard-working and talented young jewellers with four prizes of 50g silver each for their In-Between Exhibition: a wonderful display of undergraduate student work specialising in contemporary jewellery design.
The exhibition illustrates how jewellery design can function as a multi-faceted design tool through the various ways that students have employed their jewellery practice to push boundaries and communicate messages of identity, place, social standing, cultural practices, and political viewpoints.
From left to right: winning entries by Jessa-lynn Matthews, Komien Smit and Claire Dhooge
This year’s Jewellery Design students excelled above all odds and curated an exhibition that demonstrated their tenacity and perseverance. The exhibition title is well suited to the “in-between” and uncertain circumstances that the world faced in the midst of COVID-19. Nonetheless, the students (even with limited access to studios as a result of the pandemic and lockdown regulations) managed to put together an immaculate display of work that the University is exceptionally proud of.
The exhibition showcased projects by all 2nd year, 3rd year and 4th year students studying Creative Jewellery and Metal Design. In each year group winners were rewarded for their excellence in combining conceptual ideas with technical precision.
The winners were:
- 2ndyear first place: Kim Jooste
- 2ndyear second place: Anika Lotter
- 3rdyear first place: Lee van der Merwe
- 3rdyear second place: Tor Kaplan
- 4thyear first place: Jessa-Lynn Matthews
- 4thyear second place: Komien Smit
- 4thyear third place: Claire Dhooge
Course Leader Carine Terreblanche and Lecturers Mariambibi Khan and Joani Groenewald had this to say:
“We are especially grateful to our sponsors; Cape Precious Metals, BJ Oberholzers, Jeweltec and Cape Tools, for their generous prizes to our students. And also, our judges; Ernst van der Wal and Anine Roos. To all 10 of our 2020 Graduates in Creative Jewellery and Metal Design: We believe that you will share your talent and success with the industry in the near future. “
Congratulations to these exceptional young artisans. CPM wishes you all the best for a bright future and we can’t wait to see what you create next!
From left to right: 2nd year winners Kim Jooste and Anika Lotter; 4th year winners Komien Smit, Jess Matthews and Claire Dhooge; 3rd year winners Tor Kaplan and Lee van der Merwe
