2024 Community Challenge
The Baltimore Jewelry Center invites community members near and far to share artwork, personal artifacts (sketches, notes, images), and stories related to your engagement with the BJC to help capture our community-sourced history and launch our digital archive project. Submitted work and stories will be displayed in the gallery from December 6th through January 24th with the gallery shifting and changing as new work and stories are added over the two month duration of the show.
In the making: a community archiving project
Exhibition Duration: December 6, 2024 - January 24, 2025
Application Fee: None - There is no application fee associated with this project. Please feel free to make a donation to the BJC in honor of our 10th anniversary here.
Deadline for Apply: New works will be admitted into the exhibition on a rolling basis between December 6, 2024 and January 24, 2025.
Shipping Information: Participants do not need to wait for a response to their submission. All works will be accepted into the exhibition.* Please address your work to:
BJC
10 E. North Ave. Ste. 130
Baltimore, MD 21202
Here is what we are asking our community to submit to this gallery project:
Bring in or send us an artwork or personal artifacts (sketches, notes, samples) that you have created with the BJC. This could be a favorite piece you have created in a class, a piece that represents a significant learning milestone for you, or a piece that utilizes a technique you are particularly proud of. This could also be pages from your sketchbook, notes or sample pieces.
Share the impact the BJC has had on you and your creative practice in the form of a brief anecdote or story. We would love to hear your stories of the BJC: what does the BJC mean to you? What have you gained from being a part of the BJC community? What have you learned at the BJC? What connections have you made? Share your BJC stories with us here. Excerpts from collected stories may be printed out and included in the physical gallery next to accompanying artwork or individually as stand alone objects.
Why are asking our community to submit to this gallery project:
In honor of our tenth anniversary, the BJC will embark on a multi-prong project exploring the concept and practice of archiving. We are considering what creating an archive means to our young organization and our vision for the future. Simultaneously, we are contemplating what archival work we can do for the relatively young field of contemporary jewelry and metalsmithing. This work will have a broad reach, engaging artists, educators, and collectors from across the globe as well as our local community of artists, students, and patrons.
In lieu of our annual community challenge, we will open our gallery between December 6 and January 24 to invite members of our community to display artwork they have created at the BJC or personal artifacts related to their experience at the BJC (sketches, notes, samples). We will also engage our community in an act of collective storytelling and record-keeping, asking members to share the impact the BJC has had on them and their creative practice in the form of a brief anecdote or story. The gallery walls will begin blank and over the course of the 6-week project, they will be populated with a collection of artwork, artifacts, and stories submitted by our community near and far. The resulting collection, whatever it evolves to be, will be a visual celebration of community, learning, and making, which is at the heart of everything we do.
Objects, artworks, and stories shared as part of the exhibition will be documented and added to the BJC’s digital archive, where they will be accessible as a resource for future generations of jewelers and metalsmiths. These items will serve as the foundation for our archive and help create a community-sourced history of the BJC. Collected stories will become part of the BJC’s archive and digital history for use by future generations of artists and craftspeople.
FAQs
What is an Archive?
Archives are maintained collections of objects or information. There are a lot of different types of archives, including museum collections, libraries, and databases.
The archive that we are aiming to build is a digital catalog of jewelry that can be used to tell the history of the BJC while also serving as an educational tool. The BJC archive will be a place where anyone that wants to learn about contemporary art-jewelry or metalsmithing can go to see examples of different styles and learn about different processes.
What kind of artworks are eligible for this exhibition?
Anything made in the BJC studio or as part of a BJC program is eligible. That includes things made during bench rental, classes, or workshops, as well as things made for exhibitions or community sales at the BJC, youth programs, free events, internships, and residencies.
We would love for you to share a piece of finished jewelry, but we’re also more than happy to exhibit samples, prototypes, notes, or pages from your sketchbook.
If you have something you’d like to share with us but you aren’t sure if it qualifies, you can email us at info@baltimorejewelrycenter.org, and we will offer guidance.
Do you have to submit a story if you submit an artwork?
No, you can share a work of art without including a story, but if you have a story to share alongside your work we’d love to hear it.
Do you have to submit an artwork if you submit a story?
No, you can share a story without sharing an artwork. Your story must be related to the BJC studio, programs and/or community, but does not have to be related to or accompanied by an object.
Can you participate in the project if you’re not local to Baltimore?
Even if you aren’t local to Baltimore, if you’ve participated in any of our programs we’d love to have you participate!
If you’d like to send an artwork, tell us a little bit about it by filling out this form, and mail your hang-ready work to us at:
BJC
10 E North Avenue
STE 130
Baltimore, MD 21202
If you’d like to contribute a story, you can share it with us here.
International artists that would like to share personal artifacts can scan original notes or sketches and email them to bjcexhibitions@gmail.com. Items will be printed and included in the physical exhibition as well as the digital archive.
How can you participate if you haven’t previously interacted with the BJC
This project seeks to capture our community of makers and artists over a long period of time. If you haven't ever been to the Baltimore Jewelry Center or participated in any of our programs, we encourage you to get involved. A great first step in connecting with the BJC would be through a visit to our studio, taking a class, attending free programs, or applying for a scholarship, residency, or exhibition call. The BJC archive is a long term project and there will be future opportunities to engage with and be a part of this project.
What will the BJC do with all the pieces and stories that are displayed as part of this exhibition?
Objects and artworks displayed as part of the exhibition will be documented and added to the BJC’s digital archive, where they will be accessible as a resource for future generations of jewelers and metalsmiths.
Stories will be collected to help create a community-sourced history of the BJC.
Hanging installation Expectations
Artwork should be brought to the studio ready to hang. Hang-ready artworks do not require construction of new hanging devices or mounts at the time of installation.
Artist provided mounts and specialized hanging equipment are encouraged.
Artworks, including ephemera and works on paper, should not be framed.
Please send us information about the artwork you’re contributing via this artwork submission form prior to shipping or in person installation.
Installation will be available during certain times of the day so that a BJC staff member or volunteer can assist you if you need it. We will have some hardware and tools available for installation.
Install times:
Monday + Thursday: 2:00 - 6:00
Friday: 10:30 - 2:30
Saturday + Sunday: 1:00 - 5:30
Participants are welcome to hang their own work with assistance from a studio manager at the times listed above, or drop work off for BJC staff to install anytime during the run of the exhibition. Artwork that is dropped off will be installed after we’ve reviewed the piece’s accompanying information.
Hanging Deinstallation Expectations
The BJC will contact you when your work is ready for pickup following the closure of the exhibition and documentation of the contributed items. If you send work in the mail, we will return your work to you in the original packing you provided.
The BJC has final discretion over what it included in this exhibition.
FAQ
About the Baltimore Jewelry Center
The Baltimore Jewelry Center is a 501c3 educational nonprofit building a vibrant creative community for the study and practice of metalworking for new and established artists. We offer classes, workshops, and studio space rental to anyone with an interest in contemporary jewelry and metalsmithing. In addition to our education program, the Baltimore Jewelry Center helps metal and jewelry artists grow sustainable business practices by offering professional development, sales opportunities, and a promotional platform.
Our exhibitions program is a robust component of the Baltimore Jewelry Center and supplements the education we provide to our students and community. Through exhibitions that showcase national and international artists in the art jewelry and metals field we offer students an up close and personal view of the innovations and freshness happening in the field at large.
What does my entry fee support?
The Baltimore Jewelry Center is a 501c3 educational nonprofit with a small staff and budget. Entry fees cover:
Administrative costs associated with the gallery
Promotional/print materials
Exhibition install and display materials
Shipping and insurance
Opening reception costs
Packaging
The Artist agrees to provide suitable/durable wrapping, boxing material, and wrapping/boxing instructions for the transport and storage of their work to the Baltimore Jewelry Center.
Submission Guidelines:
Please email images, completed entry forms and any other requested materials to bjcexhibitions@gmail.com with the exhibition title in the subject line.
Entry fees must be made via PayPal (make payment to bjcexhibitions@gmail.com). Applications will not be reviewed until the entry fee has been paid in full. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Image Guidelines:
Please send jpeg images only. Images should be 300dpi, and approximately 4x6 inches. You may include one detail image of each piece submitted.
Please label each image with your last name, first name, and title. See example below: