Last week-end in the foyer of the Main Hall of the National Theatre Bucharest art and contemporary jewelry lovers enjoyed the works of the over 80 designers from 28 countries who were part of AUTOR – International Contemporary Jewelry Fair.
Now at its 17th edition, AUTOR has awarded this year’s winners::
AAA (AUTOR Awesome Award) went to Raluca Buzura, for the Extinct Species collection, a meditation on the beauty of marine life and an invitation to awareness in order to avoid its extinction. Thus, Raluca will be the new focus designer at AUTOR 2019, where she is expected with a special collection and will participate free of charge. Her works will be in the spotlight on AUTOR platform as well, where she will be promoted for one year.
Assamblage Award – Sara Shahak, a designer from Israel, who came to Bucharest with a surprising collection titled Sharp Nature, made by laboriously transforming industrial bells, was the choice of the Assamblage team to participate in a jewelry course at the only private jewelry school in Bucharest.
Athens Jewelry Week Award, consisting in free participation to the event and Joya Barcelona Award, which grants the winner free participation to the 2018 edition of Joya Barcelona Art Jewellery and Objects, one of the best known events of the jewelry industry, went to Teodor Siminic. Winner of three awards at the last edition, Teodor returned to AUTOR with a very personal concept, inspired by his fascination with Zmei, mythical creatures in Romanian folklore which gave the name of the collection appreciated by the teams of the two prestigious events.
ELLE Award this year went to the young Chinese designer Shuming Chen, for her collection Monitoring in the dark, which apart from brooches and rings brought to Bucharest spectacular pieces in the shape of eyeglasses, her concept wanting to draw attention to the lack of freedom we experience in contemporary society due to sometimes intrusive surveillance. She will be the subject of an extended feature in ELLE, the best sold fashion magazine in Romania.
Krama Institute Award consists of a conceptual workshop, customised for the winner by the Krama Institute of Contemporary Jewellery from Athens, and this year Ana Marchetanu will enjoy this experience. Her collection Unicepts, which uses leather in an unusual way, in combination with metal, to evoke an inner language of the mind was spotted and awarded by the Krama team.
Molecule F Award went to a designer from outside Romania for the first time, Mariagiulia Trento, who participated in AUTOR as part of the WUNDERKAMMER I Collective Works By Womencraft Jewelry. The talented Italian designer will be promoted on Molecule-F.com, and also in the Molecule-F Concept Store in Promenada Mall in Bucharest.
People Choice Award went to Andreia G. Popescu whose collection was voted by most visitors. Titled Ikada, which means ‘bridge’ in Japanese, the collection speaks about the importance of experiencing life, about the joy of the journey, in the great passage that we all are engaged in. The award grants the winner free participation to the next edition of AUTOR and a lucky voter picked at random from those who chose her will receive one of her pieces.
“The selection of designers brought to this year’s edition an extremely varied content, of exceptional quality. I believe that all those who participated deserve to be congratulated for their works and it has been an honour and a great joy to host them in Bucharest, in the spectacular foyer at the National Theatre, thus granting a scene where creatives and the public that is passionate about contemporary jewelry could meet. The feedback we had from visitors moved us and motivates us to think of the next edition of the fair with enthusiasm” said Dan Pierșinaru, Director and founder of AUTOR platform.
The fair was open for visitors on 5 and 6 May between 10:00-18:00. After 18:00, the theatre goers who arrived early for the play were surprised to have the opportunity to admire and acquire contemporary jewelry, the designers being still at their stands especially for them. Thus, they could enjoy this event which happens only once a year in Bucharest.