Mingxuan Ma – winner of the first edition
At the initiative of Sara Chyan – a long-time friend of the AUTOR platform – we are delighted to announce a new chapter in our mission to support emerging jewellery artists, through a special collaboration with Blackdot Gallery in London and the launch of the Rising Star Jewellery Award.
AUTOR Platform is an international platform dedicated to contemporary jewellery, founded in Bucharest by Dan Pierșinaru. Over the years, AUTOR has grown into one of the most active platforms in Europe, organising jewellery fairs, publishing a print magazine, running awards, and offering mentoring and coaching programmes for artists.
Our mission is to position jewellery not merely as ornament, but as art, culture and statement.
We are proud to announce that Mingxuan Ma is the winner of the very first edition of the Rising Star Jewellery Award.
Congratulations, Mingxuan! Your work truly impressed the jury, and we are honoured to support your artistic vision and to promote it through the AUTOR platform.
About the awarded collection – Dionysian City
“Dionysian City” emerges from the artist’s personal experience of living under the pressures of metropolitan life. Observing the repetitive rhythms and emotional weight of urban living, Mingxuan reflects on how people often become detached from the very environments that surround them.
Rather than viewing architectural materials as inherently cold, she understands this perception as culturally constructed. Jewellery – as the object most intimately connected to the human body – becomes a powerful medium through which architectural materials can be recontextualised as extensions of urban identity.
The collection is grounded in in-depth research and immersive fieldwork carried out across London. Personal impressions and neighbourhood-specific cultural characteristics are translated into a series of chain necklaces. Each piece draws inspiration from elements such as walls, window ledges, road signs and manhole covers, and is named after a London postcode, creating a familiar point of connection for both viewers and wearers.
By distilling personal emotions into emblematic forms that resonate with London’s broader cultural identity, Mingxuan transforms the material and psychological textures of the city into wearable narratives. The collection highlights overlooked urban details and invites the audience to rediscover their surroundings with renewed awareness and a sense of belonging.
We sincerely hope to welcome Mingxuan Ma at AUTOR 2026, taking place on 16–17 May in Bucharest, where you will be able to experience these remarkable pieces live.
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