Welcome to OBSESSED!
1 — 30 November 2023
In the Netherlands: Amsterdam, Arnhem, Apeldoorn, Den Bosch, Den Haag, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Utrecht
In Belgium: Antwerp
All Strings Attached!
Are you obsessed with jewellery? We are too! And what’s more satisfying than rifling through your most precious pieces and rediscovering beloved treasures.
Obsessed! Jewellery Festival returns for its fourth edition this November, to collect every loose strand of jewellery across the Netherlands and Belgium, holding each piece up to the light to tell its story.
Themed All Strings Attached! we follow a multi-weekend treasure hunt from Amsterdam to Antwerp, assembling our family of jewels around fresh new cords.
Obsessed! continues an initiative by Current Obsession Magazine to link artists, galleries and institutions across the Netherlands and Belgium, through jewellery-related events that incorporate every format from digital adornment to films to physical objects… as ever, exploring jewellery as a vessel for meaning, empowerment and belonging.
As you may have seen, our Open Call went out in September 2022, and since then a delectable program is already taking shape from these ‘early bird’ responses. A multi-city festival such as this, with occasionally simultaneous events in distant locations, means a limit to what we can responsibly and effectively promote, as well as be physically present to support. However, we are willing to hold an open door for late submissions, and still have a bit of space in what we can accommodate. So if you missed the deadline but are keen to participate, we’d love to hear your ideas!
Fill in and submit this form by 30 June and you will hear from us with the results throughout July.
After filling in the form and clicking a payment method button, you will be directed to the payment page, where an application handling fee of 50€ will be charged as the final step of the form. Upon submission you will receive an invoice confirmation via email.
See Festival Timeline and tentative Focus City Weekends. Please, keep these dates in mind when preparing to submit your event:
| September 2022 |
Early Bird Application Deadline |
| 1 May - 30 June 2023 |
Applicaiton Period |
| 15 June - 1 July |
Processing Period |
| 1 July - 15 July |
Results Communication Period |
| 1 September |
Programme Announcement |
| 1 - 30 November |
Obsessed! Jewellery Festival |
| 03-05 November |
Focus Weekend #1: Arnhem, Des Bosch, Apeldoorn |
| 10-12 November |
Focus Weekend #2: Amsterdam |
| 17-19 November |
Focus Weekend #3: Rotterdam, Den Haag |
| 24-26 November |
Focus Weekend #4: Antwerp |
FAQ
1. Is there a fee for artists to participate in the festival?
- There is no participation fee for artists who are taking part in the festival.
2. Is the festival happening only during the weekends?
- No, the festival will be active throughout the whole month, and we will have focus weekends in specific cities or areas.
3. Is there financial support for artists?
- The festival provides digital and printed communication, and is a platform for artists to exhibit and share their work free of charge. We can advice about funding opportunities and possible event locations, however, we do not provide financial support for artists.
4. Is there support in finding locations for exhibitions and events?
- Communication, content development, and support of the festival are our main priorities. A limited list of potential venues can be offered upon request, however, we prefer to work with artists and collective with leads for, or a confirmed location.
5. Is there support in funding travel and accommodation?
- We can advice regarding funding opportunities and travel grants upon request.
6. Is there support in funding travel and accommodation?
- We can advice regarding funding opportunities and travel grants upon request.
Selection Guidelines
OBSESSED! Jewellery Festival is an initiative that carefully strings together various jewellery related events throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. In order to create as widely accessible a programme as possible, we reserve the option to include or prioritise applications, which are in alignment with the OBSESSED! spirit and the following ideals:
- Multidisciplinarity — The festival programming invites a multidisciplinary approach, including all manner of events from the full spectrum of the jewellery universe.
- Accessibility — We encourage events which allow accessibility for the general public, and reserve the right not to include proposals which focus too narrowly in any niche of interest as to discourage participation on a wider scale.
- Community — The festival aims to foster and strengthen a sense of community from within the field of jewellery. Therefore, we encourage and may prioritise group exhibitions, collective practices, collaboration and cooperation between multiple artists, etc.
- Relevance — In keeping with the festival’s objective to respond to and amplify voices within the field, we actively work to address common themes which we observe to be of particular urgency and interest to broad segments of the jewellery community at a given time. While we strive to spotlight all avenues of artistic inquiry, for the 2023 Edition, a few examples of themes we are broadly working with include: 1. Collective Making and Communal or Participatory Practices; 2. AI and Digital Embodiment; 3. Ritual, Memento and Object as a Mediator; 4. The Ethics of Materials.
As facilitators and coordinators, our main focus and attention goes toward providing digital and printed communication, and providing the information necessary to connect all interested parties, to give you the best possible festival! For this reason, we will also prioritise those artists who have a secured location or leads for locations for their event first, before providing whatever assistance we may be able to offer to less comprehensive proposals.
Application Form