CALL FOR APPLICATION
We are pleased to announce the
2024-25 edition of PREZIOSA YOUNGInternational contest/exhibition for young jewellery makers
PREZIOSA YOUNG is a biennial competition launched in 2008, dedicated to worldwide emerging artists, goldsmiths and designers.
The aim is to contribute to the circulation of what is new in research jewellery, as well as showcase what the new generations of goldsmiths/designers/artists are “brewing”.
PREZIOSA YOUNG is a contest/exhibition that falls under the umbrella of the vast PREZIOSA -Florence Jewellery Week project, entirely supported and organized by LE ARTI ORAFE, the Jewellery School in Florence since 1985.
LAO supports with the means at its disposal the new generations of craftsmen, designers and artists who explore innovative paths or anticipate future trends.
The contest has proven to be an excellent springboard for most of the artists selected for the various editions, who have continued their careers successfully, are present in many galleries, have obtained further awards and prizes, confirming the quality and reputation that PY has acquired over the years.
An international jury composed by curators, artists and critics selects a small number of young artists from all those who have submitted their candidature.
The names of the jurors who took part in the previous selections can be seen here.
The selection is based on:
The quality of design
and manufacture of the pieces
The contemporary use of
the materials
The conceptual and technical
innovation
Participants
We invite worldwide artists, goldsmiths, silversmiths, designers, to submit projects that illustrate the work in which they are currently involved.
The contest provides a high level of quality, both conceptual and technical.
The participants are young professionals who already have their own activity and a demonstrable curriculum.
Only candidates born after 31 December 1988 can be admitted.
PY is not suitable for students or recently graduated.
Costs
Entries are free of charge apart from the costs for the shipment and related insurance of the items to and from Florence for the selected artists.Insurance during the exhibition(s) are at the charge of the organizer.
Materials and techniques
Items submitted for the competition can be handcrafted, or produced by machinery, in 3D technology, etcetera. It is not the manufacturing process what determine the quality of the objects.
Furthermore, the objects can be made in any material.
Deadline
November 30th, 2024
Schedule
- 30 November 2024, closing of applications.
- By 31 December 2024, selection of candidates.
- 10 January 2025, communication of results.
Awards
- Preziosa prize.
The exhibition featuring the jewelry created by the winning artists will be presented in Florence in spring 2025, during Florence Jewellery Week or another important occasion. In the following months the exhibition will be hosted in other cities and galleries, according to a schedule that will be published after the announcement of the winners.
An online catalogue will be published, with images of all the selected works, critical texts, CVs and contacts of the artists.
A number of catalogues will be printed on the occasion of the exhibitions.
- LAO special prize.
One of the selected artists is invited to Florence for a period of one week to give a lecture to students. The prize covers accommodation costs for the winner but not travel costs and other costs.
- Inhorgenta prize.
One of the selected artists is awarded with a free space for the participation as exhibitor to the following edition of the fair
Application
Applicants should fulfil the on-line registration form and provide all the information. In the registration session, the applicant must provide just few personal data (name and surname, telephone number, e-mail address …).
After the registration, the system generates a verification message and send it at your e-mail address: you could then start uploading information and images in multiple sessions, until you decide to close the registration process.
To prepare the material in advance, please look at the following page.
Selection and exclusion from the contest
Only candidates born after 31 December 1988 are admitted.
The creative process, the reasons, the objectives of the candidates should be explained through the images and the statement submitted to the jury. The selection is made going through the images and text submitted. In the case that the jury deems it necessary, candidates will be requested to send objects for the final evaluation.
Privacy of the process.
The online registration form has been structured so as each participant is identified by an automatically generated numerical code: the jury have access only to the data required for the selection (images, explanatory texts, artist’s statement), but not to the name, CV and personal data of the candidates.
To preserve the privacy process, candidates should not include their name or other personal references in the presentation texts (i.e., web and/or social, etc.).
Candidates who do not respect this rule will be disqualified from the competition.
Exhibition
The exhibition featuring the jewelry created by the winning artists will be presented in Florence in spring 2025, during Florence Jewellery Week or another important occasion. In the following months, the exhibition will be hosted in other cities and galleries, according to a schedule that will be published after the announcement of the winners.
A high-quality on-line catalogue is published, to introduce the selected artists with a short biography, full colour images and a description of their work.
A number of catalogues will be printed on the occasion of the exhibitions.
By entering the competition, candidates automatically accept the obligation – if selected – to deliver their works to all the scheduled events. The winners of the competition must send a congruous number of objects for the sched uled exhibitions, according to the indications by the organizers.
These pieces must be the same (or similar) to those submitted for the selection
Shipment
The shipping costs of the pieces (for the selection and for the exhibition), from the origin to Firenze and back home must be paid by the submitters. It is up to the artists to decide whether to insure and/or send their pieces by registered mail. Shipment costs from Firenze to/by other exhibition locations are borne by the organization.
Material requested for the online registration.
1. Full name
2. Full address
3. Phone number (home/office/handy), with full international code and area code
4. Email address. Please note that all communications with the candidates are conducted by e-mail. To this end, is very important to use an internationally valid internet address, such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail
AFTER registration you will be given a candidate code and you will be able to access your form to upload the requested material even in several sessions, as follows:
- Education/work experience
- Short statement (Max 3000 characters including spaces).
NOTE: To preserve the privacy process, candidates should NOT include their name or other references to their own person in the presentation texts (i.e. web address, social address, etc.). Candidates who do not respect this rule will be disqualified from the competition. - Images of 5 objects to submit for the contest.
Each object can be illustrated with up to 5 images.
Accepted files: JPG format, minimum size, 2400×1600 pixel; minimum resolution 300 DPI. - Captions for each object. Captions must be in English language, in the format as follow:
Images with non-compliant captions are excluded from the competition.
For each image:
- Title.
- Typology.
- Year.
- Materials.
- Size of the object: Height, width, depth, in millimetres.
- Credits (photograph, collectors, others)
We suggest submitting still life images, whit a white or black background.
Pictures of worn pieces can be accepted in case of obvious difficulty in photographing the objects in still life.
Facsimile of caption to be used for each image.
Purple rain.
Ring, 2018.
Silver, titanium, emerald, plastics, stainless steel.
50x42x38
Handcrafted, 3d printed, lost-wax casting, engraving, stone setting.
Foto credits: Name Surname