Since 2007, Ethical Metalsmiths have generated semester-long projects in communities across the country and around the world through Radical Jewelry Makeover (RJM). RJM: Midwest Edition brings together metalsmiths and jewelry makers at the Eskenazi School and across the Midwest with local residents, who have donated unwanted jewelry for transformation into new pieces.
Metals and gemstones are often mined in some of the poorest countries in the world, on sacred lands, in disputed territories, and at great cost to human lives and the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that hard rock mining is the most toxic industry in the United States.
RJM seeks to raise awareness of and transform the sourcing of materials for jewelry production and to encourage the reconsideration of consumer habits. Representing an alternative supply chain during the summer of 2023, Bloomington residents donated jewelry and shared stories accompanying the donations with artists from the Eskenazi School. IU artists joined those from six other Midwestern institutions to sort donations and create new pieces of jewelry and other sculptural objects that honor their origins and the environment.
RJM: Midwest Edition begins with a symposium from 10am–6 pm at the Cook Center, Grand Hall in Maxwell Hall, 750 E Kirkwood Avenue. Events move to the Fine Arts Building, 1201 E Seventh Street with a talk by McKinney Visiting Artist, metalsmith Curtis Hidemasa Arima from 5–6pm in room 015. The day culminates with an exhibition of jewelry upcycled from community donations at the Grunwald Gallery of Art in room 110 from 6–8pm. The RJM exhibit is open through March 2.
