All We’ve Been and All We’re Becoming in Munich

Artist list

Zaina Benhamou, Selma Dooremalen, Katja Jacobs, Alix Spooren, Emma van Brussel

The project focuses on how childhood experiences, environments and early fascinations continue to shape their artistic identities today. Each maker looks back at the formative details such as objects, worlds, stories and habits that quietly but unmistakably influenced who they are and what they create.

The exhibition presents jewellery as a lens through which these influences reappear. Some artists reconnect with physical memories of movement, discipline or play. Others revisit early exposure to textiles, nature, visual media or digital worlds. What began as instinctive childhood interests has grown into personal visual languages, recurring themes and artistic methods. Their work shows how these early impressions still resonate, evolve and inform their creative choices.

At the same time, the project acknowledges that they are in a moment of transition. They are no longer students but emerging makers who are navigating what comes next. The title reflects this duality. It is shaped by everything they have been in the past while also pointing toward the new directions they are growing into.
The exhibition approaches childhood not as nostalgia but as an active force. It remains a foundation that continues to influence materials, forms, imagination and sensibility. All we’ve been and all we’re becoming explores how five artists carry their earliest inspirations into the present and how these continue to take shape in contemporary jewellery.

This group of five jewellery artists met during their studies at Sint Lucas Antwerp, where they quickly discovered how well their ideas, work ethics and creative energy matched. After graduating, they chose to continue collaborating, supporting each other’s practice and building a shared momentum that pushes them forward as a collective.

Zaina Benhamou brings the discipline of her background as a top-level gymnast into her work. She translates controlled movements, repetition and physical focus into a strong visual language within jewellery.

Selma Dooremalen works from her interest in the human body and her background in fashion techniques. She explores how textile structures, detail and construction can be reinterpreted in metal and wearable forms.

Katja Jacobs combines experiences from mixed media, photography, printmaking and architectural studies. Her jewellery practice shows a clear eye for material, craft and personal expression.

Emma van Brussel draws from her passion for video games and digital culture. She enjoys turning elements from virtual worlds into physical, wearable or object-based pieces through different media.

Alix Spooren is inspired by nature and the materials she finds in it. Growing up near a forest shaped her way of looking, and she integrates organic elements and textures into her jewellery in a calm, focused way.

Together they form a diverse but grounded group, each with a distinct approach yet connected through shared roots at Sint Lucas Antwerp and a motivation to continue growing and creating side by side.


Opening Event: 05.03, Thu 18:00-21:00
Artist Talk: 06.03, Fri 18:00-19:30
Event Duration: 05 - 08.03.2026, Thu-Sun, 12:00-18:00