SCHMUCK München 2026

This year were received more than 1000 applications, and more than 70 works by artists from 32 countries were selected.

>> Download here the selected artist's list

The SCHMUCKmünchen special show is unique worldwide: for over 65 years, it has showcased the most innovative works in the field of artistic designer jewellery. Artists, gallery owners, collectors, and jewellery enthusiasts from all over the world travel to Munich every year specifically for this exhibition. SCHMUCKmünchen 2026 is curated by Sam Tho Duong. The jewellery artist from Pforzheim works with small freshwater pearls, which he arranges like ice crystals in hoarfrost, and recycled materials, among other things.

For SCHMUCKmünchen 2026, Sam Tho Duong has selected almost 70 works from more than 1,000 applications – a new application record. This year's small special show Classics of Modernism is dedicated to Erico Nagai.

Erico Nagai was born in Tokyo in 1947, came to Europe in the late 1960s, and studied in the jewellery class at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts (Akademie der Bildenden Künste München) under Franz Rickert and Hermann Jünger from 1970 onwards. In her work, she combines Western and Eastern materials and techniques, such as Japanese Urushi lacquer in deep red or rich black, but also simple metals such as copper and iron, which she fuses and coats with tiny amounts of gold. Erico Nagai has received numerous awards for her work, including the Bavarian State Prize, the Herbert Hofmann Prize, and the Design Prize of the City of Munich.

The curated special show SCHMUCKmünchen is framed by the stands of FRAME: Jewellery galleries from all over the world present top-class international artists here, including galleries from Canada and Korea, Sweden and South Africa, Germany and the Netherlands.
 
The special show SCHMUCK is sponsored by the Munich-based foundation for the applied arts Benno and Therese Danner’sche Kunstgewerbestiftung.

Prizes and Awards:
Herbert-Hofmann-Prize

• The prize commemorates Dr. Herbert Hofmann, the founder of the special show in 1959.
• Three contributions will be awarded the Herbert Hofmann Prize.
• Works will be acknowledged at the SCHMUCK-Catalogue of the following year (including photography and text).
• Distinguished exhibitors receive a certificate and a stele (designed by Hermann Jünger).

Bavarian States Prize

• Every exhibitor at the International Trade Fair can apply for the Bavarian States Prize.
• The Bavarian States Prize is awarded to 10 contributions of applied art within all contributions of the International Trade Fair. The Bavarian States Prize is awarded 5.000 Euros, a gold medal, and a certificate.

Organisation and Funding:
Promoter: Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH.
Exhibition Patron: Benno und Therese Danner´sche Kunstgewerbestiftung München.
Conception and direction: Barbara Schmidt, Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern.
Organisation: Eva Sarnowski, Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern.
Arrangements: Alexandra Bahlmann.

We are grateful to the Bavarian State Ministry of Commerce, Energy, and Technology for the support they have lent to this special show, to the Danner Foundation for their sponsorship, and to the Association of Trades Fairs as the organizer of the Crafts and Trades Fair Munich.