Conversazioni con. A series of virtual lectures

Lecture program

• Naomi Filmer: Jewelry Between Body and Object

March 10th, 6:30 – 8:00 PM. English language.
Naomi Filmer is a contemporary jewellery designer/artist, who describes her work as ‘objects about the body’ rather than jewellery. After completing a master’s degree in Metalwork and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art, London 1993, Filmer acquired a reputation for catwalk collabrations with designers such as Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen and Anne Valerie Hash.
More recently her works feature in international contemporary Fashion and Applied Art exhibitions, recognised for her sculptural forms, experimental use of materials and her regard for the body, subjectively and objectively, as a site for continued aesthetic enquiry. By combining craftsmanship with new media and exploring recurrent themes such as fragmentation and isolation of the body, she pushes boundaries between art and accessories, creating objects that occupy a middle ground between art and design.
 

• Amina Ghali: The World of Azza Fahmy through the eyes of Amina Ghali

May 9th, 6:30 – 8:00 PM. English language.
On Google Meet, no registeration is required: hQps://meet.google.com/cfv-xrpz-und
Amina Ghali, Azza Fahmy’s youngest daughter, joined Azza Fahmy Jewellery in 2005 and spent 3 years working behind the scenes designing and developing pieces across the brand’s various collections. She impactfully endorsed and applied the brand’s ethos of producing unique pieces with subtle historic and cultural references with a contemporary modern twist.
The yearning to be a designer began at an early age when visiting her mother’s workshop, however, Amina began realizing her talent when she started putting her passion to practice. Amina studied contemporary jewellery in Italy’s Alchimia School for a year, followed by a BA in jewellery design and silversmith at the University of Central England, Birmingham, UK.
After years of researching and practicing her art, Amina successfully launched her first Azza Fahmy Jewellery collection in 2008. She has launched various collections since and designs side by side Creative Director Azza Fahmy as her design partner. Amina was also responsible for the ‘Azza Fahmy for Maahew Williamson’ Fashion Week SS’13 & AW’14 retail and catwalk collection in addition to the launch of the second ‘Azza Fahmy for the British Museum’ Bespoke culture collec6on celebra6ng the museum’s exhibi6on ‘Egypt: Faith after the Pharaohs’ and the highly successful Wonders of Nature series.
In 2016, Amina was named among Britain’s “Professional Jeweller’s - Hot 100” as one of the most influential jewellery talents and industry flag bearers. Amina desires to push design boundaries continues to see her introduce cutting edge concepts to the market further enhancing the design integrity of the Azza Fahmy Jewellery design house.
 

• Betony Vernon: Art & Design

May 25th, 6:30 – 8:00PM. English language.
On Google Meet, no registra9on is required: hQps://meet.google.com/ybp-jrpu-ukx
Daring, provocative and boundary-defying, Betony Vernon is an American-born designer, sexual anthropologist and author based in Paris. Her aesthetic is formed by her explorations in spirituality, sex, sensuality and the erotic body realm. She holds degrees in Art History and metal-smithing from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Masters degree in Industrial Design from Domus Academy in Milan, Italy.
Her design work has been included in a number of International exhibitions from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to The Triennale Design Museum in Milan. She has also collaborated with several brands including Maison Valentino , Jean-Paul Gaultier, Missoni, Gianfranco Ferré, Swarowski, Pampaloni, Karl Lagerfeld, Alexander Wang and Fornasetti. In 2002 her Paradise Found Fine Erotic Jewelry collection, composed today of over 400 jewels and jewel tools, became the interface for what she describes as her mission, to empower women and men to enjoy and share greater pleasure.
Vernon’s designs are crafted in Italy using natural, durable materials such as gold, silver, marble leather and wood. The Origin Chair, a functional sculpture carved in statuary marble from Monte Altissima was unveiled in December 2012 at The Triennale Museum of Design and has since traveled to MUDAC, Museum of Design and Contemporary Art, Lausanne. In November 2015 the work was also exhibited in Vernon’s carte blanche for the Gewerbemuseum, Winterthur. She also participated to the group exhibi6on Federn in the same museum in between 2019 and 2020.
In 2017, Vernon unveiled the Boudoir Box for the first time to the general public as part of the Medusa exhibition at the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art. The transportable work was created in 1999 to present her erotic jewelry to collectors around the world.
Vernon’s ultimative goal both as a sculptor and a designer is to create durable designs that defy the hands of time and intimately empower her collectors.

Should you have any problems with the access to the lecture, please contact Arianna Caressa at a.caressa@ied.it