Open Call for Venice Design Week 2023

Venice Design Week is the yearly design festival held in Venice every October since 2010, on the premise of a chosen theme. For a week, the lagoon comes alive with exhibitions, conferences, competitions, workshops, and guided tours that take place in a unique setting and in continuous exchange between the rich history of the city and the exciting novelties of contemporary design. Private galleries and museums, homes and artists' studios, botteghe, and workshops participate in this event; it is an unmissable opportunity for connection and dialogue between established and emerging designers, international companies, and local artisans, storytellers, and a curious and passionate audience.


Theme:
Path. Inspiration. Goal.
From the Odyssey to Around the world in 80 days, from Alice in Wonderland to the personal journeys that shape and mold our lives, we invite you to imagine a jewel that will expand our horizons and narrate the plot of your story.

Time Limit: Works must have been completed within the 24 months preceding the closing dates for entries.

Contest Information:
All entries must be delivered by mail to jewelry@venicedesignweek.it
When submitting to the Venice Design Week Jewelry Selection 2023 keep in mind that your submission will be evaluated primarily on visual appeal, choice of material, and craftsmanship. For this purpose our team STRONGLY advises attaching to your application an image on a white or black background where the product is clearly visible.
1. First round of evaluation: At this stage your design will be judged solely via image and description. It cannot be sent by post. Entries arriving after the 18th of April 2023 at 12.00 pm (CET) may not be judged. The purpose of this round is to pre-select a number of designs to be delivered to the organization for the second and final round of judging.
2. Second round of evaluation: At this stage the jury will select the final number of designs that will be exhibited in the Jewelry Selection show during the Venice Design Week 2023. KEEP IN MIND: Entrants are responsible for the delivery of their work to (and back) the chosen location.

Contest Schedule:
April 18th, 2023: Application deadline.
May 12th, 2023: First round of judging.
May 18th, 2023: The finalists are notified to send their designs to the organization by June 2nd for the second round of judging.
June 16th, 2023: Final round of judging and subsequent notification to the selected designers in the following days.
July 10th, 2023: The selected designers are announced.
October 2023: Exhibition inauguration.
October during VDW, 2023: Guided tours, collateral projects, and award ceremony.
After October 2023: All pieces will be returned to the designers (except in case of having the exhibition travel)

• Maria Rosa Franzin - AGC
• Anna Schetelich - OONA Galerie Berlin
• Elena Rizzi - OhMyBlue Gallery Venice
• Roberto Zanon - architect and Professor of Design at Venice’s Academy of Fine Arts
• Valeria Accornero - journalist and blogger
• Marianna Serandrei - owner of Ca' Pisani Decò Design Hotel
• Lorenza Bini - Bini Gallery
• Irene Belfi - curator and History of Jewelry professor.

Awarding Criteria and Judging Process

• Your final design must be a piece of wearable jewelry.
• The piece must be your original design.
• The winning designs are selected according to both functional and emotional aspects.
• The designs are considered for their innovation, aesthetics, ergonomics, and quality of workmanship.
• Both luxury and daily-usage designs can be submitted.
• If you have already entered your piece in another competition you may also enter it in the Venice Design Week Jewelry Selection: please state in your application whether the piece won in another competition.

The judging of the designs is carried out by close collective consultation of the jury with one another: in the event of the Judges being unable to agree on a unanimous decision, a majority vote will be accepted.

Entry Procedure
1. Please fill in the application form.
>> Fill Application Form (ENG)
2. Send by Email or “WeTransfer” to jewelry@venicedesignweek.it a PDF/JPG file with your design’s images and its description naming it as it follows: SurnameName_jewelryname00.jpg or pdf
Name file example: VianelloLara_collar01.jpg
Image example: namesurname_typeofjewel
3. Receipt of the correct payment fee for the subscription.
All completed entries will receive a confirmation email within three weeks of your application. The deadlines are definitive and no extensions are allowed. Every designer can participate with 2 or more designs: this is only possible by adding 50% of the subscription fee for each design presented after the first one.

Subscription fee
€ 30 designers and € 10 students. The subscription fee for AGC members: € 25.


>> Click here to check the complete information about the open call


The competition is promoted by Venice Design Week in collaboration with the Association of Contemporary Jewel AGC (GioielloContemporaneo.it), Ca’ Pisani Decò Design Hotel, OhMyBlue Gallery, Creativityoggetti.it, 16metriquadri and ESH Gallery.

Media Partner: Gioiellocontemporaneo.it and Jewellery Vicenza.
Technical Partner: architetti Da Rin Perego, Design33.it.