Shari Pierce: The Political Body

Workshop The Political Body: Critical Thinking in Contemporary Jewellery

A workshop by Shari Pierce
The Otro Diseño Foundation and Taller Serra invite to the workshop The Political Body, by visual and jewelley artist Shari Pierce. This workshop is the first of a series that Otro Diseño will carry out in Mexico in a two year period. The program, which will include periodical lectures and discussion panels, aims to offer Mexican jewellery makers, designers and visual artists the opportunity to explore a global notion of contemporary jewellery by addressing complex conceptual matters as well as technical and material innovation within the context of their own cultural background. The program seeks to offer Mexican jewellery artists the tools to strengthen scene of contemporary jewellery in their own country as well as to actively engage with the international arena.

The Political Body workshop seeks to promote political, social and emotionally engaged creative expression within the art form of contemporary jewelry. This creative expression empowers the individual and the group, by creating a space in which you can engage in a dialogue with one another about the issues in which you have a personal stake in your society.

By exploring the possibility of communicating a message through the political body, students will gain a better understanding of contemporary jewelry and its potential for social, political and emotional artistic expression.

This will be achieved through:

• Lecture and group discussion about public and personal experiences to gain a deeper understanding of what body politics is historically and in a contemporary context.
• Questioning the Political Body: Is the political body constant or is it always changing depending on the culture and society? Who and what is the Political Body? How do you create the political body in your expression?.....
• Gaining a better understanding of contemporary jewelry and its potential for artistic expression by becoming more knowledgeable about the materials and methods you choose and why.
• Exploring a critical and analytical approach to working with materials and methods to visually communicate your ideas to an audience. A better understanding of materials will help you to approach contemporary jewelry as a multilayered construct of meaning and artistic form of communication within your society.
• Not focusing only on an end result or finished objects but rather exploring concepts and materials, independently and as a group, to develop critical thinking skills and creative working processes.
• Results will be achieved through discussion, researching, collecting, sketching, modeling, constructing, and hands-on experimental working processes.


• The workshop is open to jewellery makers and visual artists interested in contemporary jewellery as a medium for artistic expression.
• Willingness to be open minded, participate in group discussions, embrace diverse cultural and political views and experiences, as well as challenge and be challenged will be core to the success of the workshop.
• Participants will be encouraged to develop their own concepts and perspective within the discussions and framework of the workshop therefore a high level of independent thinking will be necessary.
• An interest to learn about or approach jewelry as a serious art form. Participants from any artistic background are welcome.
• Participants with limited technical skills or experience in jewelry should not be discouraged since you will focus on finding innovative creative solutions to finalize your process.
• Ability to enjoy the challenge, learn from others and have fun.
• Good command of English
• Participants from countries other than Mexico are, of course, welcome.

Dates and price

Date: Saturday 1st to Wednesday 5th September from 10:00 to 17:00 hrs

Place: Taller Serra, Vicente Suárez 38, Col. Condesa, México DF
Language: English
Participation fee: $ 5,000 Mexican Pesos
Early bird fee: $4,600 Mexican Pesos for participants who pay before Juli 15th 2012
Payments can be made with credit card via Pay Pal or by bank transfer to our account in Mexico City.

Deadline for registration: July 30th 2012