Join us at Objectspace on Thursday 19 February for an evening of reflection and creative insight with five Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland-based jewellers and gallerists.

In conjunction with Warwick Freeman: Hook Hand Heart Star, each speaker will share a piece of adornment they wish they’d made – something that has sparked inspiration, admiration or even creative envy.

Speakers include Christine Hedlund, Francis McWhannell, Lucinda Barrett and Welfe Bowyer, with your final speaker to be announced soon.

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Christine Hedlund lives and breathes contemporary craft. Trained in architectural draughting, she and her daughter Eloise Kitson bought Masterworks Gallery in Eden Terrace in 2009. Christine has amassed an impressive knowledge of the craft sector since and has embraced her passion for contemporary jewellery by becoming an avid collector. She wears pieces from her collection every day without fail, which prompted her popular series on social media, ‘Never a day without Jewellery’.

Francis McWhannell is a writer, gallerist, and curator. He holds a Master of Arts in Art History from the University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau. He worked as a bookseller and auctioneer for several years before moving into art writing and curation. His first exhibition was a survey of the work of the University of Auckland’s Holloway Press held in 2014. He has written essays for shows at public and commercial galleries, has contributed to a range of arts and culture magazines and websites, and is the co-author of two books on historical photography. Since 2019, he has been curator of the Fletcher Trust Collection, a major private collection of Aotearoa art. In 2022, he and Jade Townsend opened Season, a commercial gallery based in central Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Lucinda Barrett is an artist and maker. In the 1990s – as part of a local creative partnership making jewellery and home wares – Lucinda worked mainly in resin and gold leaf, also exploring wax casting and electroplating techniques. She pivoted to interior painting as a specialist finisher and colour consultant before returning to her jewellery roots to study at Hungry Creek Art School. After graduating with a diploma in jewellery design she began work as a fashion jeweller, stocking in stores across Aotearoa. In 2020 Lucinda began working and teaching at Workshop6 in Grey Lynn. Her work draws on symbolism and spirituality in art, with designs guided by meaning, narrative and intention.

Welfe Bowyer is a contemporary jewellery artist currently based in Mahurangi East. Born in Glaneirw, Cymru (Wales) and raised in the Rangitikei region in Aotearoa, he graduated from the School of Architecture at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington in 2005. Welfe worked in the architecture field in Melbourne between 2010 and 2020, where he simultaneously began experimenting with jewellery design. Creating adornment allows him to conceptualise, experiment and create three dimensional forms on a scale different to that of architecture. Predominantly self-taught, in combination with studying skills courses at Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE, Welfe’s jewellery has its emphasis on form and structure, material combinations, and textures that are used to bind elements. In 2018 he was a finalist in the Mari Funaki Awards.