Nine students and two staff members from the British Academy of Jewellery (BAJ) have been selected to exhibit as a group in the Munich Transforma(c)tions exhibition, demonstrating their creativity and craftsmanship on an international stage.

The exhibition is curated by Dr Sofie Boons and Yitong Zhang, PhD candidate at the Glasgow School of Art, who will also present their own work independently at the Mineral Museum Munich.

Running from 20th February to 20th April 2026, the exhibition invites both emerging and established makers to present their creative interpretations of the narratives and material properties that minerals embody in jewellery and beyond. Staging contemporary jewellery within the Mineral Museum for two months, aligned with Inhorgenta (February) and Munich Jewellery Week (March), positions the work at the heart of international discourse, amplifying visibility and supporting meaningful connections across the global jewellery community.

About the exhibition: Transforma(c)tions

The exhibition explores minerals as active, transformative forces, rather than static objects. Across five zones, mineral specimens are paired with contemporary jewellery and metalwork, creating dialogues around light, form, energy, and growth. Visitors can experience how artists respond creatively to the vitality of matter.

Spotlighting the selected students

“I’m delighted to see these BAJ students’ work included in the exhibition. Working with BRG stones supplied by Swiss company Brevalor gave them a rare chance to engage with exceptional materials, and they responded with creativity and confidence. Their interpretation of ‘sculpting with light’ demonstrates how the next generation is redefining the dialogue between minerals and jewellery,” said Dr Boons.

The students contributing to the Optics zone are:

• Anastasia Kan – exploring shimmering transitions between structure and glow.
• Emily Murphy – capturing and releasing stored light to explore temporality.
• Lily Straker – uncovering hidden layers in form through light-responsive surfaces.
• Naima Cheniya – using afterglow as a poetic expression of energy.
• Natalie Asher-Martin – sculpting luminescent forms that reflect memory and transformation.
• Rebecca Prenga – blending material texture with optical effects.
• Rozana Piper – creating narrative-driven fluorescent compositions.
• Veroni Dimitrov – playing with shadow, form, and emitted light.
• Veronika Dika – exploring the threshold between visibility and disappearance.
  

Their work investigates how matter interacts with light, revealing its vitality through phenomena such as phosphorescence.

BAJ staff exhibiting

Nicholas Yiannarakis and Syd Kendall will exhibit in Zone 1: Energetics, investigating crystals as active agents in technology, reinterpreting their energetic potentials beyond utility to reveal new narratives of resonance and transformation.

Dr Sofie Boons’ contribution

Dr Sofie Boons will exhibit in Zone 3: Physics, which celebrates crystal growth as a literal transformation. She co-creates with nature, growing crystals in metal structures to embody matter in motion and aesthetics in emergence.

Full list of contributing artists: Dr Sofie Boons, Yitong Zhang, Stephen Bottomley, Lin Cheung, Katharina Dettar, Adi Toch, Grace Wilson, Marina Ito, Lili Barglowska, Nicholas Yiannarakis, Syd Kendall, Anastasia Kan, Emily Murphy, Lily Straker, Naima Cheniya, Natalie Asher-Martin, Rebecca Prenga, Rozana Piper, Veroni Dimitrov, Veronika Dika.

A moment to celebrate

The exhibition gives BAJ students and staff the opportunity to showcase their work internationally, highlighting the innovative creativity emerging from the programme. We congratulate all participants and thank everyone who contributed their work.

For a full overview of all five zones, read more here.