Petrus Chauke is the New Talent category overall winner for the Thuthuka Jewellery Awards 2013. Milda Motshegwa from the University of Johannesburg, who won the 2013 Innovation Award, came close second to winning this year's People's Choice Award.
The jewellery exhibition was shown at FADA Gallery from 11-22 October and, for the first time this year, selected jewellery pieces and bud vases from the FADA exhibition will also be shown at the Hyde Park Corner on 26 November to 8 December 2013 at the Exclusive Books Court.
Every year the participants are given a theme to work to. The African Bead Transfigured was this year's theme. Students had to re-interpret the traditional African bead in a contemporary way. The students were also required to take some design elements from the bead and translate them into another piece: First Years a ring, Second Years a set of earrings, and Third Years, a neck piece. Finally, the bead concept had to be transformed into a miniature bud vase.
Explaining about his inspiration, Chauke said: "I have referenced a spider web for my bead where the layers of different metals and the size becomes smaller as it reaches the end."
Said Chauke: "This was my first year in practicing design and I feel proud of my achievements."
Thuthuka Jewellery Development Programme has been a Department of Arts and Culture-sponsored project for the past six years. It is a partnership between tertiary education facilities, community jewellery schools and independent designers aimed at identifying and developing design abilities of young talented designers to increase their chances of earning a living in the jewellery trade in South Africa or develop their skills to set up their own SMEs.
The programme is rolled out via a series of intensive workshops and mentoring sessions for the participating students, to facilitate rapid learning exchange, and empowers students wanting to design contemporary jewellery, with competitive design skills. In order to ensure a competitive edge in the students, the programme challenges them to think outside the box by transforming original jewellery design into various home-ware items. These items are assessed for both their design merit and functional applications.
The Central University of Technology is based in Bloemfontein, but the Jewellery Design Department is a satellite campus, currently based in Virginia.
The school forms part of a broader, more ambitious initiative to establish a technologically sophisticated jewellery production centre capable of mass-producing jewellery for both the local and export markets. The jewellery school serves to introduce jewellery manufacturing skills, enabling the students to become self-sufficient in the sector.
