The Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum inaugurates the first Jewelry Artist in Residence Program hosted by a museum, worldwide. The residency invites artists to engage in cultivating their art and developing public-facing activities alongside visitors and fellow artists.
JaIR invites artists and the public into a dialogue of creation and development centered on studio jewelry. It offers time for reflection, research, production, and immersion into contemporary studio jewelry, encouraging residents to explore their practice in a public space: meeting new people, working with new materials, experimenting in a new setting, and potentially integrating those elements into their work.
The program takes place within the Museum's ZEM (Jewelry Metalsmithing Studio) and ZEDET (Jewelry Crafts Studio) workshops. Residents may work during museum operating hours, use all available tools and machinery on site, and access the Museum's research library.
JaIR is part of the Museum's broader effort to engage artists and the public in understanding and learning the art of studio jewelry, building relationships with artists and creators that continue beyond the residency itself.