Slovenian Jewellery Week 2026 with the central exhibition at Center Rog: five years of shaping the future and artistic transformation

Slovenian Jewellery Week 2026 with the central exhibition at Center Rog: five years of shaping the future and artistic transformation

From 27 March to 18 April, Center Rog will once again become a meeting point for contemporary design, art, and craft. The Slovenian Jewellery Week (SIJW) is celebrating its first major anniversary — five years of connecting creativity, craftsmanship, and innovation.

This year’s central festival venue will again be the Grand Hall of Center Rog, where the international exhibition Substance Reimagined will unfold under the overarching theme Matter / Transformation, accompanied by a rich programme of lectures, workshops, guided tours, and professional meetings.

The opening of the central exhibition will take place on Friday, 27 March at 19:00 in the Grand Hall of Center Rog.

This year’s edition will also be presented through a new exhibition installation based on reuse. The exhibition uses a modular structure that was previously part of an installation by architect Boris Podrecca, and was partially produced at Center Rog. This approach not only creates a new spatial experience for visitors, but also highlights one of Center Rog’s core values — reuse, responsible material use, and a sustainable approach.

“At Center Rog, we are pleased that the Slovenian Jewellery Week is hosted here for the third consecutive year in a space dedicated to creation, learning, and collaboration. The exhibition Substance Reimagined convincingly brings together outstanding design, craftsmanship, and contemporary — including experimental — approaches to materials and techniques, making Center Rog a natural setting for it. This year’s edition is further enriched by its accompanying programme, which opens up insight into the diversity of contemporary jewellery practices, as well as by a sustainably designed exhibition installation that reflects one of Center Rog’s key values — responsible and thoughtful use of materials,” said Renata Zamida, Director of Center Rog.

Record international participation and contemporary views on material

The central exhibition Substance Reimagined offers an in-depth insight into the transformation of everyday materials into carriers of meaning, memory, and new aesthetic value. It features a record 152 artists from 38 countries, exploring the relationships between matter, time, body, and environment.

The exhibition highlights contemporary jewellery practices that blur the boundaries between art, design, and experimentation. The works range from interpretations of natural forms in technological materials and chemical transformations of matter to the use of waste and unexpected materials such as fish skin, soap, microplastics, or everyday objects transformed into carriers of new meaning. In doing so, the exhibition raises questions of ecology, transience, embodiment, and the value of material in contemporary creation.

From local initiative to international platform

What began in 2022 as a local initiative to connect the Slovenian creative scene within the framework of Zavod Sijaj and a wider community of creators and enthusiasts has, in five years, grown into a recognised international platform for contemporary jewellery.

This year’s edition is further enriched by partner platforms and guests from abroad, including Romanian Jewelry Week, the Argentine project Joyeros Argentinos, the Portuguese association PIN, and Croatia’s ULUPUH, presenting curated selections of their artists in Ljubljana. The programme is complemented by educational platforms and young talents such as Preziosa Young (Le Arti Orafe, Florence) and Birmingham City University – School of Jewellery, alongside outstanding Slovenian students, forming a new generation of designers.

“On the fifth anniversary of Slovenian Jewellery Week, we look with pride at the path that has taken the festival from a local initiative to a recognised international platform for contemporary jewellery. This year’s theme Matter / Transformation highlights what strongly defines contemporary jewellery today — the ability of material to transcend its original function and become a carrier of ideas, memory, identity, and new meanings,” said Olga Košica, Head of the Slovenian Jewellery Week festival.

Center Rog as a space of knowledge and encounter

SIJW 2026 will be more than an exhibition — it will also be a space for knowledge exchange and mastery. Throughout the festival, Center Rog will host numerous professional events, including a masterclass in filigree with Biljana Klekachkoska, a lecture by Italian curator Nichka Marobin, and a guest appearance by internationally renowned artist Arata Fuchi. The programme will also include book presentations, guided tours, and live demonstrations of traditional techniques connecting heritage with innovation. More about the accompanying programme is available HERE.

During the festival, the Jewellery Lab will also present a special exhibition From Sketch to Product – Lencia by Zlatarna Celje, offering insight into the process of contemporary jewellery creation — from initial idea to finished piece.

On the occasion of the festival’s fifth anniversary, a retrospective catalogue will also be published, summarising the first five years of the festival and presenting its key contributors and highlights.

Festival network across Slovenia

SIJW 2026 begins on 26 March at the Koroška Regional Museum in Slovenj Gradec with the retrospective Five Years of Shine, continues on 27 March with the opening event at Center Rog, and expands on 28 March to Izola with the international exhibition Serenity. Festival activities will also take place in Maribor, Rogaška Slatina, Kranj, Vrhnika, Slovenska Bistrica, and Miren, connecting contemporary jewellery with broader design and heritage contexts.

The festival will conclude with an awards ceremony for the best designers, under the auspices of Zlatarna Celje.

Full programme is available HERE.