Silver Schools: ROCKstars - Live in Legnica, The Trier University of Applied Sciences, Department of Gemstones and Jewellery, Campus Idar-Oberstein

Venue: Satyrykon Gallery, 36 Main Square
Open:  30.04. – 30.05.2025 r. 
Opening: 9.05.2025 r., godz. 19:30

Opening hours: 
Tuesday - Friday: 11:00 - 18:00
Saturday: 10:00 - 14:00

Admission free

Silver Schools are exhibitions of Polish and abroad of higher education institutions specialising in contemporary jewellery training, documenting the achievements of both students and established academics.

This is one of the leading and most spectacular exhibition series held as part of the Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER, which has been held since 1979 by the town’s Gallery of Art (in the past also the Copper Museum). The Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER is one of the first and most important events in Europe devoted to the presentation of original, experimental, avant-garde artistic jewellery. For more than twenty years, the festival presentations have been accompanied by exhibitions of goldsmith schools from Poland, Europe and even the world. They complete and add variety to the annual programme of over a dozen exhibitions: author’s and curator’s, solo and collective, problematic and cross-sectional, Polish and international. The Silver Schools confront art of different generations, cultural generations, cultural circles and various universities from Europe and other regions of the world. They show  a broad panorama of current work, influences, latest trends as well as the level of education and the flourishing activity of art academies.

So far, over forty exhibitions in Legnica have presented the work and activities of dozens of institutions from nineteen countries: Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Spain, Lithuania, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy, China, Egypt and Israel.

The Trier University of Applied Sciences, Department of Gemstones and Jewellery, Campus Idar-Oberstein, looks back on nearly 20 years of successful collaboration with the Legnica Jewellery Festival Silver. Since the first exhibition in 2006, this partnership has continuously evolved, offering our students and graduates a significant platform for showcasing their work.

The exhibition "ROCKstars – Live in Legnica" presents the most outstanding works of our students and alumni, focusing on the eternal material of gemstones. These jewellery pieces tell stories of declarations of love, experimental snapshots, and rebellious designs. They reflect the creative diversity embraced at the university and showcase unconventional and innovative applications of the material.

The Legnica Silver Festival is not only a highlight for our students but also a space where perspectives converge, advancing the art of jewellery. The intensive collaboration between the university and the festival provides a valuable opportunity for exchange and artistic development.

In Idar-Oberstein, one of the world's most important gemstone centres, our students in the Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and the Master of further Education programmes develop their own modern artistic concepts. In this secluded environment, innovative and progressive designs emerge that break established structures and redefine gemstone aesthetics.

As "ROCKstars", they present jewellery pieces that not only reinterpret the material of gemstones but also address societal issues and take a stand.

Erika Jordan

Tree Series Title: Chance and Intention mixed stone, slate, oxidized silver, steel, 2020

Photo: Castarnado

Nikita Kavryzhkin

VOID #9 onyx, rubber cord, stainless steel, titanium, 2021

Photo: Nikita Kavryzhkin

Silvia Bellia

A colon and a capital D silver obsidian, silver, PVC, 2021

Photo: Mana Jahangarda