AOTEAROA EXCHANGE: the Munich venture HANDSHAKE alumni artists:
Mia Straka
Bio: Mia’s practice embodies an ethos of interconnection. Utilising renewable, often undervalued materials, she employs intuitive, hands-on methodologies informed by the urban Pacific context of Aotearoa. Her work spans contemporary jewellery, sculpture, and installation, alongside a dedicated commitment to teaching and facilitating community-building projects.
Artist Statement: My practice investigates jewellery as an activator, employing the body as a site for social and environmental enquiry. For Munich Jewellery Week 2026, I present adornment and sculptural headpieces that juxtapose regenerative bamboo with the industrial transparency of aluminium insect mesh. These works negotiate the boundary between protection and connectivity.
As part of the Aotearoa Exchange collective, this performative intervention at the Pinakothek der Moderne redefines knowledge sharing as a collaborative impetus. Through collective action we challenge hierarchies and advocate for a more interconnected existence within our global environment.
Enquiries:
Jess Winchcombe
Bio: Jessica is a multidisciplinary artist based in Queenstown, New Zealand. Trained in contemporary jewellery at Whitireia (BAppA, 2010), her work has been shown internationally, including Wunderrūma, Schmuck, and the Handshake exhibitions.
She has recently expanded into painting, presenting Lost in Translation at Munich Jewellery Week 2023 and opening a second studio in 2025 to further this direction. She is currently developing new work for Objects Beautiful Gallery, including presentations at Collect Art Fair London and Frame at Munich Jewellery Week 2026.
Artist statement: I explore paint-on-canvas as a way of investigating intrigue in communication — what is told, what is withheld, and from whose perspective our personal stories are shaped. Working primarily with abstraction, I draw on colour palettes informed by lived experience, using colour as a quiet but loaded form of narrative.
Through the physical act of folding painted strips of canvas, I examine the fragments of myself that I choose to reveal at any given moment. These folds disrupt the surface, creating shifting viewpoints and partial disclosures that resist a single, fixed reading. The resulting compositions function like a Rubik’s Cube of detail: complex, layered, and unresolved, offering glimpses of meaning without ever presenting the full story.
My work invites viewers to consider how identity and experience are communicated — not as complete truths, but as carefully edited moments shaped by memory, perspective, and choice.
Images:
Pebble #4, brooch, 2023, fabric, thread, stainless steel, 120 x 80 x 14mm
Stone #6, brooch, 2024, Stone, paint, sterling silver, stainless steel, 55 x 50 x 16mm
Stone #5, 2024, brooch, stone, paint, sterling silver, stainless steel, 88 x 60 x 16mm
Grace Yu Piper
Bio: Grace is a Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington-based contemporary jeweller. Exhibition highlights include Schmuck 2019 and Schmuck 2026 in Munich, Germany and He momo, nā te whanau — it’s a family trait – The 2nd Aotearoa Jewellery Triennial, at The Suter Art Gallery, Nelson, NZ.
Artist statement: My work explores the relationship between fabric and stone, facilitating a dialogue between the two materials, with myself acting as an imperfect interpreter. While this work focuses primarily on material exploration, it is also an ode to my love of rock hounding on the beaches and riverbeds of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Enquiries:
The National https://thenational.co.nz/artists/grace-yu-piper/
Fingers Gallery https://www.fingers.co.nz/exhibitors/grace_yu-piper.htm
Website: www.graceyupiper.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graceyupiper/
Image: Generations Pendant, Inkjet on archival paper, cotton, 400mm long
Lisa van Hulst
Bio: Lisa is a Wellington-based jeweller whose work explores the intersection of photography and wearable objects, transforming memory into tangible form. Her jewellery navigates loss, time, and remembrance, balancing the ephemeral with the permanent. Through thoughtful making, her pieces become markers of personal and shared histories, inviting quiet reflection.
Artist statement: “What the photograph reproduces to infinity has occurred only once: the photograph mechanically repeats what could never be repeated existentially.”
Roland Barthes
Enquiries:
INSTAGRAM – @vanhulstlisa
Pendant: Generation X, 2026, Inkjet on archival paper, cotton, wood, 30 x 25 x 0.7cm
Pendant: Generation Z, 2025, Inkjet on archival paper, cotton, 30 x 20 x 0.3cm
Becky Bliss
Bio: Becky is a Wellington‑based contemporary jewellery artist. She graduated from Whitireia New Zealand in 2010 with a Bachelor of Applied Arts (BAppA). Her recent work explores social issues such as global warming, fair pay, and equal employment opportunities.
She has exhibited widely, including in Handshake 1, 3, 5, and 7, the New Zealand/German Wunderrūma exhibition, and Schmuck in Munich, Prague, and Valencia. Her work is held in the collections of Te Papa Tongarewa, The Dowse Art Museum, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and private collectors.
Becky is a member of Occupation: Artist and The See Here, and also works professionally as a graphic designer.
Artist Statement:
The Colour of Change, 1900-2020 charts temperature change in the Pacific region over the course of 120 years.
Enquiries:
Fingers Gallery, Auckland, The National, Christchurch, Moray Gallery, Dunedin
Keri-Mei Zagrobelna
Moanaroa Keri-Mei Zagrobelna is a contemporary jeweller and multidisciplinary artist of Te Āti Awa and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui descent, based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington NZ. Her practice spans adornment, public art, sculpture, and installation, grounded in whakapapa, place, and cultural storytelling.
Artist Statement:
I speak through my hands, using jewellery as a living language. Adornment becomes a vessel for whakapapa, memory, and connection—worn on the body or held within shared space. My practice moves between jewellery, sculpture, and public art, allowing stories of place and belonging to surface.
Grounded in intergenerational knowledge and lived experience, my work honours whakapapa as acts of presence, resilience, and offering. It considers care, visibility, and cultural presence—worn, encountered, and carried forward through connection.
Enquiries:
Image:
Kohā – a tribute to the ancestors of Idar-Oberstein, Neckpiece, 2025, Chalcedony/Jasper (Idar-Oberstein), muka, bird bone, pounamu(NZ jade), 37cm x 24cm x 4cm
Neke Moa
Whare Papaīra, Ngāti Kahungunu, Kai Tahu, Ngāti Porou, Tūwharetoa
Bio:
By blending customary techniques with a contemporary vision, Neke Moa ensures that her taonga continue to embody the evolving narrative of Māori art and identity. Her work remains firmly rooted in the respectful relationship between artist, materials, and the spiritual guardians who guide the creative journey.
Kohā:
Kohā honours the ancestors of Idar-Oberstein and Aotearoa, tracing the journey of Pounamu (NZ Jade) and its transformation through cross-cultural exchange. German hei tiki, influenced by Māori designs, emerged as unique artefacts, reflecting enduring lapidary traditions. During a 2025 visit, I created an adornment from a composite stone found in Idar, shaped there and completed in Aotearoa. The piece symbolises collaboration—combining jasper, quartz, muka, and bird bone—respecting both material and heritage. This work represents a sustained relationship across cultures and generations, uniting us through stone, adornment, and gratitude for ancestors and Atua.
Raewyn Walsh
Raewyn studied jewellery at Unitec, Auckland, under the tutelage of Pauline Bern, Areta Wilkinson, and Ilse-Marie Erl. She lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
(image details, group of works):
The Sky After Rain, Brooches 2025, Beeswax, damar crystals, pigment, balsa wood, sterling silver
Dimensions – various
Vanessa Arthur
Bio: Vanessa is a jeweller and artist based in Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay, Aotearoa. She has exhibited nationally and internationally for more than a decade. In 2011, she completed a Bachelor of Applied Arts at Whitireia NZ, and shortly afterwards was selected for Handshake, a leading national mentorship programme for contemporary jewellers. In 2025, Arthur was awarded a Creative New Zealand fellowship & presented her solo exhibition ‘Wonder Goggles’ at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga.
Artist Statement: Recently, I spent time with Brian Adam in his Titirangi studio learning the eyewear-making process. Brian’s early pāua eyewear are some of my favourite objects. This series pays homage to these works and considers the function of eyewear as not just protection and enhancement, but as an object to direct our gaze.
The works in my ‘Wonder Goggles’ series are constructed using a blend of jewellery and eyewear making techniques and formed with precious metals, pāua industry offcuts, paint & pearls.
Nina van Duijnhoven
Bio: Nina completed her Bachelor of Applied Arts, majoring in Contemporary Jewellery at Whitireia, New Zealand in 2018.
Nina’s work explores environmental issues and spiritual beliefs such as impermanence and non-attachment. She examines the human connection to material possessions,
emotions, ideas and beliefs. Paper is her current material of choice to express ideas around ephemerality.
Nina was a participant in Handshake 6 and 7. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and was selected for Schmuck 2020.
Her works are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Australia, The Dallas Museum of Art, USA and the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, France.
Artist Statement: At its heart, my practice is about connection — how we relate to ourselves, each other, the land and that which is greater than us. I’m drawn to the quiet tensions that shape our lives: between presence and absence, voice and silence, fragility and strength, holding on and letting go. These in-between spaces are where transformation happens, and something new can take shape.
Themes of impermanence and non-attachment run through my work, reflecting on what we hold onto — beliefs, emotions, objects — the fleeting nature of things and what it means to let go. I work with paper for its ephemerality and delicate strength. Through cutting, layering, and reassembling, I explore how this fragile material can speak to resilience.
Enquiries:
https://www.fingers.co.nz/exhibitors/nina_van_duijnhoven.htm
https://www.instagram.com/ninavanduijnhoven/
Denise Callan
Bio: Denise, a jewellery artist based in Auckland, graduated with a Bachelor of Jewellery Design and Technology from Whitecliffe College, where she now teaches. Through national and international exhibitions, she continues to explore notions of the human experience and the social constructs we operate within.
Artist Statement: “…behold, all things have become new.” II Corinthians 5:17
‘Sincerely Yours’ is the third installation in a series of works utilising the consistent nature of appearance and adornment to explore notions surrounding shame, confession, identity, and belonging. These brooches facilitate an encounter, inviting the viewer to behold oneself while momentarily adorning the mirror in reflection.
Enquiries:
GALLERY – Masterworks Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand INSTAGRAM – @denise_callan
Work detail:
Sincerely Yours Brooch, Brooch, 2026, Speculum, ash, steel, 6.7 x 4.8 x 1.2 cm
Behold Brooch, brooch, 2026, Speculum, ash, steel, 7.8 x 5.6 x 1.2 cm
Philodendron_Hakea Pl, Brooch, 2026, Philodendron husk, Kauri, Vintage silk thread, Brass, 11x7x4 cm
Wiwi_Blue_Karaka Rd, Brooch, 2026, Wiwi, Vintage linen thread, Macrocarpa, Copper, 7x7x3 cm
Wiwi_Karaka Rd, Brooch, 2026, Wiwi, Kauri, Linen thread, Copper, 9×4.5×3 cm
Sarah Walker-Holt
Bio: Sarah tests the tactile qualities of wearable objects through wood that intermittently incorporates mechanisms, print, textiles, weaving and moving image.
Deconstruction, construction and engineering shape her approach as she is intrigued by structural fabrication and how things work and connect, while concurrently questioning the value bestowed in everyday materials.
Artist Statement: Manifestation: Thoughts that keep creeping into my head manifest into something tangible, weaving a story from interconnected elements that reflect on placement and displacement, and on my relationship with location.
Enquiries:
Nellie Peoples
Bio: Nellie is based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, where she creates contemporary jewellery. In her practice there is particular focus on the act of making to explore one’s place. A concern within her practice is to allow space for viewers to gaze at her objects and to be reminded that they are connected to the ground on which they stand.
The artwork Desire Lines is a material map. Each bead is evidence of the places Nellie has visited and collected timbers from, including: parks, shorelines, sidewalks and streets. Pieces are found on unplanned routes drifting away from designated pathways toward spotted treasures in the distance.
Image Captions:
Title: Desire Lines
Object Type: Necklace
Year: 2024
Materials: Found timber, FireLine, stainless steel, sterling silver. Collected timber locations: Tāmaki Makaura, Pōneke, Ōtaki Beach, Ngāmotu, Whangaruru, Tauranga Bay, Rarawa Beach, Tapotupotu Bay.
Photographer: Nellie Peoples
Dimensions: 230cm x 30cm x 2.5cm
Enquiries:
Workshop image: Astrid Mulder photography
Aphra Cheesman
Untitled from Commonplaceness Series, brooch, 2025, mild steel, stainless steel, acrylic paint, wax, 1cm x 5.2cm x 5.5cm
Untitled from Commonplaceness Series, brooch, 2020, mild steel, stainless steel, acrylic paint, rust, wax, 9.5cm x 8cm x 1.5cm. Photographer Christo Crocker
Untitled from Commonplaceness Series, brooch, 2023, Mild steel, stainless steel, acrylic paint, wax, 7.5cm x 7.5cm x .5cm
Enquiries:
Aphra is represented by Gallery Funaki (AU), The National (NZ) and Galerie Beyond (BEL).
Instagram @aphra.cheesman
Website www.aphracheesman.com
Amelia Rothwell
Bio
Originally from Northumberland, England, Amelia moved to Aotearoa in 2006. She holds an MA in Cultural Studies from the University of Leeds and studied contemporary jewellery at Manukau Institute of Technology and Hungry Creek Art and Craft School, graduating with an Advanced Diploma in Art and Craft (Jewellery).
Statement
My work moves between idea and object. Sometimes I begin with a conceptual question and search for the form and material that can give it shape; at other times, an encountered object sets a line of thinking in motion, and a narrative begins to unfold. Through repetition, reduction, and small shifts in form or material, I work to distil ideas and examine what remains. I’m drawn to minimal, quiet forms that allow attention to settle. The medium of jewellery allows me to hold ideas.
Work enquiries
Cushioning brooches can be purchased from The National, Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Caroline Thomas
Bio: Born in London to Kiwi parents, Caroline studied History of Art at Edinburgh University and worked for many years in the publishing and heritage sectors in the UK. Graduating from Whitireia NZ in her 40s, she has since concentrated on compensating for all the years she spent not making art.
Artist Statement: Recently, I’ve been thinking about the concept of legacy. If you’re an artist and create things that go out into the world, I believe it’s worth keeping in mind how little control, if any, we have over the objects we make. They move on, gathering layers of meaning unknown to their creator. They may become a family heirloom, a display item, a lucky charm or a collector of dust in storage somewhere. They may live many years longer than their maker or succumb to disintegration or destruction. In any event, much of their future, like ours, is beyond our control
Nadene Carr
Bio: Nadene completed a Bachelor of Visual Art in 2009. Her work looks at the dynamic relationship between the beautiful and ugly. Carr pushes the aesthetic elements of what constitutes the beautiful and the ugly by investigating the provocative and challenging concepts that arise: culture, gender, age, taste and appropriation, while considering the personal and intimate adornment.
Artist Statement: Within this body of work, I use found painted canvases. Once they had a life, but they are now rendered unwanted gifts in our throwaway society. Aunt Mickel’s painted flowers are cut apart to find the sweet spot. A strong welded frame, built in my garage, supports the canvas. Some may call it brutal and ugly, others see it as endearing, even beautiful.
Enquiry:
Fingers Gallery: https://www.fingers.co.nz/
Sam Kelly
Sam is based in Ngāmotu/New Plymouth. With a base in jewellery, Sam creates her pieces out of cow bone. Exploring the material as Tangata Tiriti, she incorporates textures and shapes from her environment, such as objects, industry and patterns. In later years, her practice has evolved into larger-scale cow bone sculptures, mimicking objects, feelings and movement
Insta handle : https://www.instagram.com/sam_kelly_sculpture/
Work detail:
Spiral pendant, pendant, 2024, Cow bone, nylon, 480 x 45 x 40 mm
Work detail:
Curve, brooch, 2025. kauri, brass, stainless steel, 60 x50 x15mm
Tangle, Brooch 2016, laser cut satin, polyester cord, brass, stainless steel. 90 x60 x35mm
Brick voxel, brooch, ceramic, brass, stainless steel. 30 x45 x15mm
Colonial Machine #12, pendant, 2014, basalt, brass on polyester cord 70 x25mm x18mm
Grounded #1, brooch, 2016, basalt, brass, stainless steel, 55 x60 x15mm
Brendon Monson
Bio: Brendon has been engaged in jewellery making for the past two decades. He completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Dunedin School of Art in 2013. He has exhibited internationally and throughout New Zealand and currently lives and in Dunedin. He is presently employed at Dunedin School of Art as technical teacher and night class tutor.
Artist Statement: I’m fascinated by the intersection of handmade and digital, exploring how the maker’s hand can intervene in machine processes. My pieces form a dialogue between the tactile and the technological, imbuing digitized artifacts with the imperfections and subjectivity of handmade craftsmanship.
Enquiry:
Moray Gallery Brendon Monson | Moray Gallery – Dunedin
Fingers Contemporary New Zealand Jewellery by Brendon Monson
email: [email protected]