This UPSKILL opportunities webpage is an initiative of M101 designed to provide New Zealand artists with various developmental opportunities. This initiative encompasses not only skill enhancement through hands-on workshops, masterclasses, mentoring, discussions, and lectures but also through development programmes such as the former ‘HANDSHAKE Project’ and the current ‘Object Makers Aotearoa,’ which caters to all object media.
more on UPSKILL workshops
UPSKILL opportunities webpage is an initiative of M101 designed to provide New Zealand artists with various developmental opportunities. This initiative encompasses not only skill enhancement through handson workshops, masterclasses, discussions, and lectures, but also through development programmes such as the former ‘HANDSHAKE Project’ and the current ‘Object Makers Aotearoa,’ which caters to all object media.
more on UPSKILL workshops
Liesbeth den Besten and Jorunn Veiteberg
Online Lectures:
Liesbeth den Besten lecture: to be confirmed
Jorunn Veiteberg lecture: Th 19 March 2026, 8:00 Pm
🔗 Register early to secure your place.
Fee: $30 NZD to register, please email your expression of interest to: [email protected]
International Lecture Series, 2026
Speakers: Liesbeth den Besten & Jorunn Veiteberg
Two leading voices in global contemporary jewellery offer expansive perspectives on history, culture, and critical practice.
Format: Two online lectures (April/May early evenings, dates tbc)
Open to all
Online Lectures:
Liesbeth den Besten lecture: to be confirmed
Jorunn Veiteberg lecture: Th 19 March 2026, 8:00 Pm
🔗 Register early to secure your place.
Fee: $30 NZD to register, please email your expression of interest to: [email protected]
Neke Moa, 2025 KOHĀ Ceremony at Museum Fünf Kontinente
The lecture series runs twice monthly, beginning on Thursday, 2 April 2026 and concluding on Thursday, 1 October 2026.
Online series limited to 12 participants— final spots remaining
🔗 Register early to secure your place.
Fee: $120 NZD To register, please email your expression of interest to: [email protected]
UPSKILL Jewellery Lecture series, 2026
Lecturers/facilitators: Andrea Daly & Neke Moa
A hybrid learning experience designed to expand thinking, deepen practice, and foster peer exchange in contemporary jewellery.
Led by Andrea Daly and Neke Moa, this series blends conceptual, contextual, and technical development with critical discourse. Each topic begins with a lecture — offering provocations, insights, and frameworks for reflection. After each lecture, a series of tutorials unfolds, allowing ample time for participants to respond through making, writing, research and discussion.
Tutorials include workshop-style tasks, reflective homework, small group presentations, and peer feedback — ensuring every voice is heard and every practice supported.
The series invites artists to experiment with ideas, materials, and formats in a responsive, collaborative environment.
Whether you’re refining your practice or seeking new perspectives, this series offers a space for growth, connection, and creative risk.
Schedule & Format
The Upskill Jewellery Series runs twice monthly, beginning with a lecture at the start of each month, followed by a tutorial session at the end. This rhythm allows participants time to reflect, research, and respond to the ideas introduced — through making, writing, or other exploratory tasks.
Between sessions, participants can stay connected via a group chat (WhatsApp or similar), fostering ongoing dialogue and peer support.
The lecture series runs twice monthly, beginning on Thursday, 2 April 2026 and concluding on Thursday, 1 October 2026.
Online series limited to 12 participants.
🔗 Register early to secure your place.
Fee: $120 NZD To register, please email your expression of interest to: [email protected]
UPSKILL workshop NELSON (Feb – Aug 2025)
Registration closed — workshop concluded.
The UPSKILL workshop is specifically designed for emerging jewellers aiming to advance their craft. The mentoring programme includes a series of online sessions from March to August 2025, along with two hands-on workshop days at Te Pūkenga NMIT Polytechnic during Nelson Jewellery Week.
Participants will set their own learning objectives and technical goals, with the tutor and mentor Peter Deckers creating a personalised programme to support these aims. This includes assignments for additional practice in their home workshops. From February to July, monthly group and individual coaching sessions will be conducted via Zoom. These sessions will feature lectures on current practices, including Peter Deckers’ work, and discussions on contemporary issues and challenges.
OBJECT MAKER Aotearoa Fellowship
The success of these mentorship workshops relies on maintaining small group sizes, providing personalised exercises with feedback, offering mentorship, lectures, and discussion topics, and fostering enthusiastic participation and strong group support. These workshops are exclusively for practising jewellery artists actively engaged in their craft.