Lynn Batchelder
Narrative / 2021 

Equally important is creating exhibition experiences regionally so that students themselves may conceive, collaborate, test new ideas, and install work for a public response. Since 2018, I have co-organized and facilitated the installation of denizen, a yearly group exhibition of graduate, undergraduate, and faculty work from the Metal Program presented as part of the annual New York City Jewelry Week (NYCJW). Each year the exhibition presents exciting new challenges as students are asked to respond to a unique site: a raw space within the historic Hotel Chelsea, a storefront pop-up in Brooklyn, and most recently a virtual web space during NYCJW’s fully online program in 2020. This intensive project has provided invaluable professional experience for graduate and senior students and has served as an important locus for our strong alumni community. The exhibitions have been highly attended and received attention from national and international guests, evidenced by its inclusion as a “Must See” exhibit in Current Obsession magazine in 2018, and over 800 international visitors recorded through our website analytics in 2020. This type of hands on exhibition experience has inspired recent graduates to take greater stake in creating their own collective and curatorial projects, such as Dream Machine (NYCJW), Commence Jewelry (NYCJW & online), Fundamental Matter (Munich Jewelry Week), and Collectiva Tilde.