Victoria Duffee

Victoria Duffee (b. 1988, NYC) lives and works in Oslo. Her studio practice incorporates textiles, jewelry, and objects that straddle and challenge conventional boundaries between art and craft to explore collective relationships to identity, gender, and memory. Through processes of weaving, painting, and casting materials, she seeks to establish a profound connection between the feminine domains of attire and the home, as these are the aesthetic objects entwined in our everyday lives and collective memory.

She was educated at the School of Visual Arts (2007-2010) in New York and the University of the Arts in Oslo (2016-2018). In recent years, she has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Oslo, New York, and Los Angeles, and had solo exhibitions at Salgshallen Gallery and Buer Gallery in Oslo. She has exhibited at institutional venues such as the Chart Art Fair with Kunsthall Oslo and the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, contributing a work to Anna Daniel's "A Gift From A Woman."

Other projects include the art criticism magazine "Vi Ser På Kunst," which she founded with art historian Andreas Breivik in 2016. In 2020, she created "Kunsteventyr," a web series promoted through Black Box Teater, aimed at teaching art history in a DIY manner for children stuck at home during the pandemic.

Image 1: Wiggle Sword (attached to Anna Daniel’s piece, En Gave Fra En Kvinne) 2021

Image 2: Phallus and Portal pendants with Love ring from the pajamas series, 2019. Photo: Marcus McDonald

Image 3: Zinna Pendant and accompanying publication. Cast silver, 2023

Rudolf Kangwa

Rudolf Kangwa is a Zambian lapidary based in Lusaka, Zambia. He is a first generation gemstone cutter with over 15 years of practice and founder of Rudolf’s Gems, a socially oriented company. The mission of Rudolf’s Gems is to add value to the community by contributing to poverty reduction and job creation through educational programs that create awareness around how to process and add value to locally mined gemstones.

Melissa Schwarz

Melissa Schwarz is a German interdisciplinary artist, designer and researcher, based in London.

Her research and practice is mainly concerned with topics around ecology, environments and speculative futures. As such she examines socio-political narratives, nature concepts and multiverse theories. She creates work which uses different media for her poetic storytelling, from more traditional mediums to 3D.

Melissa is also an Associate Lecturer at The University of the Arts London, teaching on MA Interaction Design at LCC as well as in the Department of Critical and Historical Studies at LCF.  She is also an Associate Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London on MA Design Expanded Practice.

Image 1-2: Renders, part of óbyggð (‘uninhabited’) - multimedia installation, 2022.

Image 3: Installation shot ‘Post Wilderness’, multimedia installation, 2021. Photo: Margherita Allievi.

Image 4: Screengrab of ‘Wild Wired!’ - site specific interactive game, 2023. 

Erin Sexton

Erin Sexton (b. 1982) is a Canadian artist and radio amateur based in a dome in the forest near Oslo. Her sculptures and installations involve found objects, hidden forces, sci-fi narratives, everyday materials, and MacGyver-esque techniques. She holds a MFA in Contemporary Art from the Bergen Art Academy and a BFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Concordia University in Montreal. Psychedelic and emancipatory, her work explores alternate paradigms, strange topologies, soft apocalyptics, and metaphysical technologies. She tries to dissolve boundaries and subvert hierarchies, often using absurdist humour as a tactic.

Sexton’s collaborative practice is focused on community empowerment and developing creative resistance strategies. In these times of global uprising against colonial power structures and exploitative resource extraction, helping to shift narratives and mobilize in solidarity are essential.

Image 1: Low battery (nye måner), video still, 2023

Image 2: Pentadomen, 2024

Image 3: Psychic Technology, digital collage, 2021

Image 4: Redneck hot tub, 2024

Bwalya Bwalya

Bwalya is Chief Operations Officer of Rudolf’s Gems. Her interest towards jewellery started from learning about birthstones whilst pursing her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from University of Winnipeg in Canada. A fervent Zambian jewellery collector prior to establishing Rudolf’s Gems with husband Rudolf she would often travel back home and select one or two pieces of jewelry.

She is invested in researching the role of luxury brands in giving back to society and supporting social causes and communities at source. Most importantly how they address the environmental and social impact of their activities.

Shaun Borstrock

Dr. Shaun Borstrock is the Head of Knowledge Exchange and Research at Ravensbourne University London, where he focuses on design-led innovation, emphasising the intrinsic role of design in decision making. He fosters multi and trans-disciplinary collaboration globally, working with institutions, industry partners, and the wider community. In addition to his academic role, Dr. Borstrock is an independent consultant to luxury brands and associations worldwide, including Unity PR, Ford, John Lewis, Gucci, and others. He is a renowned keynote speaker on luxury branding, fashion, consumerism, and brand strategies at events worldwide.

Dr. Borstrock's research delves into the evolving concept of luxury in the context of technology and its impact on handcrafted products. He has been instrumental in the development of Modeclix, the world’s first fully customizable 3D printed textile, which has received numerous international 3D print award nominations. Furthermore, he is the Editor of Luxury Studies; The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal and co-author of Crafting Luxury published by Intellect books. He also hosts the "In Pursuit of Luxury" podcast and serves as a Visiting Professor in the Koppleman School of Business at Brooklyn College in New York.

With over 20 years of experience in the creative industries, Shaun is always seeking exciting multidisciplinary knowledge exchange and research opportunities. His work and expertise have made a significant impact on the fields of design, luxury branding, and fashion, both in academia and in the industry.

Image 1: Portrait

Image 2: Cover for In Pursuit of Luxury

Image 3: The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal

Video: Modeclix

Béatrice Sylvie

Béatrice Sylvie has years of experience working with high-end fashion and jewellery, with a focus on innovation and sustainability. She is currently studying for an MBA in Jewellery from Haute École de Joaillerie in Paris, while working as a Production Project Assistant at Atelier Aurouet de Mervelec. Beatrice previously spent six years at Christian Dior Couture, specializing in luxury customer experience and leading sustainable and digital projects. Her background in fashion and luxury has given her a comprehensive understanding of the area. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Literature and English Civilization and a Master's in American Literature from the University of Paris.

Image 1: Portrait of Béatrice Sylvie

Image 2-3: Engagement towards environment and sustainability with Dior collaborators

Nanna Melland

Nanna Melland (b. 1969) is a diploma and Meister student from the Academy of the Fine Arts in Munich. She received a Candidata Magister degree from the University of Oslo in Social Anthropology and History of Religion and is a journeyman in goldsmithing. In 2017 Melland was a guest professor at Burg Giebichenstein in Halle, Germany and is now based in Oslo, Norway. In 2008 Melland received the Norwegian Craft main prize. Melland works in different materials, and a wide variety of subjects. Intrauterine-Devices (IUDs); nails in gold; cast pigs’ hearts; orchids in lead; aluminum airplanes; miniature atomic bomb ring in tin; sculptures in beeswax and brooches from Polypore Fungus thus achieving – albeit paradoxically – a coherent whole.

Her work is represented in Nordenfjeldske Arts and Crafts Museum in Trondheim, Norway. Melland has taken part in many groups and solo exhibitions in museum and galleries around the world, like the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, The Schmuck Fair, the Museum of Modern Art in Arnhem, The Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Jewellery Museum in Pforzheim, New York Museum of Arts and Design and The Dowse Art Museum in New Zealand.