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There are events that simply include contemporary jewelry.
And then there are events where space for it is fought for.
At Sibiu Contemporary Art Festival, that space exists because Diana Pantea insisted on it. She fought to carve out room for contemporary jewelry within a broader art context — not as an accessory, not as decoration, but as a discipline worthy of standing on its own. That effort matters. It changes the atmosphere before the exhibition even begins.
The festival is organized locally, through the determination and energy of the Sibiu team, without asking participation fees from exhibitors. That alone speaks of a different kind of intention — one rooted in support rather than extraction. It creates a framework where artists feel invited, not used.
Each time I was selected to participate, I felt genuinely honored. And each year, I tried to send something that represented me at my strongest — not just technically, but emotionally.
In 2021, I exhibited the feather necklace — the queen of the InGherat collection. It was the piece that carried the most weight for me at that time: bold, confrontational, unapologetic. To place it in Sibiu felt right. It was given space to breathe, to exist without apology, to be seen as what it was — a statement.
Sibiu reminded me that context changes everything. The same object can feel diminished in one setting and elevated in another. When the environment respects the work, the work responds.
That festival became, for me, a marker of alignment — a place where contemporary jewelry was not background noise, but part of the conversation. A place where I did not feel like filler, but like an artist.
And that makes all the difference.