The Baltimore Jewelry Center is an educational nonprofit building a vibrant creative community for the study and practice of metalsmithing and art jewelry. We educate and inspire new and established artists, as well as promote metalsmithing and art jewelry to the general public through exhibitions, community, and educational outreach. We envision Baltimore reconnected to its rich history of metalsmithing and jewelry, valuing contemporary art jewelry and metalsmithing as visual art forms and crafts. New generations of metalsmiths and art jewelers will preserve and evolve the field through practice and education.
About this Organization
The Baltimore Jewelry Center is a non-profit metals + jewelry maker space in Baltimore city. We offer classes, workshops, and studio rental access to anyone with an interest in contemporary jewelry-making. In addition to our education program, the Baltimore Jewelry Center helps metal and jewelry artists grow sustainable business practices by offering professional development, sales opportunities, and a promotional platform.Services/Opportunities
The Baltimore Jewelry Center offers a variety of in-person and online jewelry and metalsmithing classes ranging from introductory to advanced level techniques. Classes are scheduled from 12 to 4 weeks in length. Workshops are held for 1-2 days. No experience is necessary in many of the classes and workshops we offer!
For more information about our classes and workshops and to register, please click the link below:
Our 3,300 sq ft studio space is open 7 days a week. A studio manager is always on staff to help. To rent, you need to have satisfactorily completed a class at the Baltimore Jewelry Center or the MICA Jewelry Center or have equivalent experience.
STUDENTS AND RENTERS HAVE ACCESS TO A FULLY-EQUIPPED JEWELRY STUDIO
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General Studio Area: with 19 flexshafts, 2 rolling mills, 2 GRS Benchmate systems, tumblers, and various hand tools.
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Forming Room: with an extensive range of anvils, stakes, & hammers, and 1 hydraulic press
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Soldering Room: with 12 natural gas/oxy torches, 4 acetylene/air torches, 2 mini torches, soldering picks, tweezers, and solderite boards
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Finishing Room: with a bench grinder, buffing machine, beadblaster, spray booth, and powdercoating setup
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Casting Room: with 2 casting burnout kilns, 2 wax injectors, vacuum casting equipment, ultrasonic cleaner and mold making equipment
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Enameling Room: with 3 enameling kilns, sifting screens, alundum stones, and more
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Electroforming + Etching Room: electroforming tanks, and electrolytic etching and anodizing set-ups
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Substantial library with jewelry books & jewelry and craft publications
Our studio is stocked with various hand tools that are available to students and renters. For materials like saw blades, sand paper, and other consumables, we provide our students with resources to purchase supplies at an affordable rate.
To learn more about our rental opportunities, please click the link below:
Scholarships and work study spots are available to new or current students at the BJC. Through these opportunities, it is our goal at the BJC to create a diverse and inclusive studio space. These scholarships and work study opportunities are open to all students. Our scholarship program includes a dedicated BIPOC scholarship initiative. We are looking for candidates with a passion for the creative process who want to learn metalsmithing and art jewelry skills.
This is a need-based program looking to assist and elevate underrepresented voices. The recipient should demonstrate a commitment to learning and an inner drive to create art and learn new skills. Each scholarship and work study spot provides resources in order to improve the recipient’s experience within our community allowing them to flourish in the BJC’s learning environment. The recipient of each scholarship/work study spot is expected to attend every class session and complete the required assignments; the recipient will receive support from the BJC staff to help them succeed in the class.
To learn more about our scholarship and work study opportunities and the application process, please click the link below:
https://www.baltimorejewelrycenter.org/scholarships-and-work-study
Internship applications are taken on a rolling basis and positions are filled as needed.
In our internship program, interns to assist with a variety of studio management and maintenance tasks, including but not limited to answering the door and greeting students and visitors, leading tours of the space, assisting students and renters with their work, running class, rental, and retail sales, helping with social media, and general tool maintenance. The ideal candidate is passionate about metalsmithing and art jewelry and loves engaging with people. In exchange for 6 hours a week of service to the studio, the intern will receive a tuition waiver for the class of their choice and unlimited rental for the duration of the course.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Support students and renters. This means everything from answering questions and assisting students and renters in the studio.
Studio Management. You’ll be maintaining studio systems, inventory and keeping the studio organized and tidy. That means prepping supplies, monitoring supply use, logging renters’ and students’ studio usage, and conducting commercial transactions with students and renters for classes and bench rental.
To learn more about our internship program and how to apply, please click the link below:
The Baltimore Jewelry Center certificate is a structured plan for taking classes that ensures students receive the education most suited for their jewelry-making goals. The certificate program is suited for students who are interested in one or a combination of the following goals: developing a fulfilling personal practice; creating a body of production work and applying for shows; creating a body of one-of-a-kind work suitable for exhibitions. The certificate program assists students in the development of their craft, helps students increase their competency in creating high caliber work, and ensures that students leave the program in the skills and craftsmanship of jewelry design and fabrication and knowledgeable about the contemporary jewelry field.
The three certificate tracks that the Baltimore Jewelry Center offers will assist students in streamlining their education. The directed nature of each track will allow students to focus on the areas and skills most of interest to them and further the development of their studio practice. The certificate program will help students set goals for their work, analyze progress toward their goals, and ultimately, achieve those goals, all with help from knowledgeable instructors at the Baltimore Jewelry Center.
To learn more about the certificate program and three certificate tracks, please click the link below:
The Baltimore Jewelry Center offers 4 different types of residencies for artists at different places in their careers. Artists are given bench access to our fully equipped metalsmithing studio situated in a vibrant community of jewelers and makers
Please note that the call for residency applications happens once a year. Residency timing is dependent on the residents schedule
To learn more about our residency program and the application process, please click the link below:
The mission of the Baltimore Jewelry Center is to engage the greater Baltimore community with the practice of metalsmithing and art jewelry. With our after-school programs we create an environment for kids and teens to explore a new form of making. Students will learn about new materials and gain a variety of skills as they work with our instructors to create their own handmade object.
To learn more about our kids + teens programs, please click the link below:
The BJC Focus symposium is a free annual event that features workshops, demonstrations and presentations all centered around a particular theme. Our featured speakers are artists and intellectuals who are well-studied and acquainted with the chosen topic for the year. The symposium, while developed with jewelry and metalsmithing students and enthusiasts in mind, is free and open to public, with something to offer everyone. The one-day event culminates with an artistic challenge posed to our maker community: to create a new piece of work that aligns with the theme of the symposium.
To learn more about our past and upcoming symposiums, please click the link below:
Our exhibitions program and gallery space is a robust component of the Baltimore Jewelry Center and supplements the education we provide to our students and community. Through exhibitions that showcase national and international artists in the art jewelry and metals field we offer students an up close and personal view of the innovations and freshness happening in the field at large.
To learn more about past and current exhibitions, please click the link below:
Featured Work
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