Now highlighting the story that, the How Precious UA, exhibition was hosted at the Mriya Gallery in Lower Manhattan-the first Ukrainian art space in New York that aspires to foster appreciation for Ukrainian artistic expression, build a cultural bridge, and provide a platform for Ukrainian creatives to reach a global audience.
Two well-known jewelry experts, Victoria Gomelsky and Melanie Grant, joined Olga Oleksenko in presenting her ambitious project to the audience. Melanie Grant, an award-winning British Jewelry Author, Writer, Curator, and Executive Director of the Responsible Jewellery Council, presented the Strong & Precious project with Olga Oleksenko during a cocktail. Ukrainian designers Alyona Kiperman from Nomis brand and Dana Drutis from Drutis Jewellery came to New York to participate in person at the event.
Olga Oleksenko founded the Strong & Precious Art Foundation in 2022. It aims to tell the world about the exquisite work of contemporary Ukrainian jewelry designers and introduce Olga’s native country’s influential, centuries-old jewelry school and traditions to an international audience.
Strong & Precious commissioned six one-of-a-kind jewelry designs and pieces for the New York Jewelry Week. They were created by NOMIS, Gunia Project, Yuval’ Studios, Drutis, Inessa Kovalova, and Strong & Precious itself.
All these pieces convey a strong message that refers to the current events in Ukraine. Each masterpiece delicately molds a story associated with or inspired by shapes, materials, or the country’s cultural history – e.g., last winter’s blackouts, the steel factories of the occupied city of Mariupol, ears of wheat, or the ancient Trypillian culture running in every Ukrainian’s veins.
“During these hard times for the motherland, jewelry art becomes both an artistic language to speak about uneasy topics and a savoir-faire of hope that spreads awareness about Ukrainian talents worldwide,” Oleksenko said.
