The spring edition of the AMBERIF jewellery trade fair in Gdańsk will be held for the 29th time within the hospitable confines of the Ergo Arena entertainment and sports hall. The first two days of the fair are reserved for professionals, while the third day will be open to the general public, also allowing individual buyers to purchase unique pieces of goldsmithing and amber art. Currently, over 200 exhibitors from 9 countries (including Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and India) are registered, and their offerings will be presented in the following thematic zones:
- TOP AMBER – ok. 30 of the most renowned exhibitors offering the highest quality amber products
- Amber jewellery – a wide range of popular amber jewellery from exhibitors worldwide
- GOLD & SILVER – jewellery products made from precious metals and stones, watches, jewellery trends
- TECH ZONE – full range of technologies, semi-finished products and services supporting jewellery production
- DESIGN GALLERY – premiere collections of unique jewellery, prepared by leading Polish jewellery artists, and a debut zone for young contemporary jewellery designers.
Such a cross-sectional exhibition highlights the importance of the AMBERIF fair as the largest trade fair event for the jewellery industry in Poland and a world-leading event dedicated to the promotion of amber,” summarises the organiser, Gdańsk International Fair Co.
Despite the pandemic restrictions still in place in many countries, the organiser expects a high attendance of buyers from European countries and representatives of Polish jewellery shops.
AMBERIF SPRING trade fair programme
Traditionally, the fair will be accompanied by a rich artistic and scientific programme. A gemmological conference organised by the Association of Jewellery Experts, business advisory services prepared by the Polish Amber Chamber of Commerce, and the Amber Laboratory run by the International Amber Association, where purchased items can be subjected to spectrometric analysis and their origin identified. Also worthy of recommendation is the exhibition by the Legnica Art Gallery presenting the results of the international art jewellery competition entitled. “Still Human?”.
A regular feature of the Amberif trade fair programme is the presentation of design competition awards. Jurors representing academic circles and design-related institutions from the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Japan, and Poland selected works for the exhibition and presented the awards in this year's 26th edition of the Amberif Design Award, the theme of which was „Amber as a reward”. The Grand Prix, funded by the Mayor of the City of Gdańsk, was won by Milan-based artist Emma Carrau Bueno; the Silver Award, sponsored by the Gdańsk International Fair, was awarded to Tadeusz Jaśkowiak from Poland; and the Amber Award, funded by the International Amber Association, went to Alberto Davila from Mexico, already well known to amber enthusiasts (Grand Prix Amberif Design Award 2019).
Another – no less important – industry event will be the announcement of the Amberif Selection competition for exhibitors. The main prize is a prestigious statuette awarded by the Minister of Development and Technology. The winning work will also become the global advertising showcase for the spring edition of the fair in 2023.
Contemporary amber design in the Amber Museum in Gdańsk
Besides the business aspect, Amberif is also a social meeting place. Exhibition vernissages and presentations of artistic jewellery collections serve as the pretext for events of this kind. This time, the institution that invited fair guests to take part in an exceptional evening is the Amber Museum – reopened last year in a new location, the Great Mill. In addition to the opportunity to tour the permanent exhibition of collections of historical and contemporary craftsmanship, examples of extraordinary inclusions and types of amber from around the world, the Museum invites visitors to the opening of two temporary exhibitions: Trend Book 2022 being a presentation of innovative works with Baltic amber by design students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk and invited artists and designers from Poland and Belgium, as well as an individual jewellery exhibition by the lecturer at the Gdańsk university, Prof. Sławomir Fijałkowski, entitled „Eight Eighths”.
AMBERIF SPRING
22-23 March, 10:00-17:00
24th March, 10:00 - 16:00 (open day for the public),
Tickets priced at £35 or £50 are available online at www.amberif.pl and on site
ERGO ARENA, Plac Dwóch Miast 1, Gdańsk