THE DINNER project was first initiated by jeweler Mia Maljojoki and Annika Pettersson in 2016. The aim for the project was to create a jewelry exhibition with multiple layers of information relating to jewelry.

The dinner is an event where everything is set on display, a group a people gets invited to have a dinner, during the dinner the guests are asked to wear contemporary jewelry and discuss a specific topic. The dinner event itself is taking part in the public space and is seen as a performance.

The project can be split into three subcategories:

  • Jewelry - The act of wearing

  • Performance in form of being on display in front of an audience

  • Critical dialogue

    Key words
    Multifaceted platform - performance – interdisciplinary – collaboration – discussion

    Jewelry
    Both of the project initiators Annika Pettersson and Mia Maljojoki have created new series of jewelry that will be displayed during the Dinner #5 during MJW 2018. The two artists have their own way of relating to the theme of doing the No No, one focusing on the process of copying and the other on beauty. The jewelry pieces created for this project will be worn by the dinner guest during the dinner. Each dinner guest will be assigned an especially selected jewelry piece.

    Performance
    The dinner is seen as a performance act, where the dinner guests are set on display for the duration of a three course dinner. The preformative act is keys point in this this project, It puts the participants on display; it makes them conscious of their movements, their actions and it adds a awareness to the dining act. The dinner #5 will contain of 12-14 dinner guest.

    Critical dialogue
    During the dinner one subject is explored and examined from different perspectives. The guests have been specifically selected to represent a diverse group of professionals from various fields. By having a interdisciplinary group we can explore the act of wearing and performing from different perspectives. The jewelry pieces that are worn during the dinner can bee seen as conversation starters and as a physical reaction of the theme.

DINNER 1 took place at Kulturzentrum Giesinger Bahnhof, Giesinger Bahnhof, Munich, Germany. The 24 of February 2016. Our dinner guest was: Sofia Björkman, Babette Boucher, Carrie Forster, Rebekah Frank, Oona Heleena, Anders Ljungberg, Matt Lambert, Jorge Manilla, Eija Mustonen ,Kellie Riggs, Haman Sutra and Atty Tahtivit.

DINNER 2 took place at Platina, Stockholm, Sweden. The 2 December 2016. The Dinner guest was: Sofia Björkman, Sara Borgegård, Jacquelyn Davis, Marie O'Connor, Adam Grinovich, Miro Sazdik och Johan Thor.

DINNER 3 took place at Platform Stockholm gallery / Stockholm, Sweden. The 8 of december. During the dinner #3 ten professionals from various fields are sitting down having a discussion and enjoying a dinner together. The dinner hosts are jeweler Annika Pettersson and senior lector and jeweler Miro Sazdic. The invited dinner guests was: Bettina Schwalm, Hanna Hedman, Jelizaveta Suskaya, Johan Thor, Kristina Schultz Lindberg, Marie O´Connor, Matt Smith and Morgan Phalen.

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DINNER 4 took place at Mia Maljojoki`s studio.

DINNER 5 took place at the Love Lace hotel, Munich, Germany. The 9 of March 2018. This event was a part of Current Obsessions 5th years anniversary during MJW2018.

The topic for this event is “Doing the No No”. This theme deals with the area between attraction and repulsion. We want to explore what lays beyond the boundaries of what is accepted culturally and aesthetically, we aim to explore taboos and and forbidden pleasures.

 “What ever we permit ourselves we are forbidding ourselves something else. All our ideals for ourselves – all our aims and aspiration and beliefs – are be definition restrictive….. To forbid something is to make it unforgettable, at its worst to forbid is to force attention and to guarantee interest.”

Adam Philips, Unforbidden pleasures

The jewellery that is worn during the dinner are a part of a series of brooches titled: Glitch in the copy and are made by Annika Pettersson and Mia Maljojoki made the series Breath.

Glitch in the copy is a project that can bee seen as a reaction to the theme of “Doing the No No”. This is a series that explores the process of copying and reproduction. A classical Victorian “diamond” brooch has been reproduced by 3d-scanning and 3d-printing. Today we live in a copy paste culture and the way we look upon concepts like the original and the copy that have been altered along with our society's cultural change. I am questioning how this change of perspective has affected the way we look upon contemporary craft and jewelry in relation to value, authenticity, technique, and production.

Our guest was: Liesbeth den Besten, Elisabeth Franco, Barbara Gifford, Sophia de Groot, Sarah Huber, Bella Neyman, Alix Manon, Nanna Melland, Ruudt Peter, Justas Pippin, Stephanie Schuitmaker, Louisa Velludo, Ana Videla, Mallory Weston and Inger Wästerberg