A brand new gallery for the exhibition and sale of contemporary jewellery opens soon in the ancient Japanese capital, Kyoto.

Edinburgh and Kyoto are formally twinned as cities and  both are designated as World Heritage Sites. The purpose of the new gallery is to build on thisrelationship, and showing the work of jewellers from Japan together with that of artists who are based in Scotland or who have Scottish connections will be the focal point of the gallery.

The project directors, Ruta Noreika in Edinburgh, and Takahiro Kondo in Kyoto, are long-standing business partners in a company that promotes the work of Takahiro as an internationally renowned potter. Having spent some time in Scotland he is keen to develop further ties between Scotland and Japan by promoting cross-cultural contacts and support, especially for younger and emerging jewellers.

Although larger than Edinburgh, Kyoto so far lacks a dedicated exhibition space for contemporary jewellery. The new venture will be housed in the Museum of Kyoto, which is an impressive early 20th century building with a modern extension, and the new gallery will be in the main entrance area, with the benefit that all visitors will pass the jewellery display.

The launch exhibition opens on 7 July or ‘ Tanabata’, an auspicious date for the Japanese, when certain constellations of stars ( and by tradition, star-crossed lovers) meet for just one night. The  launch is intended to introduce both the Japanese audience and tourists to representative work by some leading jewellers.

The subsequent gallery programme begins in October with a fresh exhibition every two months, each pairing one Japanese with one Scottish jeweller. Among a number of artists who have already shown interest in exhibiting in the gallery are Dorothy Hogg, Susan Cross, Jane Adam, Clare Hillerby, Grainne Morton, Hannah Louise Lamb, Georgia Wiseman and Naoko Yoshizawa, Emiko Suo, Nagi Nakajima, Emi Fujita, Keiko Mizoguchi, and Beniko Motonaga. Work will be sold from the exhibitions and also from a small adjoining shop facility which will be used to introduce and promote the work of less well known artists.

Ruta Noreika will coordinate all planning and practical arrangements at the Scottish end.  Jewellers  who are interested in participating in this exciting initiative should contact her at rnoreika@btinternet.com and send a cv, an artist’s statement, a photograph of themselves, and images of their work with prices on CD if possible, addressed to her at: Blue Earth Works, Box 7, 44/46 Morningside Road. Edinburgh EH10 4BF.

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