Venice Design Week 2026: Amberif Design Award Exhibition and a Lecture by Ivona Haurash

After its presentation during Gdańsk Jewellery Week 2026, the Amberif Design Award post-competition exhibition “Magia Materii” (Magic of Matter) was shown as part of Venice Design Week. It was accompanied by a lecture by Ivona Haurash, winner of the Grand Prix of this year’s edition of the competition.

Only a few days earlier it was seen by visitors to Gdańsk Jewellery Week. Today the same story about contemporary jewelry and Baltic amber reaches an international audience in Venice. The works by artists and designers on display show how jewelry can be interpreted today and how far the boundaries of working with material can be pushed.

A competition with global reach

This year’s edition confirmed the competition’s international standing. Amberif Design Award 2026 received 207 entries from 28 countries. The international jury qualified 41 works by 39 artists from Europe, Asia and North and South America for the exhibition. The winners were chosen by a jury of recognized makers and curators of contemporary jewelry: Naomi Filmer from the United Kingdom, Sara Gackowska from Poland, Claudia Lassner from Germany and Ruudt Peters from the Netherlands.

The ring that won unanimously

The jury’s greatest recognition went to Ivona Haurash’s work titled “Dialogue of Matter”. The international jury unanimously awarded it the Grand Prix of the 29th edition of the competition, the Mayor of Gdańsk Main Award: 30,000 zlotys and 1 kg of silver donated by KGHM Polska Miedź SA.

A meeting of two worlds

The winning ring tells the story of a meeting of two worlds. On one side is Baltic amber, a symbol of memory, nature and geological time. On the other is the deformed shape of a plastic bag, an object associated with disposability and the excess of modern consumption. This contrast became the axis of the project. The jury stressed that the work responds to the competition theme “Magia Materii” (Magic of Matter) in an exceptionally mature way, showing how matter can speak of responsibility, transformation and the relationship between people and the environment.

The exhibition in Venice is organized by Międzynarodowe Targi Gdańskie S.A. (the Gdańsk International Fair Co.), operator of the strategy Gdańsk – the World Capital of Amber. One of its aims is to develop the international presence of contemporary design and to promote makers working with Baltic amber. The presentation of the Amberif Design Award 2026 exhibition “Magia Materii” (Magic of Matter) during Venice Design Week shows how projects first presented in Gdańsk enter the international circuit of art and design, building the recognition of the city and of Baltic amber on the international stage.