History and Mission
Radical Jewelry Makeover (RJM), directed by Susie Ganch and Kathleen Kennedy, is Ethical Metalsmiths' innovative community mining project. It raises awareness of the connection between mining, metalsmithing, activism, collaboration, and art. RJM involves volunteer "miners," "smelters," "refiners," jewelers, and metalsmiths working together to create a new and transparent supply chain. The project is both performance and event, linking recycling, reuse and collaborative work sessions with the creation of unique, innovative, handmade jewelry.
The project was designed and developed by Susie Ganch and Christina Miller in 2007, with the first installment at Virginia Commonwealth University. Systems were developed to sort and assign values to donation materials from costume to fine jewelry, and the foundation for the project and its practices into the future were set. RJM has been traveling to institutions around the world ever since, celebrating their 20th installment in 2022.
Over the years, additional RJM programs have been developed. In 2014, Ganch developed the RJM Artist Project, where past participants were invited back and asked to create a series of works that more deeply investigated the themes and questions proposed by RJM.
In 2023, we launched the first-ever Rejewelry Competition at New York City Jewelry Week, an open call for makers worldwide to be juried into an exhibition showcasing work made from donated RJM materials. Some selected artists were past RJM participants, while others were learning about RJM for the first time.
In 2024, the RJM online store launched. Here, ethical jewelry enthusiasts can purchase a selection of RJM Madover Jewelry. The online store features pieces from past installments, the RJM Artist Project Collaborative, and the Rejewelry Competition.
RJM continues to impact jewelry makers and consumers around the world through creative programming and a passion for creating a positive impact.
Meet the RJM Team
RJM Director: Susie Ganch
Susie Ganch is an artist living in Richmond, VA, where she is an Associate Professor in the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Ganch received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Issues of waste and cultural habits of consumption are imbued through her work. Part of her practice is Directing Radical Jewelry Makeover, an international jewelry mining, and recycling project that continues to travel across the country and abroad. Recent exhibitions include Fault Lines: Art and the Environment, NCMA, Raleigh, NC, and This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C. Public/private collections include Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C., LACMA, Los Angeles, CA, Asheville Art Museum, NC, MFA Boston, MA, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA, Metal Museum, Memphis, TN, Quirk Hotel, Richmond, VA, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI, and Kohler Company, Kohler, WI. She is represented by Sienna Patti Contemporary Gallery.
Find out more: www.susieganch.com
RJM Director: Kathleen Kennedy
Kathleen Kennedy is a sculptor, jeweler, and educator living in Richmond, VA. She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Kennedy is an Instructor and Metals Area Coordinator for the Department of Craft/Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She is a Board Member of Ethical Metalsmiths and serves as Co-Director of Radical Jewelry Makeover, an international community mining and jewelry recycling project focused on education and collaboration. Kennedy’s practice explores value and meaning through objects centering around jewelry and jewelry imagery. She teaches lectures, and exhibits in the U.S. and abroad.
Find out more: www.kathleenwkennedy.com
Kathleen is also a participant in the RJM Artist Project. See her Artist Project work here.
RJM Store Manager:
Sarah “Spee” Parker
Sarah “Spee” Parker is a Richmond-based sculptor and jeweler. She received her MFA from the Department of Craft/Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and her BFA at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Sarah’s sculptures, installations and jewelry focus heavily on americana, punk, DIY, anti-containment, and questioning authorship through the lens of craft. Spee is part of the Radical Jewelry Makeover Artist Project. She was a 2022 Post-Master’s Teaching Fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University. She was a recipient of the Baltimore Jewelry Center Emerging Artist Residency. She has exhibited regionally and has been a member to several DIY exhibition spaces in both Boone, North Carolina as well as Richmond, VA.
Find out more: www.spee23.com
Spee is also a participant in the RJM Artist Project. See her RJM Artist Project work here.
Ethical Metalsmiths Education Director: Lucy Louise Derickson
Lucy Louise Derickson is an educator and artist residing in Washington, DC. Currently, Lucy is the Coordinator of the Jewelry and Metalsmithing/Crafts Area at Montgomery College in Rockville MD, with a focus on Jewelry and Metalsmithing processes. Additionally, Lucy is an active member the non-profit organization Ethical Metalsmiths (EM), where she acts as the EM Education Director. Lucy earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jewelry/Metalsmithing along with a Teaching Certification from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and then received a Master of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University in the department of Craft/Material Studies.
Find out more: www.lucyderickson.com
