Mort Abelson Scholarship

The Mort Abelson Scholarship is a contest open to anyone in the United States and Canada. The scholarship honors Mort Abelson, who was instrumental in raising awareness of jewelry design and promoting jewelry designers in the U.S. As President of Jewelers of America from 1975-1977 and director until 1995, Mort oversaw the JA International Trade Show in New York and created the New Designer Gallery, which introduced hundreds of talented newcomers over three decades. Many launched their careers through this program, including David Yurman, Esther Gallant, Whitney Boin, Diana Vincent, Steven Kretchmer, Eddie Sakamoto, Tom Kruskal, Penny Preville, and Alex Sepkus. Alan Revere, a preeminent jewelry educator and founder of Revere Academy in 1979, was selected as the scholarship site.

The contest winner will receive an all-expenses-paid scholarship (air, lodging, tuition and fees) to attend a master class of their choice during the Academy's annual International Masters Symposium in April 2009 in San Francisco. The symposium brings together prominent jewelry artists, designers, craftspeople and experts to teach professional skills and techniques. Instructors include David Yurman (The Complete Designer), Michael Good (Anticlastic Raising), Bernd Munsteiner (Cutting Included Gems), and Kent Raible (Granulation).

Eligibility is open to anyone in the United States and Canada. Applicants must submit 5 images of jewelry and 2 short essays of 100 words or less. The entry fee is $25. A jury composed of Mort Abelson, Alan Revere, and Cindy Edelstein will select the winner based on work that exemplifies original, innovative, high quality jewelry design. Applicants will be notified via email by January 16, 2009. The scholarship was funded by over 50 jewelry artists and designers who donated work to be auctioned at a 2007 gathering celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the New Designer Gallery.