Gyro Bangle Bracelet, Designed 1976; in continuous production; Designed by David Watkins (English, b. 1940); silver, lathe turned aluminum; H x diam. (Measured flat): 1.2 × 12.5 cm (1/2 × 4 15/16 in.) H x W x D (measured
on end): 1.2 × 12.5 × 10.5 cm (1/2 × 4 15/16 × 4 1/8 in.); The Susan Grant Lewin Collection, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; 2016-34-118

In the Spring 2017 semester, student Sebastian Grant completed the MA Program’s first Curatorial Capstone Project. Over the course of a year, Grant gained hands-on experience in curatorial practice. In working with Cooper Hewitt curators on the upcoming exhibition of Susan Grant Lewin’s collection of modern and contemporary jewelry, Grant explored some of the issues in exhibiting art jewelry, including its fluid position between art and design, and questions of the relationship between jewelry and the body.

Sebastian Grant with program alumna Ursula Ilse-Neuman after presenting on his project.

Says Grant of his experience, “The Curatorial Capstone Project provided me with a fantastic experience of working in a true curatorial setting at Cooper Hewitt. From the day-to-day tasks of correspondence and administration with leading contemporary jewelry designers, to hands-on work with the exhibition objects themselves, the Capstone Project led me to discover all the great endeavors that are involved.”