Tincal lab Challenge 2026 Jewelry and Identity
"Eu não sou eu nem sou o outro,
Sou qualquer coisa de intermédio:
Pilar da ponte de tédio
Que vai de mim para o Outro.”
/
“I am neither myself nor the other,
I am something in between:
A pillar of the bridge of boredom
That goes from me to the Other.”
Mário de Sá-Carneiro, Portuguese poet (free translation)
The concept of identity invites us to look within ourselves - but do we exist without the other?
Identity and jewelry are intimately connected. Wearing jewelry is never an innocent act. Whether worn for pure aesthetics, charged with social status or imbued with sentimental value, it becomes a deliberate gesture of self-expression.
Identity has been at the center of human reflection since the beginning of time, and today it remains more relevant than ever.
In a time shaped by AI, by increasing threats to individual freedom and by public debates surrounding deeply personal matters such as gender identity, it feels urgent to reflect on what defines us. Paradoxically, we discover that what makes us unique is often what we have in common with others.
As much as we seek individuality, the desire to belong is part of the human condition - just as the feeling of being a stranger among others remains one of our deepest discomforts.
As jewelers, is the jewelry we create the same we choose to wear? What does it reveal about us? What meanings does it acquire for those who wear it?
Let jewelry speak: for the causes we defend, the values we hold and for the singularities that make us human.
INFORMATION
With the main objective to show the quality and diversity of contemporary jewelry, opening its doors to the general public, Tincal lab invites every year jewelers from around the world for a Challenge: the creation of up to 3 pieces with a maximum price each, inspired by a theme.
From this Open Call launched in June results an international event of exhibition and sale of unique characteristics. The opening is at Tincal lab in November, on the date of Simultaneous Openings event in Miguel Bombarda quarter, in Porto, accompanied by the release of a catalog.
In each edition, since 2018, it has been awarded the Selection of the Jury Award and two Selection of the Public Awards (voting in person and online), consisting of an exhibition at Tincal lab over the following year.
In the latest edition, in 2025, we gathered more than 200 exclusive jewelry pieces created by the 81 jewelers from 32 different countries selected by the jury from more than 200 applications.
In 2026, the 12th edition of Tincal lab Challenge launches the theme: Jewelry and Identity.
The maximum price for each piece will be 150€.
The opening will be at Tincal lab on November 14th of 2026.
DEADLINES
Application: until June 30th 2026
Selection: until July 20th 2026
Formalization of registration: until July 31st 2026
Reception of pieces: until September 30th 2026
Exhibition: from November 14th to December 31st 2026
Possibility of itinerancy during 2027 (optional)
Period of sale in shop and online: until June 30th 2027 (adaptable, in case of itinerancy)
Return of pieces to the artists: from July 1st 2027 (for the artists that don’t take part in the itinerancy)
WHY A MAXIMUM PRICE?
Presenting a price cap we intend to demystify the concept of art jewelry near the general public, to remove it from the context of the inaccessible art gallery and start a discussion towards understanding its value.
We want the price cap to be a differentiating element, but also a statement. Something that will catch the attention of the visitor.
We also aspire to allow everybody to buy a unique piece of jewelry for a relatively accessible price. This way people can get out of their comfort zones without feeling restricted by their budgets.
For the artists, this can also be an opportunity to think outside the box - to create something different, with different means or - why not - to exceptionally allow someone to have one of their pieces for an incredibly low price.
Working on a budget, without compromising quality, identity and creativity - that is the Challenge too.
JURY
Ana Pina (Portugal) | jeweler, gallerist, curator, founder of Tincal lab
Graduates in architecture (FAUP, 2004) and works in this area for some years before discovering the world of jewelry. Jeweler and gallerist, she now divides her work between her personal brand, launched in 2012, and Tincal lab, that is since 2015 an active contemporary jewelry workshop and exhibition space in the center of Porto.
In her work, Ana Pina creates unique pieces or limited collections of jewels with a strong abstract and geometric inspiration.
Orsolya Karman (Hungary / Austria) | winner of Tincal lab Challenge 2025 Selection of the Jury Award
Contemporary jewelry artist whose practice is deeply rooted in graphic design, visual systems, and material experimentation. Her work investigates jewelry as a spatial extension of graphic thinking, positioned at the intersection of art and design.
She holds a Master of Arts in Visual Communication from MOME, Budapest. With over two decades of experience in the area and a professional background as an art director, she works primarily with laser-cut techniques and architecturally inspired geometric structures, combining technological processes with meticulous handcraft.
She founded Karman Jewelry in 2012. Lives and works in Vienna, Austria.
Niki Stylianou (Greece) | artist, curator, creativity mentor, co-founder of JELO6
Niki Stylianou is a Greek architect, designer, jewelry artist, curator, educator, and creative mentor whose interdisciplinary practice bridges art, design, architecture, and participatory culture. Trained in Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens and holding postgraduate degrees from the Royal College of Art in London, she has also studied printmaking, mixed media, and jewelry design in London and Florence.
Since founding The Light Factory Creative Hub in 2010, she has worked extensively with artists and creatives through teaching and mentoring. She is the founder of Uni.Versus Art Room and co-founder of Athens Jewelry Week, currently developing the interdisciplinary JELO6 Project. Her work has been exhibited internationally in museums, galleries, and art fairs across Europe, the USA, Asia, and Australia.
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED