Pearls of Empathy: A Conversation at NYC Jewelry Week 2025

This exhibition confronts the current rhetoric of empathy as sin, using the folklore of the sin eater—a person who bore others’ burdens—and badges of 16th-century nuns as symbols of feminist identity and social resistance. On Thursday morning, Wendy Steiner (The Beauty of Choice) and Kristin Beeler will discuss agency and the freedom to make choices as reflective acts, echoing the show’s call for a culture of care where compassion is not a transgression, but an act of deep principle.

Kristin Beeler is Programme Director, Researcher and Lecturer at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of Dundee, Scotland since 2023. From 2002-2023, she was Professor of Art and Coordinator of Jewelry and Metalwork at Long Beach City College in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of Berea College receiving a BFA in Crafts and Applied Design with a minor in Philosophy. Her Master of Fine Arts in Jewelry from the University of Arizona was followed by postgraduate studies at Alchemia Jewellery School in Florence, Italy and Atelier Rudee, Bangkok, Thailand. From 2016-2018 she was Research Associate at the University of Technology Sydney in the Faculty of Engineering and IT working with the Materialising Memories Research Programme. In 2025 she began a practice-based PhD at the University of Dundee examining the overlaps between jewellery, landscape and compassion.

Wendy Steiner is a distinguished cultural critic, author, and professor whose work bridges literature, aesthetics, and social thought. A Yale Ph.D. and Richard L. Fisher Professor Emerita of English at the University of Pennsylvania, Steiner is renowned for exploring the relationships between visual and verbal art, beauty, and freedom of choice. Her many influential books include The Scandal of Pleasure, Venus in Exile, and most recently The Beauty of Choice, which examines aesthetics and female agency. An accomplished opera librettist, she crafts works that challenge patriarchal norms, such as The Loathly Lady. Steiner’s reviews have appeared in major periodicals, and she has received fellowships from the Guggenheim and Mellon Foundations. Her work advocates for women’s taste and aesthetic freedom as the engines of identity and democracy.

Each November, NYC Jewelry Week proudly presents ‘The Week,’ a 7-day celebration dedicated to the art of jewelry. This annual festival invites a global audience to explore the world of jewelry through a dynamic mix of in-person and virtual experiences, spanning New York City and beyond. Our hybrid program features virtual programs streamed on YouTube alongside immersive on-site activities.

In-person, NYC Jewelry Week brings together leading figures in the jewelry industry to curate extraordinary experiences, including exhibitions, exclusive shopping opportunities, and retail collaborations. Attendees can also participate in insightful panel discussions that explore trends, challenges, and innovations in the field. Each event creates memorable jewelry moments that celebrate the creativity and craftsmanship of the industry.

Committed to inclusivity, many of our programs are free and open to the public. NYC Jewelry Week seeks to reshape how people view jewelry by inviting everyone to appreciate the artistry behind the scenes. Join us in celebrating the transformative power of jewelry and experience the beauty and innovation that define our community.

We look forward to welcoming you to NYCJW25!

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