WORN WITNESS: Jewelry as Afro-Testimony at NYC Jewelry Week 2026

Explore Afro-diasporic jewelry as memory, identity, and testimony, with artists’ discussion and book signing.
About this Event

What can jewelry carry of a life, a culture, a memory, a future? Artists Diana Baird N'Diaye and Elaine Robnett Moore draw upon African diasporic heritage while pushing possibilities of art jewelry from materials gathered, reclaimed, and transformed. Moderated by Dr. Joanne Hyppolite (Smithsonian NMAAHC), the discussion will explore jewelry as a vessel for personal and cultural memory, commentary, vision and imagination.

Meet authors Elaine Roblett Moore, Dr. JoAnne Hyppolite, for this informal book signing following the WORN WITNESS conversation. Diana Baird N’Diaye will share information about her forthcoming book.

Artists Diana Baird N’Diaye and Elaine Robnett Moore affirm how materials can become carriers of personal and collective memory, social commentary, futurism and identity via their different approaches to jewelry design. N’Diaye pieces, patches, and reassembles textiles and found jewelry, while Robnett Moore gathers and strings beads and objects collected through decades of travel. Although they work in different styles and with different materials and techniques, both artists treat each piece as a carrier of meaning across three registers that organize the exhibition — how wearable art holds the past, speaks to the present, and imagines what we will pass forward. On view November 18-22, 2026

What can jewelry carry of a life, a culture, a memory, a future? Artists Diana Baird N'Diaye and Elaine Robnett Moore draw upon African diasporic heritage while pushing possibilities of art jewelry from materials gathered, reclaimed, and transformed. Moderated by Dr. Joanne Hyppolite (Smithsonian NMAAHC), the discussion will explore jewelry as a vessel for personal and cultural memory, commentary, vision and imagination.

Meet authors Elaine Roblett Moore, Dr. JoAnne Hyppolite, for this informal book signing following the WORN WITNESS conversation. Diana Baird N’Diaye will share information about her forthcoming book.

Contributors

Dr. Diana Baird N’Diaye is a textile artist, jeweler and folklorist. Her wearable assemblages — pieced, mended, and re-membered from reclaimed cloth, jewelry, and objects reflect a lifelong inquiry into adornment, identity, and the African world.

Elaine Robnett Moore’s visionary jewelry is exhibited in galleries and museums internationally. Her jewelry, assembled from beads and found objects gathered worldwide, carries the stories of their sources. Author of three books, she teaches from Maryland to Malaysia.

Dr. Joanne Hyppolite, Curator and Director of Culture at Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is co-author of "Bodyworks: The Jewelry of Art Smith," the definitive book on his artistic practice.

AFRICAN AMERICAN CRAFT ALLIANCE: N’Diaye and Robnett Moore are active in the African American Craft Alliance, which brings together craft artisans, makers, researchers, and organizations to promote the vitality of African American craft.

NYCJW26: November 16–22, 2026

Each November, NYC Jewelry Week presents The Week, a seven-day celebration of jewelry and the people, ideas, and craftsmanship behind it. NYCJW26 brings together a global audience for a dynamic mix of in-person and virtual experiences across New York City and beyond.

Explore the full , featuring exhibitions, shopping experiences, retail collaborations, talks, panels, workshops, demonstrations, tours, and more. Virtual programs will be streamed on YouTube, while in-person events offer opportunities to engage directly with artists, designers, curators, collectors, and other members of the jewelry community.

With many programs free and open to the public, NYC Jewelry Week invites everyone—from longtime jewelry enthusiasts to those just beginning to explore the field—to discover the artistry, ideas, histories, and craftsmanship that make jewelry so compelling.

Join us for NYCJW26, November 16–22, 2026.