Melinda Young is a contemporary jeweler with a Master of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, she has exhibited extensively, participating in over 75 exhibitions in Australia and overseas since 1997. Her work is held in public collections and has been included in numerous publications. Melinda’s practice primarily engages with the idea of ‘place’ and explorations of materiality, with an emphasis on found or re-purposed materials as vehicles for narrative. For the past decade, she has also worked collaboratively with Adelaide based jeweller Lauren Simeoni, their projects have included exhibitions and workshops around Australia, New Zealand and in the USA.

 

Melinda has spent the past 20 years working within the contemporary craft and design field as an educator, curator and at galleries including The Australian Design Centre (formerly Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design). In 2014 she curated an exhibition of contemporary Australian jewellery for Atta Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand. Since 2015 Melinda has worked with curator, historian & writer Emily McCulloch Childs on the Indigenous Jewellery Project, teaching contemporary jewellery skills and ideas at Aboriginal Art Centres including Buku-Mulka Larrnggay in Arnhem Land. Melinda has previously held teaching positions at Sydney College of the Arts and the Design Centre, Enmore; she is currently an Associate Lecturer (Jewellery/Design) at UNSW Faculty of Art & Design.