earrings through the lens of craft + culture

The Craft Council of BC invites you to The Earring Show, an annual exhibition that highlights contemporary jewellery design! The exhibition sheds light on the timeless connection between craft and culture, and how they influence each other.

The Earring Show as an exhibition will be available for viewing until May 22 at the Craft Council of BC Gallery and will be for sale online until August 31.

try them, wear them

At the reception, we will offer drinks and nibbles while you try on your favourite pair! You’ll be able to purchase earrings and take them home the same day. All funds raised from the event go towards CCBC, its programs, and to help promote contemporary craft in BC and Canada. All attendees will be entered into a draw for a door prize with goodies from our partners!

about the earring show

The Earring Show serves as a unique space that presents earrings as art, culture and a snapshot of contemporary high-level craftsmanship. Over the past 7000 years, earrings have acted as a window into cultural practices. At times, earrings have been used to introduce new norms into culture, at other times, culture has been expressed through earrings. The exhibition recognizes the importance of earrings throughout history in their various roles, from adornment and status markers, to protest and cultural statements.

This year, the exhibition sees over 200 handmade earring submissions from around the world, made from an extensive variety of mediums. These earrings are never neutral; they express a passion for art, design, technique, a societal concern, a cultural statement, or simply the physical expression of the artist’s craft. The artwork often relays a story that speaks to a part of the makers’ identity. Through the exhibition, these unique pieces and their stories have the potential to become a part of the wearers’ own story. This reflects one of the goals of the Show: to create shared experiences around craft between makers and wearers.

The Earring Show began as a one-day local event, and over the past 12 years has grown in its scope, meaning and representation – while always acting as a contemporary reflection of craft and culture.

Today, The Earring Show is a hybrid event, displaying earring submissions both at the CCBC gallery in Vancouver and online. The event provides a novel opportunity for the general public to engage with contemporary craft.

learn more

Browse this year’s selection of over 120 earrings and view selected artists on
April 24.

Follow us on social @craftcouncilbc on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads!

#theearringshow2025