Eva van Kempen (1976) is an experienced goldsmith, filigree tutor at the Vocational School of Goldsmiths in Schoonhoven, and jewellery artivist. She holds a BA in HRM, Van Kempen received her MA from Sandberg Institute, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam in 2020. Her work is exhibited internationally across Europe, Asia and the US and is part of several private and public collections.

Her practice took a new direction following serious health issues, inspiring collections that explore human potential—particularly through the lens of medical and specialised goldsmithing innovations.

In 2015 the artist presented LifeLines, jewellery made from safely recycled hospital waste. With these works, she demonstrated the inherent exquisiteness and value of a range of medical equipment and implements. A solo-exhibition followed at Amsterdam Medical Centre (AMC), where she had once been a patient. A solo-exhibition Ready-To-Bear in Museum de Fundatie followed (2017-2018).

One part of Van Kempen’s eclectic practice focuses on craft heritage and filigree—a 5,000-year-old ornamental jewellery specialisation that she has been practising since 2010. For her master’s thesis, she conducted field research on the state of filigree in both the Netherlands and China. In response to the impending extinction in the Netherlands of this time-consuming technique, Van Kempen developed a strategy to safeguard intangible cultural heritage such as filigree, and she has been actively implementing it step by step ever since.

In 2020, Van Kempen launched the Instagram page ‘The Filigree Ambassador’. It was later renamed @the_filigree_embassy. In lieu of mourning the loss of tradition in the face of technological change, the designer chooses to socialise basic filigree knowledge-production and emphasise its meditative aspects. Practising an intangible cultural heritage while engaging in a new form of self-care in today’s fast-paced society, she argues, can provide people with a sense of place and purpose, which can be beneficial to their well-being.

In august 2022, Van Kempen launched ‘The Filigree Embassy’, an online, open-source filigree knowledge platform in Dutch. Aiming to repopularise filigree in the Netherlands, she innovates, safeguards, and shares her knowledge in collaboration with designers, practitioners, teachers, art historians and enthusiasts. In partnership with MING DESIGN STUDIO, she developed Tool-RF (Reproducing Filigree) to make filigree more accessible to goldsmiths. Currently, in collaboration with TU Delft, she is researching how to integrate modern technology to support her handmade filigree art. A selection of her filigree explorations will be on view in the archaeological jewellery exhibition Bodemjuweeltjes (Gems Unearthed) at the Zeeuws Museum in Middelburg, from June 14, 2025, to March 1, 2026.

The Filigree Embassy, Tool-RF, and the current Talent Development Year are made possible by Creative Industries Fund NL.