TheNEWtribe Starts

Adopted from Ethiopia and brought up in the Netherlands, Kalkidan Hoex always felt like she was living between two different worlds. She is trying to explore the intricacies of her own identity and relate to others through her jewelry, in particular with her graduation collection, TheNEWtribe. Her collection plays with a range of techniques, materials, and aesthetics, attempting to find connections and relations between Western and African cultures. Her work speaks directly to those she considers a part of her own identity. It is a certain group of people she came into contact with—youth of mixed descent who fled with their families from their country of origin or were adopted. She focuses on this group because, despite the differences in backgrounds and upbringings, they share and agree on many topics when it comes to identity.