ARTIST STATEMENT
Julia Bustos‑Vasquez is an artist working at the intersection of jewellery, sculpture, and cultural memory. Coming from a lineage of musicians, artisans, and makers, she began learning jewellery techniques in her mother’s workshop as a teenager, later deepening her training through private courses across North and South America. In 2020, she completed a Professional Jeweller’s Diploma at the École des Métiers du Sud‑Ouest de Montréal and a professional Lapidary Diploma at the École de Joaillerie de Montréal.
Her practice draws from her experience as a first‑generation Canadian of Central and South American origin, exploring how objects can carry stories of diaspora, belonging, and resistance. Working intuitively with metal, stone, and organic materials, she hand‑assembles and hand‑carves each piece to maintain a direct, responsive relationship with her materials. Her work combines jewellery techniques with sculptural gestures to create artifacts that hold cultural, social, and political resonance.
A multidisciplinary maker, Julia is also a professionally trained violinist and an avid textile enthusiast, bringing a sensitivity to rhythm, touch, and material continuity into her artistic process.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
B. 1981 Montréal Julia grew up in north, central and south america surrounded by artists and activists. Starting in elementary school, Julia trained as a professional violinist until graduating high school, upon which she started helping her mother work as an artisan in a jewellery shop in Santiago Chile. Upon her return to Montréal, Julia obtained a double bachelors in literature and anthropology. Pre-pandemic, Julia decided to return to school for a diploma in professional jewellery making, obtained in 2022. Since then, Julia has obtained two research and creation grants with the Canada Council for the arts, participated in group exhibitions across north america, and most recently participated in an international artistic residency in Mexico.
© Julia Bustos-Vasquez