Students and faculty from the Jewelry / Metal Arts Program at California College of the Arts are calling on local residents to donate their unwanted jewelry—gold, silver, or other—between now and September 11, 2008, to be recycled into exciting new pieces for the Radical Jewelry Makeover. A nationwide program, the Radical Jewelry Makeover was founded by Ethical Metalsmiths, an artist-run nonprofit organization that is working to galvanize mining reform efforts and educate the public about alternatives to traditional mining practices and jewelry production.

Jewelry donations can be made at the drop box located in the Jewelry / Metal Arts Program offices at CCA's Oakland campus (5212 Broadway), or mailed to the Richmond Art Center at 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond CA 94804. Donations can also be made at any of the other participating organizations (for more information, see radicaljewelrymakeover.blogspot.com).

The unique, handmade pieces from the Radical Jewelry Makeover will be exhibited and offered for sale October 22–November 9 at Velvet da Vinci, 2015 Polk Street (between Broadway and Pacific), San Francisco. There will be a reception on Friday October 24. Jewelry donors receive discount coupons, and all sales benefit Ethical Metalsmiths' efforts to inform and connect people with responsibly sourced materials. CCA students will work together on the project with other participating Bay Area organizations, schools, and studios, including Metal Arts Guild San Francisco, Academy of Art University, City College, the Crucible, Revere Academy, Richmond Art Center, and Scintillant Studio.

The San Francisco Bay Area Radical Jewelry Makeover will be the largest event to date. According to Ethical Metalsmiths, San Francisco Bay is lined with several feet of sediment from hydraulic gold mining that took place more than a century ago, and the waters are contaminated with dangerous levels of mercury as a result. The organization Earthworks reports that an estimated 80 percent of the gold mined each year is used for jewelry, and that a single gold ring leaves 20 tons of mine waste. Mining is currently the most toxic industry in the nation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

About California College of the Arts

Founded in 1907, California College of the Arts (CCA) is noted for the interdisciplinarity and breadth of its programs. It offers studies in 20 undergraduate and seven graduate majors in the areas of fine arts, architecture, design, and writing. The college offers bachelor of architecture, bachelor of arts, bachelor of fine arts, master of architecture, master of arts, master of fine arts, and master of business administration degrees. With campuses in Oakland and San Francisco, CCA currently enrolls more than 1,650 full-time students. Noted alumni include the painters Nathan Oliveira and Raymond Saunders; the ceramicists Robert Arneson, Viola Frey, and Peter Voulkos; the filmmaker Wayne Wang; the conceptual artists David Ireland and Dennis Oppenheim; and the designers Lucille Tenazas and Michael Vanderbyl.