SPS in Cuba
Earlier this month, 7 of our members’ work was selected to represent SPS in the exhibition Tres Tallers Ingleses: Veinte-Uno Puntos de Vista in Havana, Cuba. This exhibition is part of an initiative to develop and deepen the relationship with Cuban printmakers through exchanges of work, and collaborative projects.
Our 7 representatives are Martine Baldwin, Carolyn Bunt, Sarah Duncan, Ros Ford, Jolanta Grzybowska, John Lynch and Gillian Thompson
In March 2013, the Taller Experimental de Grafica was invited to participate in the IMPRESS International Printmaking Festival in South West England, as a result of three visits to Havana by a printmaker from the Gloucestershire Printmaking Cooperative, between 2004 and 2012. It was the first major exhibition of Cuban printmaking to be exhibited in the United Kingdom and was received with enormous interest and acclaim by British audiences.
The exhibition, A Sangre, was created for the Havana Biennale in 2012, and was accompanied by Luis Lara and Yamilys Brito from the Studio. They opened the exhibition, organised collagraph workshops, and travelled to universities and studios in the South West, giving master classes and presentations on printmaking in Cuba.
Tres Tallers Ingleses: Veinte-Uno Puntos de Vista, represents the range of work produced by members of three studios visited by Luis and Yamilys during their visit.
Spike Print Studio was set up by a group of artists in 1976 and is a not-for-profit company that does not receive external funding. It provides a stimulating, creative environment for artists to explore their work and offers technical support in producing original prints, whilst making printmaking accessible to all through its educational programme. Spike Print Studio provides an editioning service with international and residency artists to produce unique sets of contemporary prints. It actively promotes artists, and provides training and education for the public through a programme of courses, workshops and master classes. The studio supports all levels of experience and has a great atmosphere where people of all ages come together because of their love of print.
Double Elephant Print Workshop is a community based open access workshop in Exeter, South West England. The workshop is located in the City Arts Centre. It has 90 members who can use the workshop for their own art practice. Double Elephant also offers teaching in all print processes through a programme of daily and weekend classes. It also has an outreach programme, taking a portable press to schools, hospitals, prisons, and other community settings. We work to introduce printmaking to all ages and abilities.
The Gloucestershire Printmaking Co-operative was set up in 2005. Since that time it has established excellent studio facilities, increased membership (currently 55 members), and provided a centre of excellence in staging three Impress Festivals of Printmaking. There are now two studios offering the full range of print techniques, including planography (stone litho, screenprint, monoprint), collagraphy, etching, letterpress and relief printing, and other photomechanical processes. The Co-op runs a comprehensive programme of courses and workshops, and has recently opened a Printmakers Gallery, featuring the work of its members, as well as exhibitions by international artists.
