12 August 2013

Programme for inaugural Print Festival Scotland announced

Thousands of visitors are set to join hundreds of artists and academics when Scotland's biggest ever celebration of the medium of print gets underway next week.

The inaugural Print Festival Scotland (PFS) will take place in Dundee and at satellite venues across the country from 23rd August to 1st September. The Festival aims to confirm the cultural diversity, historical significance and future potential of print, as artists and writers adjust to the digital age. It will be anchored by the 8th biennial International Multidisciplinary Printmaking Conference (IMPACT 8) - the world's largest and most prestigious event of its kind.

A wide and exciting range of some 40 exhibitions, workshops and performances have been co-ordinated to celebrate the IMPACT 8 conference and mark PFS. Venues range from internationally recognised contemporary art galleries to local artist-run initiatives in alternative public spaces.

Taking 'exploration' as their theme, the joint programme of events will celebrate the multiple identities of print media, with a particular focus on Dundee - the City of Discovery - which has a rich tradition of print, printmaking and publishing, and is a hub of contemporary digital technology innovation.

Venues include Dundee Contemporary Arts, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), the University of Dundee, Abertay University, The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum, Edinburgh Printmakers, Stirling Old Town Jail, Glasgow Print Studio and Peacock Visual Arts in Aberdeen. Partner organisations include DC Thomson & Co Ltd and the Scottish Print Network.

Participating artists include established names such as Alasdair Gray, Elizabeth Blackadder and Martin Boyce, as well as young, up-and-coming talent from across the country.

The bid to bring IMPACT 8 to Scotland was led by Professor Elaine Shemilt and Dr Paul Harrison of DJCAD, part of the University of Dundee.

Professor Shemilt said, 'This is the first time that this conference is to be held in Scotland, and we are very excited to be hosting this and the Print Festival in Dundee. World class practitioners from the field of printmaking will be attending the conference and taking part in the thrilling programme of events lined up.

'We wanted to make this a truly national celebration of printmaking in all its many forms so we have been working with arts organisations around Scotland. The events will cover commercial and digital printing, historical aspects of printmaking, avant garde print practices and contemporary research. We will also explore how new technology will bring new ideas, opportunities and challenges.

'Volunteers from a wide range of creative organisations and community groups have been coming together to help make this a special celebration of Scotland's heritage and strengths in print media as we host the world's most prestigious printmaking conference. This spirit of interdisciplinarity, creativity and collaboration is the bedrock upon which Dundee's bid to be named UK City of Culture 2017 is built upon.'

Among the highlights of the programme are:

• 'Modern Masters in Print' at The McManus - Prints by four of the 20th Century's greatest artists - Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Andy Warhol.
• 'There Will Be New Rules Next Week' at DCA - An exhibition of works by Sister Corita Kent alongside five contemporary artists inspired by her printmaking and life-affirming teaching.
• 'DC Thomson & Co Dundee: Press, Print, Production' at the Lamb Gallery, University of Dundee - the history of Dundee's most famous printing company, looking at their many famous publications produced over the years.
• 'Proof' at the Hannah Maclure Centre - Prints and installations inspired by artist Beatrice Haines' residency at Abertay University's forensics lab.
• '40/40: forty years, forty artists' at Glasgow Print Studio - 40 newly commissioned prints from some of Scotland's finest artists including Alasdair Gray, Elizabeth Blackadder and Martin Boyce

Foregrounding the inherent experimental and interdisciplinary nature of print practices, Impact 8 will provide a critical and interactive platform for the varied interests that make print such a unique discipline.

Whilst the term printmaking is generally used to refer to the process of using printing to make artworks, IMPACT will also explore the myriad ways in which print has contributed to social, economic, political and cultural changes - from the invention of the Guttenberg press through to cutting edge technology with the potential to transform life.

From its hybrid roots in industry and scholarship, through traditional design applications and fine art practices, to its consistent significance within emerging technologies and theoretical debate, print continues to play a crucial role in the exploration of borders and crossings - be they geographical, ideological, cultural, theoretical or practical.

IMPACT 7, which took place in Melbourne in 2011, drew in some 450 artists, academics, curators, conservators, collaborative studios, students and other practitioners from 35 countries, in addition to thousands of visitors to subsidiary exhibitions and events.

The full programme for IMPACT 8 and Print Festival Scotland can be found at www.conf.dundee.ac.uk/impact8/exhibitions.

Notes to editors:

Print Festival Scotland
Print Festival Scotland is the nation's largest ever celebration of print and printmaking. It has been organised to coincide with IMPACT 8, the world's most prestigious printmaking conference, which is being hosted by the University of Dundee in conjunction with partner organisations.

Forty events will be held in Dundee and at venues across Scotland from August 23rd to September 1st 2013. Print Festival Scotland is a celebration of interdisciplinarity and exploration through the medium of print brought to the nation by partners including:

• Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
• The University of Dundee
• Abertay University
• Dundee City Council
• Dundee Contemporary Arts
• V&A at Dundee
• DC Thomson & Co Ltd
• The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum
• Scottish Print Network

UK City of Culture 2017 bid
Dundee is bidding to become the UK City of Culture in 2017. The first stage of the bid was submitted in April and it was announced in June that Dundee had been shortlisted, along with Hull, Leicester and Swansea.

Dundee's strengths in the arts and creative industries is underlined by the fact that there were 2,414,362 attendances recorded at cultural venues in the city last year. This will be enhanced by the V&A at Dundee, which will not only be the iconic centrepiece of the regenerated waterfront but will take Dundee into a global circuit of cultural destinations, generating 300,000 visits per year and creating 200 jobs.

Dundee is a creative city with a huge amount to offer and designation as UK City of Culture provides a perfect stage to do it on at national and international levels.

More information about the bid and how you can play your part in supporting it can be found at www.wedundee.com.

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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