Feature Story
Material Redistribution project
Panya Clark Espinal (Toronto, ON) with
Laine Groeneweg (Hamilton, ON)
Open Studio and Smokestack Studio
"I still feel like I'm still processing it all. I was always interested in the Arctic. We used to get icebergs going past my harbour in Newfoundland growing up. They were these outside visitors. They were strange, fantastical, and always held my curiosity."
Jonathan Green - printmaker
"I’m interested in social activism in printmaking and how that connects to your practice, which is very much about collaboration and building community. Can you begin by telling me more about the “Print Bus” that you outfitted in 2017 to drive out West after you left Toronto?"
Jenn Law, art writer, interview with Nadine Bariteau, social activist and artist
Welcome to Canadian Print Stories.
This platform celebrates the breadth and diversity of printmaking culture in Canada and
beyond, providing a virtual gathering place for conversation and shared storytelling.
Created by printmakers for printmakers and print enthusiasts, our aim is to build a living
resource and archive for all those interested in connecting with print!
Printmaking is one of the most pervasive, technologically revolutionary, and historically
influential art forms. Yet it is often sidelined in the contemporary art world, and there
remains a marked lack of critical writing on fine art print practice and theory in Canada
and elsewhere. No consolidated survey of Canadian printmaking currently exists.
This project endeavours to address this gap, collaboratively compiling an expansive
social ethnography of Canadian print culture, story by story. In this moment of crisis,
when education in the arts and the humanities—and print education specifically—is
increasingly under threat, we believe it is our collective responsibility to advocate for the
future of print-based practices and pedagogy.
Indeed, a shift is happening in the art world more broadly, largely driven by artists,
which recognizes the need to claim space for maker-centred networks; a movement that
rejects medium-based hierarchies and exclusive markets, but rather applauds
multiplicity and cooperative infrastructures; that understands that more is more when it
comes to building creative community. Collaboration never dilutes value; it always
expands opportunity. Ultimately, a healthy art ecosystem is one that recognizes,
supports, and celebrates the value and necessity of all its moving parts.
Call it a manifesto, if you will, but it’s time to spotlight all the things we know print to be.
Comprising a series of ever-evolving technologies, experimental processes, and
materials, printmaking is fundamentally a collection of material-based strategies for
thinking and being in the world.
We want you to be part of the conversation! Stay tuned for opportunities to collaborate
and share your print experiences, processes, and projects. The only way to tell the story
of Canadian printmaking is together.
Print is culture. We are culture. And these are our stories.
We tell stories about history, social commentary, print technique, imagery, studios, printmakers and more all through the lens of print.
All of these themes make up our history.
Tell us your story or someonelse's story. This is how we compile our history and navigate our future.
Our Aim,
is to publish a book that make up a selection of these wonderful stories about people and places that shape our history. Read More
These are some of our
Canadian print stories
Contributions from our community.
Explore the World of Prints in Canada
Read a series of essays from our admirers, critics and curators. Each essay will take you on a journey into the world of print and hopefully give you a better understanding and appreciation for print.
Title
Nancy Tousley art critic and writer
Calgary, Alberta
Our
Story
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