Print Austin Collective, an artist-led nonprofit organization established in 2013, is hosting its annual festival now through February. These two months of programming contribute to the organization’s goal of working with local venues and artists to promote traditional and experimental printmaking approaches.
“The Contemporary Print” artist Maria Frati
As in previous years, the festival includes juried exhibitions, artist booths, printmaking demonstrations, and virtual programming. The Contemporary Print, a juried show featuring artists experimenting with the medium, is on view at Austin Community College’s (ACC) Highland campus. The show was juried by renowned North Carolina artist Rashaun Rucker. In 2021, Mr. Rucker was a resident at the International Studios and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in Brooklyn, New York; he has also been a Mellon Fellow at the University of Michigan Institute of Humanities, and he received a visual arts grant from the Harpo Foundation. ACC will host a virtual and in-person artist talk with Mr. Rucker on January 26, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.
“PrintAustin 5×5” artist Mehdi Darvishi
PrintAustin 5×5 is another annual juried exhibition which showcases five works by five contemporary artists. This year’s show has a new twist: two jurors curated separate exhibitions from the same pool of applicants. In Austin, Holly Borham, Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Blanton Museum of Art, organized an exhibition at Link & Pin Gallery, and in Santa Fe, Jordan Eddy of the Zane Bennett Contemporary Art Gallery organized an exhibition which will be on view in April as part of the inaugural Print Santa Fe festival. The Austin exhibition will be up through February 11, with an opening reception on January 21 from 3 to 5 pm and an online talk by Ms. Borham on February 1 from 6 to 7 pm.
Cannonball Press at PrintEXPO
On February 10, the PrintEXPO will kick off with the Printmaker’s Ball, a masquerade fundraising event featuring printmakers selling their wares. General admission for the fundraiser is $20 and VIP admission is $100. The following days, February 11 and 12, will be free for all attendees. 2023 vendors include individual artists like Chloe Alexander, Jamaal Barber, Carlos Barberena, Benjamin Muñoz, Darden Smith, and print galleries and collectives like the Flatbed Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Glassell Printmaking Studio, Print Association of North Texas, The University of Texas at Austin Printmaking, and Wally Workman Gallery. Learn more about the PrintEXPO via its website.
Click here to see the full PrintAustin 2023 festival brochure and to learn about demos, workshops, and other events.
