June 1, 2016

Venetian Marco Polymer travels to China Printmaking

In the photo, from lefto to right: Barbara Madsen (Rutgers), Lorenzo de Castro (Scuola di Grafica), Brian Shure (RISD), Ingrid Ledent (Academy of Antwerp)

The Scuola Internazionale di Grafica was invited to attend a conference by the China Museum of Printmaking in Guanlan, Shenzen. It was a great opportunity to visit one of the best printmaking organizations in the world. During the conference, a new international alliance was established: the International Printmaking Organization Alliance (IPOA).

Founding members are Zhao Jiachun (China), Lorenzo de Castro (Venice), Jason Ruhl (USA), Brian Shure (USA), Karen Oremus, (UAE), Isabel Cauas (Chile), Zhanè Warren (South Africa) Ingrid Ledent (Belgium), Harumi Sonoyama (Japan), Dimitrije Pecić (Belgrade), Eng Joo Heng (Singapore), Sophie Dederen (Belgium) and all the heads of the Printmaking Departments at academies and universities in China. During the signing ceremony all the founding members spoke and shared ideas about the best ways to foster dialogue and exchanges between both artists and students.

The Museum of Printmaking is connected to the Guanlan Original Printmaking Base➤, an outstanding residency program located in the proximity of the museum. Artists live in small comfortable apartments in a traditional Chinese village, and work in modern, spacious and superbly equipped studios.

The residency is attended by Chinese and international artists. The staff, both the technicians and the program assistants, is friendly and professional, allowing the resident artists to fully immerse themselves in their projects and produce amazing artwork. Each artist receives a private studio on the upper floor, while the ground floor has large presses for all printmaking methods.