The weekend of 8-10th November saw the inaugural Print Fest held at Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton. Organised by WSA members Jacky
Fellows, Lindsay Pritchard, Clare Sherwen and Sue Pitt it aimed to showcase the work of printmakers throughout the region and beyond.
The weekend kicked off with the Friday opening night where 18 printmakers, some from as far away as Leeds and Mid Wales, displayed their work. It was a busy night with live music from local singer Billy Spakemon, refreshments of wine and nibbles and a great atmosphere.
We were delighted to be able to support and sponsor the prize exhibition which displayed a wide variety of printed work judged by our own Steve Evans and Jenny Gunning from Ironbridge Printmakers. The first prize of £100 was awarded to Satinder Parhar for his drypoint etching ‘Viaduct #1’ and the second prize of £50 went to Hannah Boyd-McKee for her monoprint ‘Memento Vivere – `Remember to Live’. Highly Commended certificates were awarded to John Roger Bradley and Nadine Jay.
Alongside the prize exhibition was a community exhibition of prints made during a series of workshops run with Iranian refugee groups, a visually
impaired adults group and Class 6 at West Park school with many of the participants visiting over the weekend to see their work displayed.
Over the course of the weekend an estimated 800 visitors visited who as well as visiting the stands were able to watch demonstrations from several WSA
members and have a go at printing on an intaglio press with Jenny Gunning.
Overall a fabulously successful inaugural Print Fest!