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Refresh!INTAGLIO PRINTING WORKSHOPS –Fine Art Printing Outreach Project for Herefordshire
The Sidney Nolan Trust is a registered charity, established by Sir Sidney Nolan in 1985 for the purpose of supporting the work and development of artists and musicians. The Trust is delivering this outreach project with these aims:- Engaging communities within the LEADER+ area to learn an old form of printing, using modern techniques
- Developing creativity through fine art printmaking
- Extending participation to those who do not often take part in art activities, including the disabled and elderly
“Intaglio” is a generic term for etching, engraving, drypoint and other traditional printmaking techniques that have been central to European visual culture for the past 500 years.
The workshops are aimed at adults of all ages and abilities and also at GCSE and A-Level 
students. They are suitable for artists and non-artists alike. Participants do not need any previous printmaking or art experience. The workshops will also appeal to people who would like to refresh a rusty knowledge of Intaglio printmaking.
Mike Clements, the Trust’s printmaking tutor, will run the introductory workshops in Intaglio printmaking with groups throughout the LEADER+ parishes, over the course of two years. A portable etching press will be taken to community centres, museums, galleries, secondary schools and parish/village halls. The Trust is keen to hear from any group interested in hosting and facilitating one of these workshops.
The outreach element of this project allows more people to access the workshops, including those who may not consider themselves “arty”, and also cuts down on fuel costs and pollution within the county by taking the workshop into the community, rather than only having workshops run at The Rodd (the Sidney Nolan Trust headquarters near Presteigne). All of the equipment necessary will be brought to the workshop by the Trust. Groups will be kept small, up to 10 people per workshop.
As well as learning Intaglio printmaking techniques, participants will look into the links between people and the Herefordshire Rivers, discuss their local river environment (how it effects them and how they can contribute to its sustainability), and focus their artistic creativity on these issues.
The Trust is also offering mentoring, by the printmaking tutor, for a small number of trainees interested in gaining experience in running art workshops. The printmaking tutor is experienced in providing mentoring guidance.
Follow-up sessions will be run at the Trust’s print studio, located at The Rodd, to provide outreach participants
the chance to develop their printmaking skills and creativity. Sessions run during the course of 2006 and 2007 will carry on with this river-focused theme.
A photographer will be present at a selection of workshops to document the outreach project. The artwork created and photographs taken from the sessions will be displayed at the Trust’s exhibitions, which are attended by hundreds of people every year. The exhibition curator will present the work in a way that encourages visitors to think about the county’s river environments and sustainability – using visual art to further public debate on the environmental issues concerning Herefordshire’s rivers.
Anthony Plant
The Sidney Nolan Trust
The Rodd
Presteigne
Powys
LD8 2LL
Tel: (01544) 267362
Email: sidneynolantrust@therodd.org
Mike Clements
Printmaking Tutor
Email: sidneynolantrust@therodd.org
Website: www.sidneynolantrust.org.uk
