Contemporary printmaking in Scotland

The cream of Scotland’s printmaking talent will go on show this month at an exhibition organised by St Andrews students.

Pressing Forward is an exhibition of contemporary prints from print workshops in Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh. The main themes are collaborations between artists, innovative printmaking techniques and an exploration of the ways that galleries interpret contemporary art to the public.

The show features works by fourteen artists – Philip Braham, Alastair Clark, Calum Colvin, Chris Evans, Graham Fagen, Roberto Gonzalez-Fernandez, Paul Liam Harrison, Elspeth Lamb, Ruth Montada, Toby Paterson, Jenny Smith, Ralph Steadman, Donald Urquhart, and Hans Waanders.

The exhibition has been organised by ten postgraduate students from the Museum and Gallery Studies course at the University of St Andrews. Each year, as part of the course, the students are given the opportunity to organise a professionally run exhibition at a “real” venue. All aspects of the exhibition from research to installation have been organised by the students in just six months. Support for the education programme and catalogue has come from The Lethendy Trust, Noble Grossart Ltd and Deloitte and Touche.

An education programme of printmaking workshops for school children has been organised, as well as a talk by one of the featured artists, Paul Harrison. A preview night for invited guests will take place on 5 March and a new venture for the Crawford Arts Centre will be an exclusive student night sponsored by Beck’s on 6 March. This event will also feature up-and-coming Edinburgh based DJ Fat Mess and the opportunity to win a state of the art Nokia mobile phone. This innovative approach will provide students with a relaxed environment in which to enjoy the art and hopefully encourage them to make future gallery visits.

The exhibition is being held at the Crawford Arts Centre, 93 North Street, St Andrews from 6 March until 25 April. Admission is free. Opening hours: Monday – Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 2pm-5pm.

ENDS

For more information – please contact Anna Bowdler (07980 843765); Jill Iredale (07742 058924); or Diana Sykes at the Crawford Arts Centre (01334 474610 or [email protected] online.co.uk).