SUSANNA CRUM

This panel seeks printmaker-educators willing to speak about their experiences establishing, redesigning, or expanding printmaking programs, and about how their own educational backgrounds have influenced their approaches to this process. Discussion will focus on how mentor relationships and interconnectivity in the national printmaking sphere affect development of curriculum and facilities in university printmaking programs, but will touch on factors and issues affecting the development of all types of printmaking centers. As a facility-intensive medium, printmaking often requires an additional commitment and physical investment from its faculty, which contributes to a particular do-it-yourself culture among printmakers. Panelists are invited to share their firsthand anecdotes, mistakes, and innovations concerning the building of printmaking communities.  

Presenter 1: Mark Bovey, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Paper Title: The Re-incarnation of NSCAD Printmaking
NSCAD’s printmaking program was originally defined by the minimalist conceptual history associated with the professional publishing Lithography Workshop and the editions that have been canonized by their inclusion in major collections. The program stayed essentially the same for 30 years, focusing primarily on technical achievement. So where is the educational program now in a time of hybrid practices and more emphasis on theoretical discourse? Over the past ten years the program has undergone many changes including a thorough overhaul of the facilities as well as a shift in philosophical direction. The changes have been both strategic and opportunistic, and necessary for enrollment to grow and the program to flourish again. This paper will reveal the ways in which the evolution was possible during financially difficult times. Drawing on experiences learned throughout my career I set out to reclaim the discourse by systematically altering the program over time. 

Presenter 2: Susanna Crum and Rodolfo Salgado Jr., Kentucky School of Art, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Paper Title: Establishing a Cooperative Studio
Too often, schools serve as both the starting and ending point for artists' work in printmaking.  While pursuing a degree, artists discover vibrant, collaborative studio environments with historic pieces of equipment and advanced digital technology.  In classes, they discover the thrill of trading and collecting prints.  Upon graduation, students with a passion for printmaking face a challenge: how can they find the tools, resources, and fellow artists they need to expand their artistic practice?  When Rodolfo Salgado Jr and I met at the University of Iowa, we discussed the myriad ways a cooperative printmaking studio can expand and enrich the lives of artistic producers and collectors in a community.  After two years of research and travel, we will open Calliope Arts in Louisville, KY, which will create opportunities for community members to learn printmaking processes, rent access to equipment, participate in collaborative projects, and collect prints from national, regional, and local artists. 

Presenter 3: Zach Stensen, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Doha, Qatar
Paper Title: UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Building a Print Shop in Qatar
In less than a generation, the State of Qatar has experienced rapid infrastructural growth due to its vast hydrocarbon resources.  Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, along with a host of other branch universities, is part of the country’s larger initiative to create a knowledge-based economy through investment in research and education. The Painting + Printmaking Department at VCUQatar was created in 2010, and is currently the first and only fine arts major offered in the country’s history.  Over the last four years the studios have been designed from the ground up, and empty classrooms have been converted into facilities that support a range of analog and digital print media.  This presentation will share the challenges of setting up and managing a contemporary print studio in the Middle East, and the unique experience of teaching art in one of the fastest developing countries in the world.