About
A shared strategic ambition among the studios to work together for the collective benefit of the printmaking sector
A network of fine art print studios has been a longstanding ambition shared by lead staff of studios across the island of Ireland.The idea has been an ongoing discussion topic in the sector since 2017 and even earlier. Discussions have taken place between Black Church Print Studio, Cork Printmakers, Graphic Studio Dublin, Limerick Printmakers, Belfast Print Workshop, Seacourt Print Workshop, Creative Spark Print Studio, Leinster Printmakers, and others. These meetings identified a shared strategic ambition among the studios to work together for the collective benefit of the printmaking sector.
Print Network Ireland’s ambitions remain consistent with priorities discussed during those early meetings. This was the basis of a successful bid to Arts Council’s Capacity Building scheme in 2022. A consortium of four studios was awarded €20,000 to begin formalising the network and undertaking pilot activities as an action learning research project. The bid proposed to establish partnership terms, strategic direction and roadmap for the network, and deliver a programme of events and engagements that fulfilled the network’s objectives. The project ran from January-September 2023 and was overseen by the appointed Network Facilitator and a Working Party of senior staff from the studios.
PNI was awarded a further €30,000 by the Arts Council to continue its first steps as an active functioning network (including the development of this PNI website) and extend the network to reach more studios and printmakers. After just one year of pilot activity Print Network Ireland is already manifesting the shared ambition as deliverable priorities: the seed funding has created significant operational and capacity benefits for studio management, and is boosting awareness, appreciation and credibility of printmaking as an artform.
“Working together through Print Network Ireland we are empowered to better position contemporary fine art printmaking within visual art practice both nationally and internationally. To date Print Network Ireland has provided access to professional connections, new opportunities, new ideas, and valuable information sharing (and has huge potential going forward).”