11 Apr 2013

Password: Printmaking at International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana

PASSWORD: PRINTMAKING
17 April − 26 May 2013
Mednarodni grafični likovni center/International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia



The exhibition Password: Printmaking is part of the european project Password: Printmaking, Travelling exhibition and Art Residencies (2012–2014).

Participating artists and curators:
Belgium: bolwerK, Paul Hendrikse, Damien De Lepeleire, Lieven Segers, Sofie Dederen – curator.
Croatia: Kristina Restović, Emanuela Santini, Celestina Vičević, Iva Gobić Vitolović, 
Daina Glavočić – curator.
Estonia: Joonmeedia, Triin Tamm, Anna-Stina Treumund, Anu Vahtra & Nam Kim, 
Jaanus Samma – curator.
Poland: Marta Kubiak, Paweł Kwiatkowski, Marcin Pazera, Rafał Śliwczyński, 
Marta Raczek-Karcz – curator.
Slovenia: Boštjan Čadež, Jon Derganc, Tanja Vujinović, Klemen Zupanc, Božidar Zrinski – curator.
Spain: Pedro Luiz Cembranos, Àngela Cuadra, Àngel Masip, Javier Pividal, 
Javier Martín-Jiménez – curator.

European project

PASSWORD: PRINTMAKING
Travelling exhibition and Art Residencies (2012–2014)
Printmaking is as a mediumtied to time-consuming process, which requires familiarity with various kinds of mechanical and chemical knowledge and skills. However, it still co-exists with other forms of contemporary artistic expression. It may well be true that the print is no longer at the centre of today's attention, and may even be something of an 'endangered species' – and as such excluded from most of the big contemporary art events. Does this mean that its creative force is not alive and that it has no power to influence the way we see and think about things, which is the essence of art?
This question is the reason that brought together six Europe-based institutions that have traditionally dealt with research, promotion, collection and/or production of modern and contemporary fine art print making and art publications to the EU-founded project Password: Printmaking, Travelling Exhibition and Art Residencies.
The project is coordinated by the International Centre of Graphic Arts (Ljubljana, Slovenia), while its other partners are: Hablar en arte (Madrid, Spain), the Frans Masereel Centrum (Kasterlee, Belgium), the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Rijeka, Croatia), the Foundation Tallinn Print Triennial (Tallinn, Estonia), and the International Print Triennial Society (Krakow, Poland). Working together, institutions have designed a project that comprises a range of activities. Its most visible part is the travelling exhibition of works by artists from the younger and middle generations. The exhibition begins its tour in Ljubljana on 17 April 2013. By the end of March 2014, the show will travel to all the other partner cities, namely to: Kasterlee, Krakow, Betanzos, Rijeka, and Tallinn. Another equally important part of the project are the art residencies, which are focused on research, production and critical thinking in the field of art publishing, printmaking, events, and workshops, staff exchanges, and an international conference. The conference will shed light on various theoretical and practical views of issues connected to contemporary production in the area of art publishing and printed media and will coincide with the jubilee edition of the 30th Biennial of Graphic Arts.

Exhibition

PASSWORD: PRINTMAKING
The most visible part of the project is travelling exhibition of contemporary worksby authors of predominantly younger and middle generation. Six curators have been seeking projects that are based on reproducibility, and are creating tension in how we see the present age in which our society works. Selected artists understand graphic art in its broadest sense – as a tool for drawing attention to the state of reality or as means to achieve change. They consciously reproduce and disseminate the content of their work and by doing so they amplify its impact. Therefore, the outlook of such a selection results in all kinds offorms, starting from traditional printmaking, contemporary methods of reproduction, artists'books, artists' anthologies, mass-media projects, and so on.
The matrix and the print are understood differently in different contexts; this instabilityand diversity in reception have become their true and actual state of being.
Curators were free to choose the topic that reflects the actual reality of their society. What is vital, however, is that the answers express their own cultural and institutional experience. In such a way, the plurality within art is demonstrated and contents that work synergistically or are mutually exclusive are obtained. Either way, they all reflect the European reality.

Opening of the exhibition on Wednesday, 17 April 2013, at 7 p.m., at the International Centre of Graphic Arts. The exhibition will be opened by Mrs. Barbara Koželj Podlogar from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.


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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Municipality of Ljubljana.
Media sponsor is Radio Študent.

Organiser :
Mednarodni grafični likovni center/International Centre of Graphic Arts,
Grad Tivoli, Pod turnom 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
mag. Breda Škrjanec, Coordinator of the project
t. +386 (0)1 2413 805, breda.skrjanec@mglc-lj.si
www.facebook.com/PasswordPrintmaking#!/PasswordPrintmaking

Public Relations and Accompanying Programme:
Lili Šturm, t. t. +386 (0)1 2431 818, lili.sturm@mglc-lj.si