Background

Impress Printmakers Studio Brisbane Inc. is a non-profit, community, visual arts organisation that commenced operations in February 2004 and grew out of the need to create a printmakers access studio for South East Queensland. We have since grown and developed into a community minded organisation that seeks to develop partnerships and collaborations with other community groups and businesses and initiate projects that will benefit the wider community. We have already developed collaborations with other printmaking studios including Warringah Printmakers Sydney, the Printmakers Association of Western Australia, Hunter Island Press Tasmania, the Newcastle Printmakers Workshop and The Hong Kong Open Access Studio.

Our objectives are:

• To promote and raise the awareness of printmaking as a fine art form by providing greater community access to arts and culture.
• To develop a world-class printmakers access studio and provide safe, affordable access to printmaking equipment for art workers and the wider community in South East Queensland.
• To provide a stimulating environment that embraces both traditional and contemporary printmaking processes as well as reflecting the changing needs of the arts community.
• To provide developmental opportunities for art workers and the wider community by supporting a program of skill development workshops.
• To research, experiment with, develop and implement safer non-toxic processes and materials into our studio.
• To encourage those with disabilities and from culturally diverse groups to become actively involved in the centre's operation and use of facilities.
• To provide future employment opportunities for local artists wherever Impress can sustain such positions.

Due to the range of processes, the very high cost of equipment and the complex occupational health and safety standards required in printmaking, very few printmakers had been able to access equipment and continue their practice in Brisbane until Impress commenced operations. Consequently many talented printmakers had, over the years, abandoned their practice. In February 2004 a number of students and graduates from The Queensland College of Art decided it was time to do something about the situation.

In June 2005 Impress opened our first access studio and, although a temporary venue, it has been a monumental achievement to have reached this goal in such a short period of time. Our organisation actively promotes the use of safer, less toxic printmaking materials and processes and has been proactive in researching, experimenting with and implementing safer, less toxic materials and processes into our studio.

Our exhibitions program creates quality local, national and international exposure and sales opportunities for emerging artists and contributes to the development of the creative arts sector in Queensland. We have begun the process of developing existing audiences and markets and addressing many of the issues that will assist South East Queensland printmakers to maintain their practice base in Queensland.

Our workshop program has also been highly successful and very popular. The program provides a comprehensive workshop package for emerging artists, community organisations, educational institutions and individuals. We have completed workshops for the Queensland Art Gallery Tour Guides, the Queensland College of Art Alumni, the Queensland Art Teachers Association, the Australian Graphic Design Association and a number of schools including Brisbane Girls Grammar, Cannon Hill Anglican College and Southern Cross Catholic College, Scarborough. Art teachers are now accessing our studio workshops as a good opportunity for professional development. Their students, in turn, are benefiting from their teachers' increased knowledge of printmaking. Many individuals are also accessing and benefiting from our studio workshops for recreational purposes.

Impress has a strong commitment to community and has initiated projects that engage the wider community by addressing issues of social and cultural importance and generating a strong community spirit and feeling of well-being. One example of our commitment to community was our 2005 touring exhibition titled On a Roll. This project was funded by the Gambling Community Benefit Fund and was developed to celebrate the 100th anniversary for women's, and the 40th anniversary for Indigenous people’s, right to vote in Queensland. In 2007 Impress Printmakers will complete their second large community project, Reel Heroes-Safe Beaches, a project initiated and developed by Impress Printmakers to celebrate the 2007 year of the Surf Life Saver and the 100th anniversary of Surf Life Saving in Australia.

For an organisation that exists solely due to a very generous helping of volunteerism, the accomplishments of Impress Printmakers have been impressive to date. Impress aims to become a vibrant and progressive organisation that embraces the wider community, fosters and promotes professional and community arts practice and reflects the changing needs of the arts community. We are attempting to raise $1,200,000 through donations to our public gift fund. This will enable us to purchase a suitable venue from which we can further develop our workshop, community and exhibitions programs, provide greater access to printmaking equipment, offer a custom printing service and operate an affordable gallery space for emerging artists. Until we reach this objective we need to find a permanent, affordable and larger space than our current studio.