Letterpress: Proceed! and IMPRESS
Since our last blog update all the way back in March, the St Botolph’s Letterpress project has been proceeding at a blistering pace.
Behind the scenes, we’ve been busy organising our programme of speakers and events for the coming year. More details will come soon, but make sure you don’t miss David Jury’s talk on July 30th. We’ll also be showing short film Upside Down, Left to Right by Danny Cooke.
Before that however, we have two very exciting events just around the corner.
Opening next week is IMPRESS 2014, the first show in an annual ongoing series, dedicated to celebrating the art of letterpress. Focusing only on work produced during the previous 12 months, and by printers and designers across East Anglia, (with a little bit of East London) this will be an ongoing document of contemporary practice in the world of letterpress. IMPRESS is put on in partnership with Colchester School of Art, and we’ll be showcasing work by students alongside pieces produced by experienced printers and designers, including Alan Kitching, Typoretum, The Counter Press, Hooksmith Press and The Hedgehog Press.
The show runs from 18th to 29th June at The Waiting Room, where you will be able to purchase the work on display, with a small portion of sales going towards funding events and equipment for the St Botolph’s Letterpress project. So you have no excuse not to splurge on that beautiful wood type print!
Secondly, we’re extremely pleased to announce a screening of Proceed and Be Bold! which tells the story of Amos Kennedy Jr, who gave up a white collar job to pursue his dream of being a letterpress printer. This is an inspirational film that not only tackles the highs and lows of becoming a printer – it’s also a document of a man who gave up a life that he didn’t believe in to challenge the preconceptions of what it means to be successful in the modern world.
Proceed and Be Bold! Will be shown at The Waiting Room on Thursday 26th June at 7.30pm. Production company 20k Films have very kindly sent us some of the beautifully packaged, individually hand printed DVDs of the film. These will be going on sale on the night, and if you can’t make the screening, they’ll also be available to purchase for the duration of the IMPRESS 2014 show. Once again, proceeds from the sale of the DVDs will go towards funding future events, and we’ve already got our eye on a couple of follow-up films! The screening itself is free to attend.
We’re gearing up for a busy summer at the print room, so make sure you keep up-to-date with our Facebook page, and we’ll also be posting some more blogs over the coming weeks.