Glasgow Print Fair 2023

In our fifth year of organising the Glasgow Print Fair, an event that brings together the finest artists and printmakers, we are thrilled to witness its continual growth. Jane and I, as the co-organisers, have honed our expertise in event management and consistently strive to introduce new elements that set the fair apart.

From creatively adapting to the challenges posed by the pandemic with lockdown exhibitions to adorning the city with eye-catching billboards last year. We did so much this year that it’s hard to fit it into one blog!

This year’s amazing branding was created by artist and printmaker Max Machen. Max created 4 different characters representing different types of printmaking. We used these across our website, billboards, social media, posters, and newspaper.

We created a unique newspaper thanks to Newspaper Club to showcase the works of our participating artists. We distributed it across Glasgow venues with the help of Braw Robot, who also printed & distributed posters for us. We also ran a series of billboards across Glasgow thanks to Build Hollywood. Big thanks to Phoebe Willison who supported all our graphic design needs.

This year we focused our PR efforts on the Scottish National Press and were rewarded with features in The Times, The Scotsman, The Skinny and The List, and were also picked up by Design Week.

Onto the day itself, we had over 2300 people through the door in just 6 hours! It was BUSY!

We ran a printing workshop with the folks at The Caseroom, culminating in a large-scale public artwork which dominated the atrium in The Lighthouse. We received funding from Creative Scotland and The National Lottery to run this free workshop.

Glasgow Print Fair has become an amazing community - it is run not-for-profit by me (Kaye Symington at Paved with Gold) and Jane McDevitt at Maraid Design in our spare time.

Here are some of the things the printmakers said about this year;
”The fair is just unmatched! From the atmosphere to the amount of people through the doors. It is just better and better. Difficult to choose my favourite part but I think it's just great knowing that it's like one big printing family, feel totally chilled.” - Lauren Morsley

”The organisers took such incredible care of us, the turnout was mind blowing, quality of exhibitors incredible - the whole vibe was just amazing!!” - Petit Press

Tips for Crowdfunding your Comic Book or Graphic Novel

Comics in Scotland have experienced a remarkable surge in popularity in recent years, captivating both local audiences and international fans alike. Edinburgh Comic Art Fair provides a platform for emerging talent to showcase their work and connect with a passionate audience.

Whether through traditional print or digital platforms, Scotland's comics industry continues to push boundaries, encouraging creativity and fostering a sense of community among fans and creators. This is why Creative Scotland created In The Frame, an annual one-day gathering of comic book and graphic novel creators.

I was very pleased to join in again for a second year, sharing tips for launching a crowdfunding campaign for Comics creators.

Creative Scotland recently released this resource for Comic Creators in Scotland, where I shared our Top Tips for running a crowdfunding campaign.

Cultural Bridge - Make Works Scotland reflections on Bespoke

We’ve been working to keep Make Works, the factory finding resource, alive since 2018. Between Helen Voce and Kaye Symington and our own freelance projects we’ve been keeping the site updated and looking for opportunities to connect the various regions, partner with potential new regions and meet people across Scotland. Earlier this year,  Make Works Scotland and Kulturzentrum LUISE’s Bespoke project was one of 15 projects selected in the Cultural Bridge 2023-24 programme celebrating artistic partnerships between the UK and Germany.

Thanks to the Make Works network, we were able to forge partnerships in Germany to develop the Bespoke project, which naturally emerged from a shared interest in engaging and developing communities of purpose-driven creative producers, artists and communities in our respective countries. Through international exchange, we hoped to uncover the potential for communities rooted in local craftsmanship, arts, making, sustainability and grassroots networks to make a difference locally and globally.

Visiting Rumpus Room, photographer Helen Voce

Alongside the fantastic Clara at LUISE, in Munich we have the invaluable support of Dr Thomas Smith, a Postdoctoral Fellow at LMU’s Department of Geography (and Make Works enthusiast!), artist Doro Seror and anthropologist Ana Sofía González Sandoval. In Scotland, we have the experienced insight of Dan Brown, Curator of Research at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop (ESW) and Director / Curator Janine Matheson at Sierra Metro, formerly Director of Creative Edinburgh and GCAN.

Kalopsia Collective, photographer Janine Matheson

Make Works Scotland hosted our German partners in Glasgow and Edinburgh (with a little bit of Fife!) at the end of April 2023. Our packed itinerary included manufacturers and facilities listed on Make Works Scotland (Flux Laser & CNC Studio, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Edinburgh Tool Library, Kalopsia Collective), independent studios (Christopher McEvoy and Vevar, Still Life Workshop, Deirdre Nelson also a Director of Repair Café Glasgow), creative hubs (Agile City at Civic House, Sierra Metro, Tinderbox Lab, Custom Lane, Local Heroes, The Skinny), and community arts organisations (Rumpus Room, Kinning Park Complex, WHALE Arts).

Our reciprocal visit to Munich drew parallels in terms of the values and passion of the people we met and how they were motivated to work in and for their communities, optimising their resources, utilising and sharing their skills and providing spaces for creativity to flourish. Morning visits were to the Münchner Werkzeugbibliothek, Bellevue Couture and the Künstlerhaus lithography studio. Over lunch at Import Export we valued honest conversation with members of the City of Munich Department of Arts & Culture and Rat & Tat Kulturbüro, followed by an in depth exploration of the Kreativquartier, expertly led by studio tenant Doro; visiting Treibgut and Treibstoff, Atelierhaus, Werkbox3, Zona Libre and the studios of Wunderkammaa and Raquel Ro.

For a full rundown of the project and what we achieved you can read more on the Make Works Blog.

Paved With Gold in Berlin

Kaye was invited out to Berlin to represent Kickstarter at Re:Publica alongside long-time collaborator Jessica Guy. We presented a session on Money, Skills and Work - showcasing the breadth of the Distributed Design community and the synergies between the Kickstarter and the Distributed Design communities. We also shared top crowdfunding tips for launching a Design and Tech project on Kickstarter.

re:publica is a conference in Europe that deals with the Web 2.0, especially blogs, social media and information society. It annually takes place in May in Berlin. During three days talks and workshops about various topics are held, ranging from media and culture over politics and technology to entertainment.

While in Berlin, Kaye and Jess recorded an episode of Future Talks together, Fab Lab Barcelona’s regular podcast.

Kaye also presented a session at Motion:Lab Berlin as part of their Investor Readiness Summit to support their members on their start-up journey.