Prints Made in May

 

Prints Made in May is a culmination of an open-themed annual printmaking event called "Print Day in May" or PDiM. This is a global event observed annually on the first Saturday of May which aims to celebrate printmaking communities all over the world.

PDiM is a young printmaking tradition initiated by Robynn Smith and the Monterey Peninsula College Printmakers in 2007. This practice of dedicating a day to printmaking has grown to reach a global audience. As such, its 2020 edition had artists from 70 different countries participating.

This year's local observance of PDiM was held online on May 7th, 2022. It entailed a virtual show-and-tell where some of the printmakers have opened up their studios within their locale to fellow artists, talk about their processes, exchange printmaking notes, and get to know their peers in the community.

The online release of Prints Made in May is possible through a partnership with Cartellino, who has featured fine art hand-pulled prints and supported printmaking efforts such as the Limbag Kamay Contemporary Print Fair held online last October, 2021.

The selected works are mostly hand-pulled and hand-rubbed fine art prints which include techniques such as lithograph, serigraph, and monotype prints; those under intaglio, such as etching, drypoint, and collagraph; and under relief, there are rubbercut prints; lastly, are the hybrid printmaking methods which include mixed media and sculptural prints.

The artists in this show come from an invitational printmaking group that has grown from the participants of the 2021 Philippine PDiM — a Zoom gathering spearheaded by printmaker Angela Silva. She had held PDiM events in Bacolod, Negros Occidental in 2018 and 2019 and nationwide in 2021. This year’s PDiM would be the first curated exhibition by Marz Aglipay with Cartellino.  

For the first time, we get to see the fruits of this young tradition as observed in various Philippine locales, not limited to Metro Manila but also from regions such as the Visayas and Northern Luzon. It is an event that we hope will drum up more interest in local printmaking practices in the years to come.

Curation and text by Marz Aglipay

This exhibition is made in partnership with Cartellino and under the guidance of Angela Silva.