Alberta Printmakers is a non-profit artist-run centre that offers many ways to engage with printmaking. In an inclusive and collaborative environment, you can participate through workshops, print exhibits, community days, fundraisers, and supported studio rentals.
Tracy Wormsbecker, the executive director of the Alberta Printmakers Society, explains how knowledge, materials, and equipment are shared among a growing community of print enthusiasts at their new facility.
“With our workshops, or even just coming to visit the space in general, you don’t need to have prior experience in printmaking, and you don’t need to have extensive knowledge of the arts,” says Wormsbecker. “If you have any kind of curiosity, you are welcome here.”
Wormsbecker enlightens us about a range of possibilities when we, as makers, “smell the ink, feel the viscosity [and] mix it yourself, instead of just hitting print.”
“There’s something that happens during the drawn-out process of printmaking when you are doing something by hand, that you allow yourself to make decisions, and it transforms in a different type of way.”
The society maintains an ever-expanding collection of presses and printing equipment that have come into its care through various means. Wormsbecker introduced my group to a couple of the presses.
“So, we have an SP-15 Vandercook letterpress; I like to joke and call it one of the origins of word processing,” she says. “This is something that was originally used to proof newspapers, and it used to be taught in high school.”
This press was a donation from the University of Calgary and was often used for newspapers. It’s an impressive machine with five different rollers that self-ink. “This particular press is motorized and it’s really fun to watch because, like all printing, it’s like magic,” says Wormsbecker.
Community members have donated some presses, hoping to give the rare and often treasured machines a good home. For example, revered local printmaker and teacher Margaret May gifted the Griffin lithography press. “I think Margaret was the first owner of that [machine], so it means a lot,” says Wormsbecker. “It’s part of someone’s entire artistic career and printing practice, so we honour that.”
Alberta Printmakers will reopen in July in an expansive 4000-square-foot space. The new location has various accessibility features, including height-adjustable tables, wide movement corridors, movable workstations, a hydraulic lift for lithography stones, and additional industrial sinks.
Other added features include a ventilated area with a fume hood. Plans are also underway to build a dark room to better support photography projects. The Printmakers also aim to purchase a new exposure unit for screen printing.
The new exhibition area features movable walls to customize the gallery space. Printmaking areas are self-contained and fully equipped with the required tools and surfaces. Administrative space is also added to better support the public and equipment renters.
Join the celebration of the official grand opening on August 16, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the CARVE CARVE CARNIVAL and activities such as print collecting, print-based games and activities, prizes, snacks, and music.
The new space will be located at 460 42 Ave. S.E. Learn more at albertaprintmakers.com.
In The Galleries This Month
Nickle Galleries
Knowing Trees
Until July 18
This exhibit assembles a selection of artworks from Nickle Galleries’ permanent collections that consider trees and society’s complicated relationships with them.
Wallace Galleries
Summer Escape Group Show 2025
July 10 – 30
This group exhibition features works by Joice M. Hall, Diana Zasadny, David T. Alexander, William Duma, Laurie Steen, Bob Kebic, Kai Liu, Brent Laycock, Tony Onley, and more.
Paul Kuhn Gallery
Cassie Suche: Excavations
Until August 30
Top 40 Under 40 alumni Cassie Suche explores the physicality of paint and its sculptural potential with these works.
Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art
Sunscreen
July through August
Every week through the summer, Newzones rotates different paintings, photographs, and sculptures through their galleries. Stop in to see what’s new!
Lightbox Studio
Haniyyah Kahn: Finding Space
Until August
Located inside Arts Commons next to the Martha Cohen Theatre, this exhibit gives you the chance to peer into Haniyyah Kahn’s process of using textiles as a metaphor for transformation.
Lightbox Studio
Haniyyah Kahn: Finding Space
Until August
Located inside Arts Commons next to the Martha Cohen Theatre, this exhibit gives you the chance to peer into Haniyyah Kahn’s process of using textiles as a metaphor for transformation.
