Renowned gallery welcomes refugee artists as part of new initiative
EDINBURGH Printmakers has welcomed the first refugee artists to the venue, ahead of a new residency initiative to highlight their works.
The capital’s renowned open access art studio, in Castle Mills, Dundee Street, is now leading a Europe-wide project called In From The Margins in collaboration with four other arts organisations on the fringes of Europe, where each organisation provides dedicated residencies for artists from refugee backgrounds.
Six dedicated residencies will take place at Edinburgh Printmakers starting on May 3, with the final residency finishing on December 2.
Developing the “Studios of Sanctuary” model, these residencies are designed to give opportunities to refugees and asylum-seeking artists and artists affected by forced migration, bringing them into mainstream programming.
In total, 30 artists will take up residencies across all venues in 2022, and the results will be exhibited, culminating in a group show at Edinburgh Printmakers in spring next year.
The €178,000 Creative Europe-funded project connects Edinburgh Printmakers with Cork Printmakers, Ireland, AGA LAB, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Funen Printmaking Studio, Odense, Denmark and International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The selected artists will have the opportunity to work in a print medium of their choice and will be supported to develop their practice over a month-long residency.
Speaking ahead of the residencies Edinburgh Printmakers chief executive Janet Archer said: “We were delighted to get such a positive response to the call for artists for the In From The Margins programme and the selection process was extremely difficult.
“The artists chose work in a range of disciplines and many are at different points in their artistic careers. We’re excited to welcome them to our studio and support their journey in printmaking over the coming months.”