Technical Services supporting 20:20 Print Exchange: The 20:20 Print Exchange is a project by Hot Bed Press, running since 2009. Since its inception, the initiative has continued to collaborate with artists and grown year on year, becoming global with more workshops taking part including workshops in Hong Kong, Moscow and Canada.
Mike Hitchens, Technical Officer in Creative Makers (print workshop), has led the initiative from Manchester Met’s side, with Manchester Met being the largest contributor in terms of the amount of people partaking and submitting entries.
To take part in the exchange, each individual will contribute 25 prints, printed as an edition. These prints must be a printed media of some description, such as screen printing, etching, lino cut, letterpress, or a combination. At Manchester Met, the print making workshop works with other workshops in the School of Art, such as bookbinding to help people create their prints.
Mike then collects all the prints and sends them to Hot Bed Press who organise them into a bigger collection. Those who take part in the exchange receive a box of artwork in return, consisting of a mix of different artwork from around the world.
At Manchester Met, these boxes are given out at an event and a mini exhibition held on campus, which remains for a couple of weeks after the event. The exhibition features the work of those at Manchester Met who took part in the exchange, and the wider collection goes on tour to roughly five or six other institutions.
The exchange is open to all to take part in, and Mike advertises the project to staff and students, both undergraduate and postgraduate. Mike said: “It is good for staff to take part for their Continuous Professional Development. We also have students who have since graduated but continue to take part in the exchange year on year”.
Of the approximately 800 people that took part in the last exchange, there were 50 people from Manchester School of Art, making it the biggest workshop for this year and most years. In 2023, Manchester School of Art won the 20:20 print exchange Favourite Workshop Award.
Getting involved in the exchange has many positives, with Mike saying that it is a great tool for getting people into the print workshop with a small project and receiving art back in return. For print artists, the project is good for promoting your work through editioning. The project is also beneficial for students, helping them learn new skills if they wish to do more print work in the future. As the print exchange is advertised to all courses within the School of Art, it also helps to promote the print workshop and some of the other facilities that Technical Services has.
