SMALL PRESS FAIR
Large print publications are struggling in a digital world, but there are stalwart protectors of the art of print like IS Projects and Girls’ Club who collaborated to bring SPF Fort Lauderdale to life. SPF’16 is South Florida’s first contemporary art fair dedicated to printmaking, artist books and zines. In addition to the exhibition sections, the fair will present a program of interactives and live demonstrations of printmaking methods and techniques from leading local printers; and readings from local authors–and a selection of local breweries and food trucks will be on hand.
It’s been two years since co-founders and directors Ingrid Schindall and Sarah Michelle Rupert began talking about creating a print-centric fair specific to Fort Lauderdale. “There’s really nothing of its kind here, and we want to change that. To build a home and a platform for exchange for Fort Lauderdale and Broward County,” Schindall says.
IS Projects recently celebrated its two-year anniversary in FAT Village. Led by Schindall, the communal printmaking and book arts studio has been a sanctuary for lovers of paper and ink. Schindall has been on the zine-fair circuit for a while and now, just like when she first opened her studio, she wants to create a space to bring people together in the spirit of print.
Rupert, an artist and gallery director of the nonprofit alternative art space Girls’ Club, has watched Art Walk in FAT Village grow to attract thousands. Not only will this fair allow zine-heads to gather in Fort Lauderdale instead of driving hours or more away, the fair aims to introduce an entirely new audience to the thriving craft. Rupert says, “SPF’16 will be a fun, quirky showcase of print culture is South Florida, showing the range and depth of our creative community. We’ll have academic collections of books and zines on display, emerging artists trading zines, a giant steamroller pressing prints – it’s looking to be a steamy, tropical frenzy of print, book and zine exchange.”
SPF’16 takes place at ArtsUp Concepts, 521 NW 1 Avenue in FATVillage, Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, November 12, from Noon-6pm. For more information on the fair or for sponsorship opportunities visit www.spf-ftl.com
In advance of SPF Fort Lauderdale, on November 9, Cristina V. Favretto, Head of University of Miami Special Collections, leads a lecture and discussion on the history of zines and zine culture. Learn about the medium, and trace its history with examples from the UM Special Collection Library from the 1700s to today. Event is free and open to the public.
~Jessica Chesler
