Johnny Zhang
At the turn of the century, a hive mind of experts infused with cultural edification determined that the Gutenberg Press may be humanity’s greatest invention. This straightforward machine with movable type, born circa 1440, enabled the mass production of previously hand-written materials and the spread of knowledge and ideas at a geometric scale. With access to an abundance of books and literature, the populace became more literate, seizing the means of instruction from prelates and kings, standardizing language, grammar, and spelling in a march towards the breakthroughs of the Renaissance.
Nothing humans have ever produced has been so integral to our growth as a species. So, there’s a rich irony to reading think pieces declaring print dead. However, when talking heads proclaim a technological demise, they are simply missing the rich underground of artisans who have adopted “antiquated” technology to achieve something more significant than publishing at the speed of 5G.
The SPF Small Press Fair has become a robust part of South Florida’s cultural landscape since its inception in 2016 by Sarah Michelle Rupert and Ingrid Schindall. The home base was nestled initially in Fort Lauderdale’s FATVillage Arts District and in 2022 relocated to MAD Arts in Dania Beach. MAD is CEO Marc Aptakin’s end-to-end creative agency, museum and studio with production and manufacturing resources. Its mission is to support artists who may have been unable to stretch their creative muscles without outside assistance. MAD and SPF have partnered with the Broward County Cultural Division, a government agency providing financial, technical and marketing assistance for artists and arts organizations. The trio work together to elevate South Florida’s arts and cultural landscape, making Broward a destination for visitors and residents alike, and a home for creative entrepreneurs.
Schindall says the goal of SPF is to “build a home and a platform for exchange of this centuries-old, hand-crafted creative industry for Fort Lauderdale and South Florida.” Says Rupert: “We’ve watched Fort Lauderdale’s art scene go through a huge growth spurt and want to keep pushing for innovative and inclusive creative programming.”
SPF ’24 will be an ambitious two-day endeavor featuring live print demonstrations, creation stations with various art activities, a steamroller event, an open market, food trucks, and beer tastings. Workshops will walk participants through printmaking and zine publishing techniques, giving insight into the motivations and creative process of regional artists, printers, publishers, authors, poets, designers, and cultural workers who make up this collective.
Johnny Zhang
Exhibitors this year include faculty and students of the NSU Art and Design department; IS Projects, a public access and print-making studio based in Miami; Radiator Comics, a truly DIY small press with over 200 self-published comics; handmade fine art prints and books from Joseph Velasquez; various hand made relief prints, retro comics and woodcut style carvings from Sydney Kaye; and local Florida publisher Indie Earth Publishing who will facilitate on-the -spot-poetry during the festivities. In addition, Sweat Records will sell records and screen-printed accouterments to eager audiophiles and collectors of ephemera.
This year, SPF will be split into two sections to accommodate the interests of all attendees but, as always, partners in their overall mission. If the standard fare is your go-to, the Beach Front section will have space for larger tables in independent publishing, presses, university material, museums, and special collections. For those who crave the grittiness of zines and outsider-ish art, the Zine Dunes will feature independent artists, musicians, designers, printers, tattoo artists, and various creative collectives to ensure a diverse cross-section of the community.
Johnny Zhang
Live demonstrations will include a Steamroller Station that makes use of construction materials on an epic scale for larger-than-life screen printing, a Letterpress Station illustrating relief printing techniques, and a Screen-printing Station sponsored by NSU, where the fairgoers can purchase tote bags screened on the spot! Finally, there is the Custom Min-Poster Station, where lucky visitors can design their mini-poster using a vintage Write-a-Sign press that will print on demand.
Maybe the powers in publishing see print as a thing of the past, but print isn’t done with the present. And wherever artists exist, expression is necessary, no matter the canvas.
SPF ’24 runs noon-6pm Saturday and Sunday, November 9 and 10, at MAD Arts in Dania Beach. spf-ftl.com ~ Tim Moffatt
