ZAM and No Man’s Art Gallery invited to a walk and talk at NMAG Amsterdam on the 26 th of August 2015. Bart Luirink from ZAM gave a warm welcome to all the guests and opened the floor to Emmelie Koster, owner of NMAG. Koster emphasized the long history of printmaking in South Africa as an important form of resistance and protest.

Collaboration between (master) printers, students and artists is the foundation of print studios, where the collaborative practices create space for dialogue and exchange in artistic knowledge and skills. Print studios have fostered democratization of the artistic contribution of South African art.

On show are works from the Artist Proof Studio in Newtown, Joburg and David Krut Projects, amongst them William Kentridge’s series the nose, Lehlogonolo Mashaba, Mongezi Ncaphayi, and thirty South African Printmakers who demonstrate the driving force of printmaking. There is no common theme of the art works, rather a wide variety that is combined through the technique of printmaking. The printmaking studios are built on the tradition of artists working collaborative side by side.

Koster introduced all the presented artists and shared her experience while working with them. The collaborative spirit was not only reflected in the way that the artists collaborated in the work but also at the event itself, and created an open atmosphere, giving space to conversations around art and to network with an exciting crowd of people.