PRINTFEST BEATS THE CREDIT CRUNCH

Organisers of Printfest, the visual arts festival of original contemporary printmaking, which was held in Ulverston on 2nd- 4th May, were bowled over by the numbers of people who attended the event and bought original works of art from the 36 printmakers exhibiting.

Overall numbers of those attending the show were 15% up on 2008, which was a record breaking year. But more surprising, given the credit crunch, was that spending at the show was up by an incredible 40%. Organisers believe that some of those attending were buying prints as a way of investing in something worthwhile in the future, as they saw their investments and pensions losing money. Another theory is that visitors were buying for their home rather than going on holiday.

Certainly Printmaker of the Year, Katsunori Hamanishi, proved popular with visitors who snapped up nearly all the prints he had brought with him. Some customers even ordered prints which Hamanishi will send over to the UK from Japan.

“The weekend was a huge success” said Janice Benson, Artistic Director of Printfest. “We were a little nervous that the economic downturn would mean fewer people attending and less spending this year. I think the quality and variety of the work in the festival and the sheer buzz in the show meant that our expectations were confounded! The problem now is how we make Printfest 2010 even more successful but I’m sure the team will put another outstanding show together. Finally, a huge thank you to all the people and organisations that made this year’s event such a huge success!”