Report from the President - Jenny
Sanzaro-Nishimura
Dear Members,
I apologise for the length of time between reports, the last
two months have been extremely hectic with the finalisation of the building
works at Kedron and the launch, organising the hang (and de-hang) of three Vie De Pacifique exhibitions and
travelling to the USA to exhibit there. Plus there has been the added burden of
a much heavier teaching load this semester.
We have reached a very significant goal in Impress history-
the move into Kedron SubARTStation our own facility. We can now operate freely
from our premises and continue to grow and evolve as an organisation. Without
you, the general members, all the hardworking people on the committee and
various sub-committees, some very dedicated volunteers and working groups this
could never have been achieved. So I thank each and every one of you, as we
have a fantastic facility that can only get better with time and the continued use
and dedication of its members.
The Kedron SubARTStation has
brought much excitement to our members and the community. It has been a hive of
activity since the opening on Feb 21st. I am sure that this facility
will be well utilised as there has been huge interest generated and people are
coming to the venue in a constant stream. Visitors that come to the building,
art lovers, other artists and arts organisations are all expressing their
excitement to us. The volunteer staff keep telling me about the excitement of
visitors when they see what we have achieved. They are leaving inspired that
the Council has been so supportive and that we now have this facility in
Brisbane to share with printmakers of South East Queensland and the community. The
feedback has been very positive and we have had many enquiries about how to go
about securing such a venue.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank personally
some of the key people from Impress that have put in an extraordinary amount of
time, effort and energy into the transition from Kalinga Bowls Club to Kedron
SubARTStation, some of whom I missed thanking on the night of the launch and I
would like to acknowledge them now. A huge thank you goes to Gwenn Tasker who coordinated
and organised volunteers for packing and the move from Kalinga to Kedron, the
unpacking and organisation of the studio at Kedron, the clean-up at Kalinga and
pre- launch clean at Kedron. Gwenn also organised a myriad of small tasks
whilst coordinating all of the above and always puts up her hand to help
despite a heavy workload. Another massive thank you goes to John Doyle, who put
in two weeks straight working on the gallery walls and movable boxes as well as
helping with the move of the presses and studio organisation and a number of
other tasks along the way. I sincerely thank Pat Zuber and her team for their
efforts in fundraising, publicity and marketing the event plus coordinating the
volunteers for various jobs for the launch and move. I earnestly thank Sandra
for picking up the reigns of the treasurer position yet again and coordinating
the payments for the finalisation of all of the building and fit-out costs,
catalogue and other expenses associated with the launch and move plus helping
coordinate the Month of Print. I thank Jen Conde for keeping the members up to
date on what needed to be done and sending out information, callouts for
volunteers through the newsletter plus updating and maintaining the website. I really
thank Carolyn Craig for her efforts in coordinating and organising the workshop
program, workshops and artist talks for the Month of Print as well as inductions
into Kedron. I also thank Glenda Orr, Sue Pickford and Kristina Hall for
organising the procedures for the launch, the catering and wine, the
invitations and catalogue, coordinating the hang of Regenerate and a team of volunteers to man the gallery. I also
thank Angela Gardner for her great job as MC at the launch and once again our
dear member Ellie Neilsen for her very generous donation for the lights. Last
but not least I thank all of our wonderful volunteers (and anyone else I have
omitted) who have tirelessly helped with everything, donated or contributed
along the way; it is people like you that give our organisation its great
community spirit.
The AGM is coming up soon and I will not be re-nominating as
president or for a committee position, I think I have achieved what I set out
to do as president (getting us a venue) and feel that six years in the role is
long enough, it is time for new blood. I will however be there to support the
incoming president and committee until they feel confident to proceed without
me. I encourage you to step forward if you think you can contribute or have the
experience needed to fill one of the roles on the committee.
I am told that we are getting many more new members since
the move into Kedron and I wish to welcome those members to our community and
hope that you may have a long and fulfilling art practice through the use of
Impress SubARTStation facility. I also hope that you can learn and share skills
and techniques with other members and just enjoy making wonderful art. You and
our existing members are the reason our organisation exists.
Lastly the Impress Folio box Vie De Pacifique which I have been coordinating since 2011, has
now gone to its fifth venue, the Crane Arts Center in Philadelphia, USA. It is being shown with a joint exhibition between
fellow member Jude Roberts and I, Aquifer
(Jude’s work) and Undermining Landscape (my work). The
opening night was March 13th and we received very good feedback from
the public. Here is a link to the catalogue http://www.griffith.edu.au/visual-creative-arts/queensland-college-art/qca-publications/crane-arts-march-2014. It will soon be exhibited in the Impress Printmakers
Gallery for those who haven’t seen it yet.
Thank you all,
Jenny Sanzaro-Nishimura
President
