Award Sponsors
The giving and receiving of awards is a validation of the work that brings us together ~ as visitors it tells us so much, as we look for artists’ work we hope to enjoy at home, to spend time with the image they have created and evoke emotions that mean something to us.
Awarded to artists based on the body of work on their stand:
Zillah Bell Gallery Award
Founders’ Award
Visitors’ Choice Award
Sponsored by James Cropper PLC
Kuntzprenteverket Award x 2
Individual Print Awards
Awagami Paper Award
Chris Benefield Memorial Award
Cranfield Awards x 2
Essdee Award
Haigh Award
Handprinted Award
Hawthorn Printmaker Award
Ironbridge Printmaker Award x 2
Pressing Matters
TPFramework Award
Previous years
Intaglio Printmaker award
McClures Award
The Visitors’ Prize Draw
For 2023 the Visitors’ Prize Draw
there will be all new prizes for 2024!
Award winners and links to their websites are listed on the Awards page here
If you are interested in supporting Printfest please get in touch by email on printfest@gmail.com
Back in 2020 the award sponsors put out a little bit of good news!
Printfest Award Sponsors did something wonderful – many of them offered their awards for Printfest 2020 during lockdown-one by viewing the artists’ work online – then at the festival they offered them again by looking at their work ‘in the flesh’ at Printfest 2022!
Graham Firth receives his award certificate and ‘cup’ from Founder Ronkey Bullard
We are hugely grateful to all the Printfest Sponsors:
The winner is offered a solo exhibition at Zillah Bell Gallery in Thirsk ~
Zillah Bell gallery was established in 1988, the Gallery has earned a reputation for the range and quality of the work on show, especially Original Prints: etchings, engravings, screenprints and lithographs. Zillah Bell Gallery acts solely on behalf of our artists. We are not art dealers so our prices are the same as buying direct from the artist. This also permits us to exhibit work by many of today’s leading artists.
2023 winner: Tessa Pearson
2022 winner: Ian Phillips
2020 winner: Sally Adkins
2019 winner: Amy Hutson
2018 winner: Morna Rhys
www.zillahbellgallery.co.uk
Founders’ Award
£100 cash ~
Judy Evans and Ronkey Bullard are the founders of Printfest. They are both printmakers. The Founders have set up this award for the pleasure of selecting an artist printmaker that touches the spot of quirkiness they both enjoy.
2023 winner: Graham Firth
2022 winner: Nell Smith
2020 winner: Rahil Sheikh
2019 winner: Simon Tozer
2018 winner: Adele Burdon
2017 winner: Katie Edwards
James Cropper Sponsor The Visitors’ Choice Award
There will be three lucky winners: 1. £250 cash, 2 & 3. two reams of paper – they have created a paper called Wainwright Colours From Nature, inspired by our Lake District location available in two colours – Limestone and Herdwick Brown ~
James Cropper PLC create some of the world’s most distinctive and technically advanced paper products, using materials from cotton and wood to carbon fibre. They support industries from packaging to digital imaging and aerospace with products that are at the cutting edge of performance.
2023 winner: Anja Percival
2022 winner: Jenny McCabe
2019 winner: Anja Percival
2018 winner: Gail Mason
2017 winner: Mark Pearce
www.jamescropper.com
Awagami Paper Award
£250 value of Awagami editioning papers ~
Awagami papers are crafted exclusively at their Tokushima Mill in Japan with the refined artistry and knowledge gained through their eight generations of washi papermaking. Awagami Editioning papers are 100% acid-free and made with a strict attention to professional artist quality and preservation.
2023 winner: Nell Smith
2022 winner: Rahil Sheikh
2019 winner: Jane Mowat
2018 winner: Laura Boswell
2017 winner: Chris Salmon
www.awagami.com
Chris Benefield Memorial Award
£200 cash ~
Through inspiration from Chris, upstairs at the Tinners’ Rabbit Fine Art Gallery in Ulverston, local artists gathered to talk about their dreams, beliefs and philosophy; This is where Printfest was born, the dream of Judy Evans & Ronkey Bullard, to set up a festival for printmakers. Today Printfest is in it’s 19th year and is the UK’s foremost artist-led printmaking festival, with a hard working committee that Chris was Chairman of until just a few years ago.
2023 winner: Ian Cox
2022 winner: Alan Stones
2020 winner: Lou Davis
2019 winner: Kelly Stewart
2018 winner: Gail Mason
2017 winner: Clare Cutts
www.chrisbenefield.weebly.com
The Cranfield Awards x 2
£150 1st Prize & £100 2nd Prize value of printmaking inks ~
With colour in the blood Cranfield have been manufacturing printmaking inks, for three generations. Their oil based ‘Caligo’ inks (that wash with soap & water) contributed to the nontoxic revival of printmaking in the 1990’s. The Caligo formulations for etching and relief sit alongside their water-based block inks and the more traditional oil based inks for etching, relief, litho and letterpress.
2023 winners: Laura Boswell and Frans Wesselman
2022 winners: Mark Pearce and Alexandra Buckle
2019 winners: Debby Akam and Babs Pease
2018 winners: Simon Ripley and Rahil Sheikh
www.cranfield-colours.co.uk
The Essdee Award
£150 to spend on printmaking materials ~
Essdee is a UK manufacturer of block printing and Scraperboard products. Their products include the world-famous ‘grey’ Lino as well as SoftCut and MasterCut carving blocks, Lino carving tools, Barens, Brayers, stamp making materials, block printing inks and Scraperboard. They also make a variety of printing kits, which offer the perfect introduction to printmaking for all ages and abilities. Their comprehensive range of products is designed to inspire the next generation of artists and printmakers.
2023 winner: Lisa Takahashi
2022 winner: Helen Murgatroyd
2020 winner: Babs Pease
www.essdee.co.uk
Haigh Award
£250 cash ~
Roger Haigh is both an architect and a supporter of the arts. He has collected artworks from all over the UK and more especially from local artists. His architectural empathy is in renovation and restoration. We are pleased to announce that at Printfest 2022 Roger will be presenting the fifth Haigh Award for an individual print.
2023 winner: Pete Marsh
2022 winner: Alison Diamond
2020 winner: Helen Murgatroyd
2019 winner: Ian Phillips
2018 winner: Henrietta Corbett
2017 winner: Anja Percival
Handprinted Award
£150 value printmaking materials ~
Handprinted has been selling printmaking and dyeing materials online since 2003 when it was set up by Shirley Scott: a printmaker and teacher. All the staff have hands-on printmaking experience so usually know the pitfalls! They are passionate about printmaking and committed to expanding their range. If you are trying to track down a particular product or need any printmaking advice, please contact Handprinted on 01243 696789 or email shop@handprinted.co.uk
2023 winner: Ian Burke
2022 winner: Cath Brooke
2020 winner: Nell Smith
2019 winner: Helen Murgatroyd
www.handprinted.co.uk
Hawthorn Printmaker Supplies Award
£150 value printmaking materials ~
Hawthorn Printmaker Supplies is a family run business, offering a high quality range of printmaking equipment to artists. They manufacture their own range of presses and unique Stay Open inks along with all other printmaking supplies. They have been established since 2006 offering a bespoke service throughout the UK, since then they have continued to grow and now have clients all over the world.
2023 winner: Holly Magdalene Scott
2022 winner: Moira McTague
2020 winner: Ian Phillips
2019 winner: Anja Percival
2018 winner: Geri Waddington
2017 winner: John Hatton
www.hawthornprintmaker.com
Intaglio Printmaker
£150 ~ of printmaking materials and equipment ~
The Specialist Suppliers of Equipment and Materials to Artist Printmakers. Intaglio Printmaker stocks an unparalleled range of printmaking materials sourced worldwide, and continually researches and provides new products to the printmaking world. We are a team of practising painter-printmakers offering reliable online and mail-order services to individuals, schools and colleges, and are always happy to give advice from our Central London shop.
2023 winner: Rahil Sheikh
www.intaglioprintmaker.com
Ironbridge Printmakers Award
New for 2024 ~ two awards : £100 1st Prize & £50 2nd Prize to spend on printmaking materials ~
Ironbridge Fine Arts & Printmaking is a family run business situated in the picturesque Shropshire town of Ironbridge. We have a beautiful gallery space, print workshop, rentable artist studio space where we offer on-site workshops. We hand build and design our Gunning Etching presses. Our gallery is open to the public and houses one of the largest collections of work from Shropshire’s most talented artists as well as offering a range of printmaking materials. Our passion for printmaking grows daily, we love seeing the joy it brings to other printmakers. We love what we do and enjoy seeing the positive effect and support that we can give to our customers.
2023 winner: Deb Wing
2022 winner: Jenny McCabe
www.ironbridgeframing.co.uk
Kunstprenteverket Award
£100 1st Prize & £50 2nd Prize cash ~
Kunstprenteverket is a Norwegian printmaking studio dedicated to the preservation of traditional printmaking techniques and equipment. The studio has facilities for lithography, etching/intaglio, relief and letterpress, and bookmaking and papermaking, and offers edition printing, residencies, workshops, courses, and an open-access studio.
The Kunstprenteverket Award for traditional printmaking will be given to a printmaker who shows his/her mastery of a traditional printmaking technique.
Kunstprenteverket translates as The Art Printworks or The Art Press
2023 winners: Joshua Miles and Anja Percival
2022 winners: Jo McChesney and Anthony Ratcliffe
2020 Winners: Jenny McCabe and Janis Goodman
https://kunstprenteverket.no
Pressing Matters
Winner will receive on the day:
– 3-issue bundle including latest edition and recent back issues
We’ll work with the winner after the festival on the following:
– A small ‘Bits & Pieces’ article in Pressing Matters magazine
(July or October edition depending on timing and available space)
Pressing Matters magazine is a publication full of inky inspiration, celebrating the best of modern printmaking from around the world. Made by printmakers for printmakers, we speak to artists about their creative processes and passion for print. Expect inky fingers, creative workspaces, sketchbooks and artworks – across all kinds of techniques and mediums
www.pressingmattersmag.com
TPFramework Award
£100 for framing or framing products ~
We are an independant picture framers and gift gallery based in Ulverston in the South Lakes on the edge of the beautiful Lake District in Cumbria. We stock a range of unique and affordable gifts, many produced locally. This includes original art, prints, cards, jewellery, ceramics, soaps, fused glass and ornaments. And, we can frame just about anything. You can also be sure of a warm welcome from Daisy dog.
2023 winner: Emerson Mayes
2022 winner: James Green
2020 winner: Laura Boswell
2019 winner: Moira McTague
www.tpframework.com
The McClures Hamper for 2023