the print fest 2026
Art, Ecology and the Anthropocene: Printmaking in Contemporary Discourse
20. - 24.04.
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
In collaboration with:
Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Poland
Academy of Fine Arts and Design (VSVU) Bratislava, Slovakia
Academy of Fine Arts Budapest (MKE) Budapest, Hungary
and guests from National College of Art and Design (NCAD) Dublin, Ireland
Workshops as Ecological Networks in Printmaking
Printmaking workshops stand at a crossroads: either remain tied to volatile industrial resources and fluctuating material quality, or reimagine themselves as ecological spearheads of artistic practice. The volatility observed in recent years—stemming from disrupted supply chains, energy crises, and raw material shortages (2021–2023)—demonstrates the fragility of dependence on global industries. By drawing on historical precedents, applying critical theory, and developing sustainable methods, workshops can shift from being vulnerable to systemic dependency toward becoming active laboratories of ecological autonomy.
In this sense, the workshop is not a relic of industrial dependence but a living node of resilience, capable of leading cultural transformation in the Anthropocene.
Full programme
Online component
Friday 10.4. 16:00
Judith Frederike Popp connects Philosophy with sustainability
Friday 17.4. 14:30
Do you believe in use after use? wert:stoff Material Initiative
Thursday 30.4. 13:00
Final feedback round for participating students
On-site component
Monday 20.4.
lecture Papermaking - Beatrix Mapalagama
workshop Stop Motion in Animation - Adnan Popovic
workshop Paper Collage - A. Pezman, G. Suplicz, B. Chwilczyński
exhibition soft opening Graphic Art in Bratislava, Krakow, and Budapest
Tuesday 21.4.
workshop E-Etching and Non-Toxic B.I.G. Grounds - Bernhard Cociancig
lecture PHELETYPIA -Valentina Ljubic Tobisch
workshop Largescale Paperpulp Painting
Wednesday 22.4.
demonstration Bioplastics - Renata Darabant
free time for projects
Thursday 23.4.
lecture Sustainability in Everyday Museum Life - Ina Baumeister
exhibition opening Art, Ecology and the Anthropocene: Printmaking in Contemporary Discourse
Friday 24.4.
lecture Artistic Practice with Pigments - Fatma Abdulhadi
Thank you to the organizing staff:
Andrea Pezman, Gergely Suplicz, Bianka Dobó, Neil Dunne, Bartłomiej Chwilczyński, Renata Darabant, Kirsten Borchert
Illustrated documentation by Anamarija Kvas
Photos by Elham Hadian
about the print fest
Started in 2023 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna by Renata Darabant. Initiated to enable art related education, tacit- and peer-learning experiences, and awareness of the diverse works of cultural and artistic practices, in an open access setting, connecting people over print. It is a series of international festivals in which new teaching content is playfully illuminated and conveyed, and sensitised to a wide variety of concepts and materialities. The potential in art education, the implicit transfer of knowledge and peer learning are also expanded by the diverse participants that celebrate working together in a print workshop.