Swansea Print Workshop @
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Letters of Support

Evidence of support for this project is absolutely vital to its success.

You can join the numerous organisations and individuals - some of whom are detailed below - who provide support for this project by registering your support for this project

Swansea Print Workshop continues to provide our staff and children with excellent programmes, expertise and tailored support. Swansea Print Workshop at Clarence Street always provides the highest standards in both quality and professionalism despite the constraints of space. Moving into larger premises at Kings Lane with a gallery, workshop, and education room will enhance learner experiences and enable our children to participate in a range of activities under one roof, an important factor when considering and organising excursions and programmes for large groups.

The purpose built workshop will be an important educational and creative development for both Swansea Print Workshop and the schools of the City and County of Swansea. The new premises promises to be a well considered learning environment and a unique facility, which will provide a platform for creativity for Swansea and its communities.
Carolyn Davies, Teacher Adviser and Co-ordinator for the Arts, 2007

The plans for the new print centre could cater for a whole range of opportunities for developing further work with Adult Continuing Education. Swansea Print Workshop would certainly benefit from having a larger venue … scheduling courses would be much easier and could host more than one class at a time. The Workshop, wherever it is, is an excellent venue and valuable resource here in Swansea. It does a great deal to encourage people from all walks of life and has totally transformed some people’s lives.
Gillian Morgan, Co-ordinating Tutor Visual Arts, 2007

Printmaking has a long tradition and established pedigree in Swansea and I believe the move to Kings Lane to be an exciting and innovative development that will contribute to and considerably enhance arts provision in the region.

The relationship between our faculty and Swansea Print Workshop has benefited from fruitful collaboration and with this new development we anticipate that there will be an increase in the number of linked projects and opportunities.
Professor Andrea Liggins, Dean of Faculty of Art & Design, 2007

The building will allow you to continue to expand and increase your technical and professional competence as a dedicated printmaking organisation. We fully approve of that.

The building will allow for a specialist exhibiting space for prints and drawings. We see no issue here with our own gallery space, other authority spaces or spaces in other buildings. Currently demand for exhibiting spaces is in excess of provision and this is a dedicated specialist exhibiting space. We fully approve of that.

The building will provide a multi purpose space for studio work, for conferencing, lecturing and seminar work, an education room and also a library to contain archival work for Swansea Print Workshop as well as reference works, journals and other publications. Again, form our point of view no duplication here just a welcome extension and diversification of arts provision. We fully approve of all that.

The building will contain a shop to handle the sale of artworks as well as printmaking materials. Good. We fully approve of that.

This is a beautiful architectural site steeped in Swansea history that could and should – become an iconic building in the area. A heritage site containing a number of important facilities and functions all under one roof.

We think it is an excellent, much-needed … you contribute a significant piece of the jigsaw of the future cultural shape of Swansea and the region.
Robin Hall, Arts Development Officer Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, 2007

Swansea Print Workshop has demonstrated that there is a real demand for professional artists print facilities and that as an established and credible organisation they have the capacity to deliver a range of high quality services and initiatives. The new building would meet the growing demand for this work, provide important gallery and other services and fill a gap in cultural provision, which has been identified by a number of organisations and practitioners over a long period of time.

As the scale of the ambition for the project has grown, the proposal now has the significant added benefit of providing an iconic building by one of the UL’s leading architectural practices. It will also play a key role in the new development by Swansea Housing and be an important keystone in the regeneration of High Street.
Sybil Crouch, Head of Cultural Services, Taliesin Arts Centre, 2007

I believe that Swansea Print Workshop has done an excellent job over the years, and deserves the opportunity to develop and expand their operation on behalf of Swansea’s artists and the community as a whole. The position of the proposed venue will give considerable added value to the arts community in Swansea by being close to the Marina area, where the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea Museum, Dylan Thomas Theatre, National Waterfront Museum, Attic Gallery, Mission Gallery and the SA1 developments are situated, adding to the ‘cultural hub’ of the area.

From our point of view at the Dylan Thomas Centre, we are very keen to develop closer links with Swansea Print Workshop and to explore cross-art collaborative projects, which would be aided by physical proximity.
David Woolley, Arts Officer for the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea

Since forming in 2006, Framework has existed as a collective of practicing artists working in Swansea, organising events, encouraging discussion and cross pollination within the arts and between artists in the city. Framework have a strong link with practitioners and organisations in Swansea, conduction our own monthly forum ‘Framework Monthly’ in changing locations and social evening ‘Framework Social’ at St. James Social Club. We feel that any developments in Swansea such as the expansion of Swansea Print Workshop to Lings Lane would be of benefit to the local art community and offer potential for further cross pollination between artists, printmakers and people encountering the locality. There is a huge need for studio space within the region and we have noted that the new premises would house these facilities.

We urge that art, artists and organisations such as Swansea Print Workshop continue to receive the funding they require to further improve the already thriving scene in Swansea.
Owen Griffiths, Daniel McCabe, Tom O’Sullivan, David Philips, Paul Woodland, Fern Thomas, Adele Vye, Framework, 2007

Kings Lane could be a major centre for printmaking in Wales and the UK to promote printmaking where professional artists can access support, work collaboratively and improve their skills. The Workshop’s outreach work has been extensive as a process of advocacy for print as a medium in schools and colleges. It has organised three exhibitions of Contemporary Welsh Printmakers in Pakistan, as well as an exhibition of Contemporary Pakistani Printmakers for the Festival of Muslim Cultures in 2006. An exchange programme between the two countries will continue to build on this link.

I could continue to sing the praises of the Workshop as it is today, but to create the centre that is proposed would advance the opportunities and skills to an even greater audience in Wales and abroad. It would attract artists from around the globe and raise the profile of Wales in printmaking today.
Amy Sterly, Artist

We in Wales urgently need greater arts facilities to support the large number of visual artists now living and working in the Principality. There is a particular need for printmaking centres staffed by technicians who can give expert advice and assistance. I myself live near Brecon and although I trained as a printmaker at The Central School of Art in London, took a diploma in advanced printmaking studies and have had etchings purchased for The Victoria and Albert Museum Print Collection, I was unable for years to make use of these skills until discovering Swansea Print Workshop. The Workshop is an invaluable resource for artists but urgently needs to take its success further and to expand into more suitable premises.

Wales – particularly South Wales – lags behind in this regard. The Arts Council in Scotland provides considerable funding for five workshops and in England printmaking workshops also get generous backing. In Wales the visual arts are still a poor relation and the development of specialist artistic support services, such as Swansea Print Workshop, would give an enormous boost to the visual arts throughout this region.
Robert Macdonald, Chairman of the Welsh Group

The Kings Lane scheme is both ambitious and inspirational. Apart from the many benefits this scheme would have for Swansea and the wider Arts Community of South Wales I feel there is the possibility of clear benefits for business such as mine involved in design and manufacturing.

The proposed Kings Lane development opens up the possibility for collaboration with industry for both research and development and business to business links.
Rodney Bender, Managing Director Innovative Glass Products Ltd, 2007

A move to larger premises would be invaluable. At present the room available limits the number of participants in some activities, and whereas health and safely must be given appropriate consideration, it seems a great pity that the expertise available is not shared with more participants. Provision of a permanent space for exhibitions would provide an excellent showcase for printmakers, and for the drawings which provide the underpinning for so much art work, but which are frequently treated as ‘poor relations’. And a larger specialist source of reference, what a joy that would be! As for materials, it would be marvellous to be able to see different products, and then buy them on the spot.
Hilary, SPW member, 2007

Swansea Print Workshop offers by far the best context for open access printmaking in South Wales, even in its current cramped accommodation: the range of media and equipment, the openness of the access, the professional expertise on hand.
Bernard van Lierop, Ordinary member, 2007

The need for larger premises for the Swansea Print Workshop is of paramount importance for the artists of Swansea and the outlying areas. Those who make use of the amenities of the print workshop in Clarence Street have to work in a rather cramped space and within a limited timeframe because the demand for use of the facilities is far greater than the size that these premises can allow, yet it is the only independent print workshop in the area of South Wales where artists can learn and experiment with new ideas and, most importantly, meet and discuss their work with like-minded people.
George Little, Ordinary member, 2007

Trying to make a viable career as an artist is a difficult and often lonely process. Swansea Print Workshop has been a wonderful find. It is a real gem for local artists: professional, aspiring and amateur. The welcoming atmosphere and sense of camaraderie, coupled with a deep understanding of the way artists work, and solid technical support, must make it a unique resource for this part of Wales, if not the whole of it. I can’t comment the organisation enough.
Sally Greiner, Full member, 2007

There is no other facility providing open access in South Wales.

The quality of teaching in one to one and group workshops is excellent.

The variety of workshops is expansive.

The ethos is invigorating, exploratory and in pursuit of the highest standards.

Full members are given regular opportunities to exhibit locally and internationally.

With Swansea Print Workshop’s move to new premises, greater numbers and more groups, on a national and international exchange level will be able to benefit from their facilities and expertise.

They are a great ambassador for Welsh Art.
Veronica Gibson, Member of the Welsh Group, 2007