Annual printPHILLY! fair returns for its third year

The third annual printPHILLY! fair will bring together printmakers and printmaking enthusiasts on Saturday, April 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Parkway Central Library.

“I consider the fair as much of a networking event for the community as it is for the community to be able to share their work with the public,” said Jennifer Manzella, an organizer with the Philadelphia Print Consortium, whose members organize the fair every year on a voluntary basis.

The fair grew out of a need within Philadelphia’s long-established printmaking community to come together and share their work. During its years of planning and existence, it has faced several challenges.

“In 2017, it started with a group of anywhere from 10 to 15 people. We would meet every six months in somebody’s studio, at somebody’s shop,” Manzella said. “We were trying to figure out what we should do. Should we do an exhibition? What do we put our energy into?”

“Obviously, the event did not happen. We went into lockdown for a couple of years. So, when we reconnected in 2022, we then decided that we needed to put our energies towards the project,” said Manzella. Almost after six years of planning, they held the first fair in Spring 2023.

This event welcomes art lovers, anyone curious about printmaking, and even those skeptical about how enduring this art form can be in this digital age. “[As a professor], I have to think how this obsolete media is important, right? Because no longer do we rely on it for commercial purposes anymore and it has become more of an expressive medium,” Manzella shared. “And I think it’s important because it connects us to the physical world. It connects us to that material culture that is part of our history. It’s part of our cultural heritage.”

This one-day event is free and open to the public. You can find a full list of vendors and participants at printPHILLY! 2025.

Some highlights:

• Guest speaker: Lauren Rosenblum, Curator of the The Print Center, at 11:00 a.m.
• Hands-on Printmaking with Mural Arts – an opportunity to participate in a collaborative mural from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Where to find more events and submission calls for the printmaking community in Philadelphia:

• Soapbox workshops and events at www.phillysoapbox.org/workshops-events
• Philadelphia Print Works reading group at www.philadelphiaprintworks.com/pages/projects
• The Print Center exhibitions at www.printcenter.org/100/upcoming-exhibitions/   
• Open call for new members at BYOB Printmaking Collaborative at www.byoprint.org/calendar-of-events 
• Megazine rolling call for submission at www.megazinephilly.com