Second-year printmakers will be displaying their art at the SCYAP gallery this March.

Exhibiting work in their own gallery show is a key requirement for art students at the University of Saskatchewan to graduate.

Any opportunity to put on an extra show and gain experience preparing for a graduating exhibit is an asset. Events such as the annual silent auction and the more recently established We The Artists shows have provided venues for students.

This March, however, printmaking students in their second year will get their own chance to shine. A group show, I Ink Therefore I Am, will be held at the Saskatoon Community Youth Arts Programming gallery in downtown Saskatoon.

The exhibit will be the first time second-year printmaking students will have their own exhibition. Previously such events have been reserved for printmakers in their senior — third and fourth — years of study.

“While the university has excellent spaces for students to display work… I think it’s a good experience for the students to have an exhibition off campus,” said Patrick Bulas, a printmaking instructor with the university’s art and art history department.

“The work reaches a different audience and the students are involved in all aspects of the exhibition, including framing the work, designing the invitations and holding a reception,” Bulas said. “Hopefully the exhibition will make the community at large more aware of the creative and dedicated students studying at the U of S and bring recognition to the work being done in the Department of Art and Art History.”

I Ink Therefore I Am will showcase a variety of works from every student in the university’s sole 200-level printmaking class, and will be based on their assignments from the 2012-13 school year.

Printmaking II, the course in question, involves several assigned projects from incorporating text into prints to designing collages and bookmaking. The variety allows students to explore different methods and then hone in on the type of printmaking they wish to study in their final years.

While Bulas said he has not had his students work displayed at the SCYAP gallery before, he has helped the community arts program with several printmaking workshops. Bulas says he values their presence in Saskatoon.

“I think it’s a very important and unique organization, and the people there really believe in and care about what they are doing,” Bulas said.

Since its founding in 2001, SCYAP has offered free art and design classes to at-risk and underprivileged youth in Saskatoon. Highly valued on local, provincial and national levels, SCYAP’s offered programs include everything from aboriginal cultural awareness and art classes to exhibits and mentorship opportunities.

I Ink Therefore I Am will be at the SCYAP gallery March 11-15. The show’s reception will be held March 12 from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.

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