When local printmaker, Amelia Bowman, was asked to curate Wymondham Arts’ opening show this year, she jumped at the chance to make Wymondham’s first-ever Print Festival a reality!

Amelia explains that ‘as a printmaker, I am always trying to educate people about the intricacy, complexity and pure alchemy of printmaking. It is why I grabbed this opportunity to showcase the diversity of this creative discipline with both hands.’

Taking place in the beautifully restored Becket’s Chapel - the town’s oldest surviving building after the Abbey - Wymondham Print Festival will run from Tuesday 5th until Sunday 17th of May from 11am until 4pm daily (closed Monday 11th). The Chapel will play host to twelve of the country’s leading printmakers, many of whom are from Norfolk, exhibiting a vibrant array of original designs demonstrating the multifaceted nature of printmaking.

‘Wymondham Print Festival,’ Amelia continues, ‘will be a celebration of printmaking, highlighting both the variety of skill and technique found within this field of the arts and how it is anchored in handmade, hand-printed, original, often limited-edition or even one-off pieces.’

Get ready to feast your eyes on a showstopping array of printmaking processes and diverse subject matter, with an exceptional line-up, including Kerry Buck’s wildlife-inspired Collagraphs, Gabriella Dalmay’s botanically themed Screen Prints and Rory McShane’s rustic landscape Wood Cuts and Carborundum prints. Wymondham Print Festival will also feature witty Letterpress work by Mandy Doubt and delicate, embossed pieces by Oceana Masterman-Smith, as well as some brand-new artworks by the curator herself, Amelia assures us. Besides the original artworks filling the walls, there will also be a tempting range of associated gifts and homewares available too.

‘In a world where AI is challenging the purpose of artists, especially print artists whose creations are regularly and incorrectly dismissed as digitally created and mass-produced, the festival provides a wonderful opportunity to showcase the originality and ingenuity of the human brain and hand in combination - something that simply cannot be replicated by a computer,’ Amelia states emphatically.

The first Wymondham Print Festival looks like it will be a breathtaking celebration of fabulous artwork, talented artists and the truly magical transformation of the Grade 1 listed exhibition venue itself. Once on the Heritage at Risk Register, the now award-winning Becket’s Chapel was acquired by Historic Norfolk in late 2022, having secured £700k in conservation grants from a variety of funders, including Historic England. So do make sure to stop and take in this extraordinary historical gem before you leave the exhibition.

‘There is something special about exhibiting handmade and crafted artworks in an ancient, hand-carved and crafted building. A building where we hope not only to entertain people with the vibrancy, intricacy and diversity of our craft, but also educate them on the artisan nature of printmaking, ensuring festival goers leave with both goodies for their walls and homes, and also a deeper appreciation of the skill, passion and time that is poured into every piece.’