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Disruptive Impressions Artist Residency
Disruptive Impressions: A Local Printmaking Residency
In partnership with The Smallprint Company, we recently concluded a printmaking residency titled ‘Disruptive Impressions.’ The residency brought together two talented artists, Bernie Rutter from Derbyshire and Taiba Akhtar from Birmingham, who were mentored by Chris Barker of The Smallprint Company. Chris also contributed his expertise and creativity to the accompanying exhibition, which is currently on display.
This residency explored the pressing themes of conflict and disruption in today’s world. It reflected on how global issues challenge our sense of security and unity, leaving individuals feeling lost, emotionally disconnected, and gripped by fear and confusion. These upheavals alter the social fabric, disrupting daily life, fracturing communities, and tearing apart families.
The artists were expected to delve into thought-provoking questions such as whether we are heading towards a larger global conflict? What could individuals and societies do to nurture peace and understanding? How do these disruptions shape our identities, our art, and our collective consciousness?
Through their work, the artists invited us to confront these challenges and reflect on the transformative power of art in making sense of a fractured world.
Visit the ongoing exhibition at Artcore Gallery to experience the outcomes of this residency.
Exhibition Details:
Artcore Gallery:
8 Albert Street, Osnabruck Square, DE1 2DS
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (closed for Christmas & New Year holidays).
Exhibition runs until 18 January 2025.
Selected Artists
Taiba Akhtar is an Artist, Printmaker and Technician fulfilling her passion of printmaking, education and creativity working at the Birmingham School of Art and a Casual Front of House member at Ikon Gallery. Akhtar’s evolving interest in language and communication binds the spoken, written and the read.
Layering intensifies her journey of self-utilising the mundane from day-to-day life, belief and conversations increasing her desire for palimpsests. Innately, her recitations of Quranic verses add to amalgamating, recording and decoding. Quite baffling and hidden is the shift in orientation, English from left to right, Arabic and Urdu from right to left thus leading to parallels between languages, their interchangeability and personal resonance.
Bernie Rutter is a visual artist who works with traditional and digital Printmaking and Sculpture.
Originally from the West Midlands and from early childhood, fascinated by industrial process, by the alchemy of change, by pressure, by heat, by the intervention of human invention. Her work plays with exaggerated perspective and textured overlays, playing with altered views and perceptions. Sometimes designed to calm, sometimes developed to question, sometimes the accidental, sometimes highly staged, enjoying the unexpected transformation a process brings to her work. From the ancient to the digital, the veiled, the complex, not always knowing the outcome.
Chris Barker is an artist, printmaker, designer and educator, primarily working with text through the process of letterpress. As an apprenticed printer working in the heritage craft of letterpress print and typography, Chris experiments with letterforms to produce contemporary graphics. He runs workshops for individuals and groups to share the process and skills. Chris also manages a gallery space and shop as part of The Smallprint Company studio. His interest in printmaking was formed whilst studying Fine Art, specialising in Editions and Publications at the University of Derby. Following a career in the print and graphics industry, he established The Smallprint Company alongside Hannah Barker. From his studio, he undertakes commissions, and produces his own art in the form of prints, zines and artist books. Chris is also an educator and provides or facilitates workshops at a variety of levels from KS2 schools, FE Colleges, Universities and community projects.
Disruptive Impressions Exhibition Launch on 29 November 2024
We are delighted to showcase ‘Disruptive Impressions’, an exhibition featuring the works of Bernie Rutter, Taiba Akhtar, and their mentor, Chris Barker of The Smallprint Company.
The launch event was a celebration of creativity and community, where attendees explored the possibilities of printmaking. On the opening night, the artists delivered heartfelt speeches, sharing insights from their eight-week residency. From experimenting with letterpress technology to constructing sculptural forms and fostering meaningful collaborations, the residency was a wonderful journey for all involved.
The exhibition addresses urgent themes of displacement and disruption, reflecting on global challenges such as war, climate change, and migration. Through their altered, pierced, and constructed paper forms, the artists have redefined the boundaries of printmaking, layering meaning, material, and artistry to present the medium in an innovative light.
If you have not yet experienced ‘Disruptive Impressions’, the exhibition remains open and welcomes visitors until 18 January 2025.
Visit Us:
Artcore Gallery: 8 Albert Street, Osnabruck Square, DE1 2DS
Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (closed for Christmas & New Year holidays).
Do not miss this exhibition and the opportunity to celebrate the power of art to respond to global issues. We look forward to welcoming you!
Disruptive Impressions Workshop Recap
As part of their residency, artists Bernie Rutter and Taiba Akhtar collaborated with Chris Barker of The Smallprint Company to host a letterpress workshop for the Derby community.
Held in the warm and welcoming setting of The Smallprint Company, the workshop invited participants to imagine an entirely new continent and to choose meaningful words to represent it. Words like “peace,” “friendship,” and “togetherness” echoed through the room, fostering a sense of unity and shared creativity.
Participants had the opportunity to print these inspiring words on handmade paper, creating a lively and hands-on artistic experience. The final prints are displayed in Bernie and Taiba’s printmaking exhibition, which opened at Artcore Gallery on November 29th.
This workshop not only celebrated the craft of letterpress but also highlighted the power of art to bring people together and inspire dialogue about shared values and aspirations.
