THE PRINTING GIRLS (TPG) SA Print Gallery, Woodstock CT 09 October – 20 November www.theprintinggirls.co.za By Mandy Conidaris
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e often get strange looks from folk in the artworld, followed by the question: what are The Printing Girls?? Well, at its core, TPG is an all-female collective of South African-based artists who work in print. Our membership ranges from artists who have just begun to explore printmaking techniques, through to experienced printmaker/artists and professional printmakers. But beyond its core, TPG is an interwoven web of creative, diverse, individual personalities. Just imagine.
Our main focus has been to develop a strong professional network of female South African printmakers and create a platform for our members to share ideas, network, and exhibit together. We actively cultivate a culture of sharing skills and information, help our members grow their printmaking skills, and aim to advance TPG as a credible community within the artworld. The six original members of TPG began to exhibit in 2016 as The Printing Girls. Each year, more artists joined, and TPG in its current incarnation slowly began to materialise. Today, our members number fifty-seven and are based in Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Free State, and the Karoo … we have been astounded at how many women artists either work primarily in print or have printmaking as a significant part of their creative output. This year (2021), our co-founder Amy Jane van den Bergh took a year’s sabbatical to enjoy her first pregnancy and give birth to a lovely baby boy, so the 2021 Admin Team has consisted of Cloudia Rivett-Carnac as the members’ goto TPG for technical support and the overall workshop co-ordinator, Allison Klein as the TPG social media and exhibition liaison manager, and Mandy Conidaris as the website manager, TPG copywriter, and print exchange organiser.
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