The Boston Printmakers will return to Boston University to celebrate its 75 th anniversary with the 2023 North American Print Biennial, after a 4-year hiatus. The BU Art Gallery will host the exhibition in the newly renovated 808 Gallery. The juror for the exhibition is Elizabeth Rudy, the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Curator of Prints at the Harvard Art Museums. Dr. Rudy has selected 121 prints from 1800 entries for this exhibit. She writes, “The extraordinary talent typifying the Boston Printmakers’ history and legacy was palpable in the wide range of submissions to this year’s Biennial. The prints made by artists attracted to this international call are unanimously compelling and beautiful, expanding the perceived boundaries of the medium. Several themes emerged from the submissions; the strong focus on environmentalism, social justice, and portraiture illuminated the nuanced, critical contributions printmakers make to broader society’s conversations about current struggles and aspirations. It was a distinct honor to be the Juror for the 75 th anniversary of the organization, which has been such an important and vibrant hub of fine art printing in Boston for generations.”

The exhibit features a broad array of contemporary prints, spanning traditional to contemporary/integrated media approaches, with both emerging and established artists from across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. Emerging from the pandemic, themes and imagery reflect the many personal and social concerns of artists across North America, as well as a vibrant vision of the future.

In an extraordinary 75 years, the primary mission of The Boston Printmakers has been to create dynamic exhibitions and promote interest in the graphic arts. Founded in 1947, The Boston Printmakers reaches a large and diverse audience through the North American Print Biennial, national and international members' shows, and traveling exhibitions across North America.

The North American Print Biennial awards $12,000 in purchase prizes and material awards. Founders’ Prizes are purchased for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Art Complex Museum collections, and purchase prizes will go to The Boston Printmakers Collection at the Boston Public Library. For this anniversary year, two additional prints will be purchased for the Harvard Art Museums and the Boston Athenaeum, totaling 5 purchase awards.

Along with the North American Print Biennial, The Boston Printmakers is celebrating the 75 th anniversary of their first exhibition with two additional shows at the 808 Gallery venue. The exhibition Disciplines of the Spirit: Prints of Human Existence will be at the Boston University Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, and A Legacy of Leadership: The Boston Printmakers Celebrating 75 Years will be shown in the 808 Hall Gallery. There is a Biennial Symposium on November 4, gallery talks by Edward Saywell (Boston Museum of Fine Arts), Deborah Cornell (Boston University), Christina Michelon (Boston Athenaeum), Peter Scott (SMFA), and Richard Baiano (Childs Gallery) and many other events. To acknowledge the many contributions of this organization, Mayor Wu is issuing a Proclamation, making October 14th “Boston Printmakers Day” in the City of Boston.

EVENTS: Juror’s Lecture: Elizabeth Rudy: Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Curator of Prints, Harvard Art Museums CFA Concert Hall, 855 Commonwealth Ave., Saturday, October 14, 1 PM (free and open to the public).

Biennial Symposium: At the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground Auditorium Boston University 808 Commonwealth Ave., Room 104 (free and open to the public) Saturday November 4

10:00 AM – Panel: “Figuring It Out: Portraiture and Printing Today”, Biennial Juror Elizabeth Rudy, in discussion with Biennial artists Chloe Alexander, Miguel Aragon, and Juan Correa

12:00 PM – Panel: “Common Ground: Shared Environments and Community Print Studios”, Six of New England’s open-access print workshops will present and discuss their mission and ethos.

​2:30 PM – Artist-led tours of the Biennial, A Legacy Of Leadership, and Disciplines of the Spirit