Ohio Dresden Print Exhibition Opens in Dresden, Germany as Part of the City’s 800 Year Anniversary Celebration
by Jami Goldstein

The City of Dresden, Germany will present Foreign Affairs: the Ohio and Dresden Residency Exchange, opening Monday March 27, 2006 in the Staendehaus in Dresden, Germany. The exhibition is a part of an ongoing cultural-artistic link between the State of Ohio and the City of Dresden. Foreign Affairs is a retrospective print exhibition that celebrates eight years of artistic collaboration and cultural dialogue between Zygote Press, Inc. in Cleveland and Die Grafikwerkstatt of Dresden.

Zygote Press of Cleveland and the Grafikwerkstatt in Dresden, Germany exchange and host two guest artists each year. During their stay, the artists are expected to engage with the workshop environment by creating a body of work, exploring new techniques and interacting with their host colleagues. Each artist is required to donate one finished print to the archives of the Grafikwerkstatt, Zygote Press and the Ohio Arts Council. This exhibition has largely been made possible through loans from these collections.

The images in the exhibition are reflective of spirit of the experiences, locations, and artistic growth that each participant gained during their residency. The artists have served as ambassadors for the State of Ohio and the City of Dresden and have helped build bridges with other cultures and communities. The annual program, organized by the Ohio Arts Council, with additional funding from the United States Department of Education and the Dresden Cultural Office, began in 1998.

The Ohio Arts Council recognizes and supports artists as valuable resources. Through partnerships with international residency sites and organizations it has provided exciting opportunities for artists. Foreign Affairs demonstrates the incredible impact these international residency experiences have made in the lives of the participants.

The Dresden residency program is one of the highlights of the Ohio Arts Council’s International Program. The International Program has administered international artists’ exchanges for many years in a variety of countries. These residencies and exchanges offer Ohio artists and administrators the opportunity to live and work in international settings. They also place international artists and art professionals in Ohio’s communities and institutions.

Exhibition coordinator, Nicholas Hill, participated as an exchange artist in 2003. Hill is professor and chairperson of the art department at Otterbein College located in Westerville, Ohio. He received his B.F.A at Michigan State University and his M.A. and M.F.A. at the University of Iowa with an emphasis on drawing and a minor in painting and printmaking.

Zygote Press is dedicated to increasing public awareness about contemporary printmaking by creating active communication among artist-printmakers and the Northeast Ohio community. A significant part of Zygote’s mission is to allow artists to produce fine art prints within an atmosphere of collective interchange. This program enables artists from Ohio and Dresden to become acquainted with the art and artists of each community, to provide time for the artists to explore the printmaking resources of each location, and to establish ongoing artistic relations between Ohio and Dresden.

Zygote Press was founded by a group of artists in November 1995. The studio houses etching, relief and lithography presses and screen printing and letterpress facilities. Zygote also provides technical expertise to artists and apprentices who desire further skills in print production and classes, exhibitions, lectures and demonstrations to community centers, schools and institutions throughout the Cleveland area.

The Dresden Graphic Workshop was founded in 1958 to preserve original printing techniques and encourage experimentation in printmaking. Artists and typographers work hand-in-hand at the facility to explore the possibilities of printmaking. The goal is to make original prints of graphic art that have developed from the printing process. The facility has equipment for letterpress printing, hand impression, etching, lithography, photography and bookbinding.

Established in 1988, the Ohio Arts Council’s International Program is designed to foster long-term involvement in international cultural exchange and encourage Ohio artists and arts organizations to form partnerships with arts professionals abroad. In addition to Germany, exchanges have occurred between Ohio artists, performers and administrators and their counterparts in Argentina, Chile, Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel and Japan.

The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.

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