Collaboration Graphic Design Publication Publishing Risograph Zine

“Print City” turns to traditional methods to support local creatives

posted by Marcroy October 28, 2020

The Yorkshire City of Bradford has become the first local authority in the UK to commission a Riso-printed zine as it looks to support its creative and cultural workforce amidst the challenges faced by covid-19. The City Council’s cultural partnerships team – led by Nic Greenan – initiated a rapid grant programme to support 55 artists, creatives, and community organisations during the initial Covid-19 lockdown phases. Now the Council has released a 12-page zine to showcase the activities funded by the programme, while backing traditional print methods.

Response – the name of the zine, and also the name given to the rapid grant programme – was produced from home during lockdown by editor Si Cunningham and designer Jimmy Smith [of Smiths Workshop] and was printed locally using South Square Art Centre’s Risograph printer. It’s now hoped that Response will become a regular publication to showcase the city’s creative talent as the local authority rolls out more support programmes for the cultural and creative community.

Jimmy Smith, the zine’s designer, says that it’s encouraging to see a local council supporting traditional print methods and using creative talent from within the city. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work on Response and see how creatives and printmakers have stepped up to the challenges faced by lockdown,” states Jimmy. “It’s also very refreshing to find a council investing in local creatives and quite hands-on print methods.”

Bradford has a significant global print heritage which can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, and was once home to internationally renowned printers like W E Berry and Lund Humphries. The British International Print Biennale was launched in Bradford in 1968 and featured early works by David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Ray Lichtenstein among others. Today, the city’s Cartwright Hall art gallery houses an impressive print collection, and the nearby Bradford Industrial Museum is home to a significant collection of working printing and letterpress machinery.