Printed Festival returns to Cardiff this summer

Printed Festival will return to Cardiff for its second year – promising a bigger and better event than ever that celebrates all things print.

The festival, which is a free-to-attend family-friendly weekend event has been made possible once again thanks to secured funding and support from the Arts Council of Wales and Chapter Arts Centre.

Making its debut last summer, PRINTED FESTIVAL landed in Cardiff with a bang. Dreamed up by seasoned printers, Tom Whitehead (The Printhaus, Ed & Flo) and Aidan Saunders (Print Wagon, Prints of Hay), their mission is simple but extensive: to build on the existing print culture in south Wales, and make the artform accessible to the masses.

They said: “The festival set-up enables links to be made, resources to be shared and serves as a basis of opportunity and participation for all involved.”

Print hub

The Printhaus resides in Chapter Arts Centre, Canton.

Around the corner are Cardiff Print Workshop and Print Market Project. Also in the vicinity are The Amplifier Press, Prim Print, Llanover Hall and Oriel Canfas, to name but a few more print-related organisations who make up the localised print hub.

With this solid foundation to build from, as well as the myriad of members who constitute The Printhaus community, PRINTED FESTIVAL couldn’t be more perfectly placed.

As this community has proved time and time again, all hands are on deck to make the festival the success that it is. You won’t find any pretentiousness, nor airs and graces amongst this bunch.

Their passion is genuine and they share it for a living – PRINTED FESTIVAL is the amped up version that we get to enjoy collectively. 

Tom Whitehead, Co-Director of The Printhaus said: “We were blown away by all the positive comments from last year’s event, it was quite humbling!

We begged, stole, and borrowed from everyone involved, who threw themselves into it with boundless passion! This year we want to expand and connect with more creatives and create an even better experience for visitors.”

He added: “Printed Festival 2, with the brilliant tagline – ‘Print Harder!’ – promises much of the same that made last year so good; stalls, activities, games, talks and community workshops.”

Also being introduced to the line-up, will be an exciting panel discussion from print professionals, and an exclusive publication dubbed the Holy Grail of Printed Festival intel!

Years in the making

Aidan Saunders from Print Wagon said: “Printed Festival went far better than I could have ever dreamed!

“After years of planning with Tom and Jude, we succeeded in creating an inclusive, interactive print festival that educated and inspired people to participate in creative practices.

“As soon as it was over, we realised Printed was but the foundation of a larger project, and we were inspired, compelled (!) to think of new and innovative ways in which we could engage the Welsh public and get them excited about printmaking.

“So this year we are going bigger and bolder, with more of what went well last year and some new and interesting tricks up our sleeves for this year.

“It’s such a joyous celebration of print for creatives and the wider community alike and is not one to miss!”

Printed Festival takes place at Chapter Arts Centre on 8- 9  June 2024 from 11am-4pm

Visit the Printed Festival website and sign up to their newsletter for more info, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook for regular updates.