Open Bite is an open access print workshop run within the Printmaking Studio in The school of Communication and Contemporary Arts, Edith Cowan University. The workshop has been established to offer access and instruction at various levels to artists and members of the community wishing to engage in printmaking.

The studio is equipped with excellent facilities and technical resources and is supported by a regular Artist in Residence / Guest Lecture program. Open Bite provides a professional working environment that enables not only the more traditional approaches of print production to be investigated but also the opportunity for those artists seeking to work more experimentally, challenging the accepted notions of printmaking through an involvement in large scale, multi media or electronic imaging. The overall philosophy within the studio sees printmaking as a major means of artistic expression without stylistic constraints toward content or medium, and therefore encourages artists to expose the full potential of printmaking as a creative process.

The studio also operates a professional print publishing program for artists. Open Bite has worked in collaboration with Desert Designs WA and Indiginart to offer access and publishing facilities for the production of limited edition prints by a number of indigenous arts communities across central and western Australia. A recently published article expands on one of these projects.

The workshop offers access:

To trained printmakers artists wishing to use the facilities for editioning, production of artwork and publishing.

To graduates of the School requiring facilities to continue their practice

To beginners requiring tuition and support through short courses and workshops

To schools and local community groups seeking professional facilities

For specific projects in conjunction with Artist in Residence Workshop programs

Facilities include well equiped workshops for the following processes Etching / Collagraph / Drypoint tFive intaglio presses for printing steel, zinc, copper and plastic plates, ventilated acid room and inking area plus paper and metal guillotines and extracted washroom for solvents

Relief / Mono Printing: Albion direct platen press for the printing of lino, wood and plastic plates

Screen Printing: The latest technology in water based printing on paper is being utilised in a chemical free environment. Accurate editioning can be achieved using direct and indirect stencils produced from hand drawn or photographic artwork on synthetic meshes

Papermaking: Facilities are available for the production of hand made papers for use in the print studio

Terms and Conditionsare negotiable with the studio co-ordinator and dependent on the the requirements of the artist/project. It is intended that the workshop runs during specific timetabled periods to take advantage of technical support and allow artists access to a range of activities within the school. In this case artists would need to be skilled in printmaking allowing them to work independently within the limitations of the facility.

Fees for artists projects would be charged at an hourly rate for basic room access assuming no academic input is needed. Instructional workshops would be held at different points on the calendar depending on demand.

Basic materials such as solvents, rags, grounds etc will be supplied at a cost of $60.00 per semester, negotiable depending on the nature of the project and usage. All other Other materials such as paper, plates, inks and emulsions to be supplied by the artist.

Fees not including materials

One 4 hour session / week @ 12 weeks$400.00/semester

One 8 hour session / week @ 12 weeks $650.00 / semester

Hourly rate for projects or editioning $18 / hour