ALLENTOWN, PA.- The Allentown Art Museum opened the exhibit Innovation and Creativity in Printmaking: Selections from the Archives of the Experimental Printmaking Institute through February 4, 2007. Innovation and Creativity in Printmaking celebrates the tenth anniversary of Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI) at Lafayette College, showcasing some of the works created by EPI in collaboration with renowned artists such as Richard Anuszkiewicz, David C. Driskell, Sam Gilliam, Faith Ringgold, Grace Hartigan, Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Mailou Jones, and Allan Rohan Crite. Collectively, these artists challenge the prevailing notions in printmaking about color, style, and technique. They share energy, ingenuity, and a passion for experimentation.

EPI represents the new generation of dedicated fine print studios with a commitment to experimentation. It is one of the few workshops dedicated to celebrating and maintaining the highest standards of the printmaking tradition while challenging artists to investigate innovative techniques and new media in order to broaden and refocus the language of printmaking.

EPI was established in 1996 to promote research and experimentation within the print medium. Since its inception, the EPI visiting artist and artist in residence programs have introduced students to over fifty artists from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. The visiting artists have provided our students with talented, well educated, and ambitious role models. Their residencies have inspired print editions, experimental works, and artists’ books.

The exhibition is organized by Jacqueline M. Atkins, the Kate Fowler Merle-Smith Curator of Textiles and Curlee Raven Holton, founding director of EPI. Holton is a master printmaker and educator who has received numerous awards and grants. He has exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Seventh International Biennale, Cairo, Egypt; and most recently in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan. Currently Holton serves as director of EPI and professor of art at Lafayette College, where he has taught African-American art history and printmaking since 1991.