loss

On September 21 the print building of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts caught fire. It took more than a day before the fire was extinguished. Subsequently, it has been determined that the building is not only damaged by fire, but also by water, which means that noone is let into the building due to the risk of collapse.

Just a few years after the fire ravaged Grafikens House, the printmaking world, which is so dependent on functioning workshops, is hit by another blow. Large parts of the prints that ed. art sells are printed in the now ruined workshop and many of our artists have their workplace in the print building. An immeasurable value is lost in the form of all the paper work and all work materials that has been damaged by water or fire. Artists have lost, in some cases, years of work.

The fire also affects ed. art's activities directly. We are particularly sorry that Patrick Wagner, who was to present new Graveyard Prints in our booth at Affordable Art Fair, will be unable to participate due to the fact that both artworks and work material is inside of the damaged building. In addition, many screen frames and etching plates were destroyed, meaning that editions where all the prints had not yet been produced will run out much faster than planned and that editions actually will be significantly smaller than what is stated on the printed, already sold works.

We know that the teachers team at Mejan is working very hard for the teaching to continue as usual and we are pleased that so many printmaking institutions around Stockholm have promised to help. The most important thing is that the great workshop environment that existed, with so many printmaking techniques under one roof, can resume as soon as possible.