The centrepiece of Start the Press! is an antique, flatbed printing press from Wolverhampton School of Art, taking its position in the gallery as a form of occupation in the tradition of the student art-school sit-ins of the 1960s, and in response to the current challenging economic landscape.

A cohort of West Midlands printmakers will operate the press: establishing a functioning printmaking studio (9 February – 21 April), producing original prints and filling the gallery walls as artwork is made in real time. Regional printmakers: Taiba Akhtar, Haseebah Ali, Simon Harris, Fae Kilburn, Karen McLean, Laura Onions, Satinder Parhar and Heather Peak.

Start the Press! also includes a display of printmaking, featuring artworks by Lubaina Himid, David Hockney, Yinka Shonibare and Catherine Yass loaned from the Jerwood Collection. In addition, Ikon shows a series of prints by artist Pamela Scott Wilkie who first exhibited at Ikon in 1966. With funding from Freelands Foundation, Ikon Youth Programme and other educational groups will be introduced to the printmaking processes preserved in regional art schools.

This exhibition is supported by Freelands Foundation, Jerwood Foundation, The Saintbury Trust, University of Birmingham and University of Wolverhampton.

Start the Press! is presented as part of Ikon’s 60th anniversary year.