News | Hot Bed Press

Latest News

February10th

No Comments

New Courses on their way

Posted in: Announcements

We have just announced our latest programme of courses. [Members get the early bird notice when courses are scheduled, then we open it all out to our general mailing list.]

We’ve got lots coming up. Visit the course page for an overview/list.

We recommend you sign up for our mailing list to get the announcements on courses as they book up so quickly as soon as we announce them to our database of over 3,500 subscribers.

We are working on a major overhaul of our website, which explains why some of our current site is a bit out of date. We will be moving over to a lovely fancy new website with all new branding very soon.
April13th

No Comments

Easter closing… and reopening

Posted in: Announcements

We will be closing for Easter from 4.00pm Thursday 14th April and reopening at 10.00am on Tuesday 19th April.

The next Saturday opening will be 23rd April; (opening times 10.00am – 4.00pm).

Wishing everyone a happy Easter.

We will be back with more news and plans afoot…

We are also building up to Sounds From The Other City which will be taking over the ground floor on Sunday 1st May. Visit the SFToC website for more details including live printing and special one off goods and ‘merch’. Access to these printing events only via the ticketed event.
February11th

No Comments

Job Opportunity – Exhibitions, Events & Marketing Officer

Posted in: Announcements, Exhibitions, News, Opportunities

Hot Bed Press is looking for a new Exhibitions, Events & Marketing Officer (22.5hrs /week)

Working hours:                           Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 9.30am – 5.00pm

Pay: £12.00 per hour        £14,040p.a. (£24,960 pro rata)

Applications in by:                    Monday 14th March

Interviews: w/c 28th March (dates and times tbc.)

Start date: Wednesday 20th April 2022

Length of Employment

This position is a 2year post and is funded by Arts Council as part of organisational development of Hot Bed Press and planned expansion. It is intended that the post will continue past the 2 years and become a permanent position. The continuation of the role of Exhibitions, Events & Marketing Officer past 2024 is intended to be part-funded by income generated through increased sales & income through events and increased capacity of Hot Bed Press as a whole. Further funding may be sought to supplement increased income to enable roles to continue.

About this part-time post

We are looking for a skilled and enthusiastic person keen to add their energies, experience, and knowledge to the team at Hot Bed Press at an exciting time of development and planning for the future. The post-holder will be responsible for strengthening and expanding the exhibitions programme, working on existing annual exhibitions and events; The 20:20 Print Exchange, (including annual international touring show), annual open studios and external art/print fairs such as Manchester Art Fair and The Hepworth Print Fair.

The Exhibitions, Events & Marketing Officer will also research new opportunities to represent our print members, promote printmaking and the work of Hot Bed Press at print & art fairs nationally. New exhibition space and display areas installed at Hot Bed Press in 2021 add the capacity to programme 4 exhibitions upstairs in the print studio annually and a programme of events and hired exhibitions on the ground floor.

The post-holder will also be tasked with promoting exhibitions and events through bulletins, social media and targeted leaflets and posters. They will be responsible for helping develop the Hot Bed Press website online gallery representing members’ work and to work in liaison with other staff to promote the new Hot Bed Editions initiative which aims to promote and sell specially commissioned and editioned works by invited artists and designers.

Please click here for an application form:

Exhibitions Events Marketing Officer – Application Form – April 2022

Please note this is a re-advertising of the position. Previous applicants need not apply.
January18th

No Comments

The Complete Book Artist 2022 – Now Open for Bookings

Posted in: Announcements, News, Opportunities

Hot Bed Press is very pleased to announce that we return to running Complete Book Arts. Over a total of 30 weeks this course is aimed at anybody looking to learn how to make books and explore and develop ideas through the form of the artists’ book. The course is not accredited, but students will ‘graduate’ with a Hot Bed Press certificate in Book Arts.

Complete Book Arts will be tutored on Tuesday evenings between 6pm and 9pm. The course fee includes an additional 4 hours access to the workshop throughout the week where you can work independently. [Open hours are Mondays to Fridays 10am – 5pm plus Thursday evening to 9pm and the last Saturday of every month 11am – 4pm.] All students wanting more than 4 hours access per week will also be able to ‘top-up’ their hours with usage in the workshop at any time during open access throughout the week at the hourly rate.

Complete Book Artist 2022 – Tuesday Evenings – 6-9pm

Call the workshop on 0161 743 3111 to book your place.
January10th

No Comments

Starting the year as we mean to go on

Posted in: News

It’s good to be back. After a short break for Christmas and New Year we are now reopen for business.

We are looking forward to seeing members steadily coming in, and Complete Printmaker courses continuing on for the next 5 weeks. (New Complete Printmaker and Book Arts courses start in March.)

We are really pleased to be welcoming 2 new members of staff: Craig Atherton as new Technician; Wednesday to Friday, plus some Saturdays, and Andrea Westall as Education Officer. We were hoping to also welcome a new Exhibitions, Events & Marketing Officer, but the person offered the role was unable to take it up… so we will be re-advertising and looking forward to adding to our staffing in coming weeks.

We are now opening Mondays to Fridays, having shut on Fridays in 2020 due to covid challenges and staffing. With new staff, [which has been made possible with a 2 year grant from Arts Council England /National Lottery funding], we are able to open on Fridays again, plus Thursday evenings plus we are planning to open alternate Fridays from 29th January. We aim to be making up for lost time and missed opportunities to print, giving members more hours and more access, plus increased support.

We are continuing to do everything we can to stay safe during the ongoing pandemic, and are sanitizing and cleaning every day, shutting at 4.00pm each day to carry out a thorough clean, keeping to a strict mask wearing policy and continuing with a booking system to limit numbers. We hope to ease off on this as weeks go by, and get back to a more casual and easy going open access, but are closely monitoring all news and updates to stay safe and on top of all necessary precautions.

We hope to see you all soon.

Sean Rorke

Artistic Director
October22nd

No Comments

New Jobs coming up at Hot Bed Press

Posted in: Announcements, Opportunities

We are really pleased to announce that we were awarded an Arts Council grant towards 3 new posts at Hot Bed Press;

An Exhibitions, Events & Marketing Officer 22.5 hours a week

An Education Officer (15 hours a week)

and a Technician for (22.5 hours a week)

These 3 new posts will enable us to strengthen and grow Hot Bed Press and create opportunities for members, expand our reach to a wider audience, get more young people to discover the wonders of printmaking and to support members more, but opening more hours, being on-hand for advice and tips and to maintain the workshop to the highest professional standards, creating a welcoming and encouraging environment for everyone to work in.

This is just part of our work towards reaching our ambitions and fulfil our long term plans to create a world class print workshop that is accessible and welcoming to all, and to push the boundaries of print.

Deadline for applications is Monday 15th November

The jobs will all start early January 2022

Click on the links below for the job adverts:

Exhibitions, Events & Marketing Officer job advert

Education Officer job advert CH

Technician job advert – Nov 2021

Click on the links below for Job Descriptions and Application Forms:

Exhibitions Events Marketing Officer – Job Description – Nov. 2021

Education Officer – Job Description 2021

Technician – Job Description Nov 2021
August17th

No Comments

Getting back to normal

Posted in: News

It’s been great to have members back in printing and to start having the buzz of creativity around the workshop. Everyone has been noticing all the big and little improvements we’ve made whilst everyone was away. We’ve not been putting our feet up. We’ve also got lots of new kit, such as 5 new Kippax screenbeds, a new water-bath, a bespoke large acid cabinet, new benching and inking tables and lots of smaller tweaks and improvements, plus the place has had a lick of paint making it brighter and looking even more spacious.

We are now steadily welcoming members back in. We have a booking system to limit numbers and make sure we are staying safe with that pesky coronavirus still lurking in the background. We shut at 4.00pm every day to be able to clean and sanitize the workshop top to bottom including all equipment and tools used. We also have windows open to keep an airflow and good ventilation and still have the rule of everyone wearing masks whilst in here, (unless you are on a screen bed or relief press facing away from anyone).

We will slowly and carefully open up to more members coming in and getting to the carefree way and creative way we were before March 2020 and we are looking to announce new courses and lots more exciting events in the coming weeks and months.

The great news is that we are still here, and going strong, and we look even better. Absence has made the heart grow fonder and we all realise a little more of what we have here at Hot Bed Press, this unique hub of printmaking in all it’s guises and manifestations. We aim to grow stronger and even better from here with ambitious plans for the future. Look out for news of our first exhibition of work by last year’s Complete Printmaker graduates on the ground floor, and also come up and see our current display of prints from the India Print Exchange Programme currently on show around the workshop.

Please keep supporting us in whatever way you can.

Best wishes to all

Sean Rorke – Artistic Director
July29th

No Comments

Interspaces show of 5 Polish artists at Hot Bed Press

Posted in: Exhibitions

In March 2021 we were very pleased to welcome artists & designers from The University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland to show their multi-disciplinary work; all connected by one of our studio members; Kamila Kasprowicz who organised the show and hung the work at Hot Bed Press during lockdown.

Artists:
Kamila Kasprowicz
Aleksander Ostrowski
Wojciech Osuchowski
Justyna Stefanczyk
Ryszard Pielesz

We were unable due to lockdowns to have a physical show or launch so Kamila and friends organised an online event that was great. You can see the full zoom event or edited highlights of presentations or the tour of the show here:

YouTube:

Zoom recording:

Exhibition Tour:

Presentations:
June1st

No Comments

The ongoing situation

Posted in: News

I am sorry , but we are still closed. We had planned to reopen early in June. However, Greater Manchester has seen rapid rises in covid 19 cases, and it is spreading from area to area. It would be unwise to reopen with cases increasing as they are. We also cannot afford to bring staff back from furlough if there is even a remote chance of having to close again.

We remain closed until further notice. We had hoped to be open from 21st June, but cannot say for certain whether this will be the case, with more Government announcements, (due on 14th June), and talk of the third wave, with the new strain/s of coronavirus, plus Medical Advisers/SAGE advising a delay in full easing of lockdown.

We are doing everything we can to keep the workshop strong and to be ready to welcome everyone back, but we have to be very careful how we do this. Reopening too early could seriously damage Hot Bed Press. We have done amazingly to stay viable and have even made lots of improvements, (all without calling upon Arts Council Emergency Funding or loans), but it’s a delicate balance and we cannot take another financial hit.

We hope to reopen shortly after 21st June, but are also braced for the fact that this now may be July. We will announce more after 14th June.

So sorry for any inconvenience.

Sean Rorke – Artistic Director
April23rd

No Comments

Preparing to reopen

Posted in: Announcements

There has been lots of work on in recent months, over 14 months in fact. We have new benching for more inking spaces, a new water bath and new acid cabinet, and now 5 new screen beds replacing some old and tired and quite honestly, quirky, some would say frustrating second hand screen beds we did have.

The ceilings and beams have all now been painted and the floor is on the last sections, which would mean that virtually every bit inside Hot Bed Press has had a revamp. We are hoping that everyone sees a bit of the wow factor when they come back in and start using the new kit and benefit from a brighter and better workshop.

We have even had new fencing and a new gate put on the front car park with the help of X1, who are renting some space in the yard and back carpark… and a new temporary mural now adorns the front. We have been hit by coronavirus, but over coming weeks the virus will gradually disappear as we hopefully start winning and eradicating much of the virus, or at least it’s spread.

We will start The Complete Printmaker courses on 10th May. That’s the first thing back after the latest lockdown, as we needed to fit in 30 weeks, and quite frankly, need the money. A few weeks after that once all has settled we aim to reopen to members. It will still be a gradual reopening. Like last time we will have a booking system and limit numbers to ensure all is safe.

The next thing is to catch up on missing courses; with a number postponed from 2020 we will look to honour all those people who kept their bookings and are in credit. We will plan and deliver those courses first before announcing new weekend and evening courses, and will be in touch with everyone who still has credit with us.

Some sense of normality is on the horizon.