SAMBAA K'E/TROUT LAKE - In Trout Lake printmaking is being introduced as a tool to help lead to the eventual design and construction of a cultural facility.

The Sambaa K'e Dene Band wants to build a facility to hold all of the community's social programming but they want it to reflect their land and culture. Discussions began last spring on how to incorporate Dene design into the building.

Printmaker Scott Hudson, right, shows Norma Jumbo and Chief Dolphus Jumbo some of the handmade brushes used to make prints. Examples of the fish prints that will be made during the three-day workshop in Trout Lake can be seen on the wall. - photo courtesy of Gavin Renwick

Gavin Renwick, a visiting professor of art and policy at the University of Dundee, Scotland, was invited to take part in process. Renwick does work in cultural continuity, looking at how to take traditional cultures and translate them into contemporary practice through art, architecture and design.

"It's an absolute collaborative exercise," said Renwick.

Residents bring their cultural knowledge while Renwick said he brings the skill set to help represent the values and knowledge in different ways. In order to engage Trout Lake residents in the design of the cultural facility Renwick has turned to printmaking, a practice that Dundee is famous for.

Between Aug. 21 to 27 Scott Hudson and Paul Harrison, two printmakers from Dundee, are running an introductory printmaking workshop in the community. The workshop is the first step in establishing a print studio in Trout Lake.

The two men brought an etching press, specialist papers and brushes, a computer with a scanner and a printer and water based non-toxic inks with them to get the studio started. The plan is to have Hudson and Harrison return every four to six months over the next two years to develop the studio and local skills to a point where residents can run the facility independently.

During the week Hudson and Harrison will be using a form of Japanese fish printing to introduce all interested Trout Lake residents to the basics of printmaking. The technique called gyotaku involves covering freshly caught fish with water-based ink and making an impression of them on special paper. Other types of printmaking will also be covered.

Renwick will use the images as part of the building design process. Some could be used as decorations while others may suggest spatial designs, he said.

Good quality prints can be made with little equipment and pieces of the landscape including fish, bark and leaves can be incorporated into designs. The nature of printmaking means outcomes can be seen quickly which keeps people engaged, Hudson said.

In addition to making art type prints residents will also be taught how to use the equipment to design pamphlets and other material using digital publishing. Over time a link will also be built between Dundee and Trout Lake that could result in a professional exhibition of prints in the two locations, Renwick said.

The print studio is a way to open a creative dialogue about the cultural facility and will also provide a lasting legacy for the community, he said.

Construction of the facility, which could be made up of more than one building, is at least two years away. Once completed the print studio, which is currently being established in the community centre, will be moved in the building.

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