Die Prima Press is a printing workshop on wheels. The Riso with its ink drums and everything else needed is compactly packed and ready for direct use. The workshop leader prints in the exhibition for or with the visitors. All the drums have master foils that remain the same for the duration of the exhibition. Each visitor can choose two colours to be printed on top of each other. The corresponding drums are then inserted, the paper stamped, numbered and then printed. When the print leaves the machine, the person can take it with them.
The prints can also be further customised and personalised. Two benches and a table with stickers and pens invite people to stay and think about the social issues addressed in the prints.
Next to coming together and reflecting on our coexistence, the project focuses on storytelling in the form of modular illustrations. The Riso is used for this in its directness, accessibility, speed and aesthetic conciseness.

In the first exhibition, the prints dealt with the major theme of ‘How do we want to live together?’. The drawings provide food for thought on this question from a personal and local perspective. On display are hidden object pictures whose layers are divided thematically (plants, animals, people, vehicles, buildings, objects) on the drums. One level alone does not tell much, but in combination, new interactions and moments arise that tell stories. In terms of topic, for example, the climate crisis and the local proposal to build a city canal or the culture of remembrance and the much-discussed use of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds are addressed.

Die Prima Press is a printing workshop on wheels. The Riso with its ink drums and everything else needed is compactly packed and ready for direct use. The workshop leader prints in the exhibition for or with the visitors. All the drums have master foils that remain the same for the duration of the exhibition. Each visitor can choose two colours to be printed on top of each other. The corresponding drums are then inserted, the paper stamped, numbered and then printed. When the print leaves the machine, the person can take it with them.
The prints can also be further customised and personalised. Two benches and a table with stickers and pens invite people to stay and think about the social issues addressed in the prints.
Next to coming together and reflecting on our coexistence, the project focuses on storytelling in the form of modular illustrations. The Riso is used for this in its directness, accessibility, speed and aesthetic conciseness.

In the first exhibition, the prints dealt with the major theme of ‘How do we want to live together?’. The drawings provide food for thought on this question from a personal and local perspective. On display are hidden object pictures whose layers are divided thematically (plants, animals, people, vehicles, buildings, objects) on the drums. One level alone does not tell much, but in combination, new interactions and moments arise that tell stories. In terms of topic, for example, the climate crisis and the local proposal to build a city canal or the culture of remembrance and the much-discussed use of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds are addressed.

For the second time, “Die Prima Press” was shown at the group exhibition “Debüt” in the former Galeria Kaufhof building in Nuremberg. This time, there was no printing on site, out of solidarity with fellow exhibitors. The protest was directed against the censorship of anti-fascist art for fear of right-wing forces.
Instead, the combinations for the prints in the second edition could be selected and ordered online. These were created in collaboration with six artists (Maja Schlerf↗, Mark Sauter↗, Elias Paquay-Bäumler↗, Julian Stampfer↗, Lucy Cramer↗, Jakob Dettinger↗) each of whom designed a layer of color. Each person was given a question on the theme of “space.” They were completely free to decide how to address the content and which technique to use. During the design process, they also did not know what the other layers would look like. This resulted in unexpected moments of creative and thematic overlaps.

There is also a poster series that provides information on related topics. It tells the story of the Riso printing process, introduces the poet and namesake of this project, Diane DiPrima, and provides information about the contemporary relevance of the printing process.

photos 1-7, 9-11, 13, 14, 16 by Mily Meyer↗

font used in posters: ALT Maria Clara by ALT.tf↗