Itazu Litho-Grafik： Workshop @ Akademija, Beograd SERVIA

Five days after coming home from Australia I caught a plane to Beograd via Moscow. In Serbia November 2006 is "The Month of Japanese Culture" with many programs related to Japan. Ms.Akikawa of NPO Japan-Yugo Art Project has organized two events "Japanese New Year Cards Exhibition" and "Lithography workshop In Beograd" to fit in this month of Japan. She contacted Akademija of Faculty of Fine Art Belglade to share the workshop. And she appointed some artists who lives there and gave them a lithographic aluminium plate and crayon to draw.

Two days before the workshop I came to Akademija to try a trial print, but then find out that they normally print on stone but on plate. I had to look for some materials for plate printing: shellack for brinting base, Nitro Razredivac for cleaning plate, and etc. I took phosphoric gum etch and shop mix ink with me from Tokyo. They have a beautiful lithography press, which is more than 100 years old.
The workshop went fine as many stulffs/students from University, artists, TV crew, and an embassy attache came to see me printing. I was processing the palte artists drew and printed 3 proofs.

Akademija is the print workshop, which is attached to Faculty of Fine Art Belgrade, publishing many artists. On the ground floor it has a nice gallery space and in the basement floor there are framing workshop and printing shop. Dragan Coha prints on lithography and intaglio and Tamara Pajkovic does screen printing. They have really helped me for printing in the shop and without their support this project was not possible. It was very good experience for me to be at Akademija to watch these two printers collaborating with artists too.