With the invention of movable type during the fifteenth century, printed material became broadly accessible throughout Europe and beyond. However, the earliest forms of print as an art object and communication tool extend into the histories of earlier non-western civilizations. The administrative and ornamental cylinder seals of Mesopotamia, decorative fabric prints found on linens in Egypt, and woodblock prints used for Buddhist texts in China and, later, Japan are just some examples of printmaking’s significance throughout history. Influenced by these early practices, the evolution of printmaking has been a negotiation between past and present, where centuries-old techniques intersect with contemporary creativity and experimentation.
Printmaking is an art of multiples. Traditional prints, such as etchings, lithographs, or woodcuts, are created via a matrix or template. A printmaker carves an image onto a surface (often wood, linoleum, or metal) before the ink is rolled or wiped onto the matrix. Once inked, a sheet of paper, for example, is pressed against the matrix, absorbing the image through compression, touch, and time. Traditional printmaking is a tactile art form, where carves of varying lengths and depths meet the gentle pull of a print from its wet plate. Yet, variables like pressure, moisture, and ink density resist complete control by the artist. Although a single matrix can yield hundreds, even thousands, of reproductions, no prints are exactly alike. Subtle variations turn prints into both a copy and a singular object, each a close facsimile of the last, yet never quite the same.
After the invention of photography in the nineteenth century, traditional printmaking methods were no longer the only reproduction tool available. As a result, artistic experiments with printmaking techniques flourished. Screenprinting, which traces its earliest forms back hundreds of years in East Asia, evolved in the twentieth century with the advent of photo-reactive chemicals and machines. These processes enabled the transfer of images or text with greater precision and efficiency. Later in the century, inkjet and laser printing, initially developed for commercial and office use, were embraced by artists due to their high-resolution outputs, color manipulation features, and ability to layer and scale compositions. With digital techniques, in which the physical matrix is replaced with a digital file, artists can produce near-identical prints artists continue to discover and embrace variation, intentional or otherwise, through misregistration, material intervention, or chance encounters.
This dance of old and new, traditional and digital, inspired the establishment of the International Print Biennale, Yerevan, the only international large-scale visual arts program in Armenia and the surrounding region. Founded in 2017 by KulturDialog Armenien, the Biennale has become an important cultural event that fosters critical dialogues and establishes long-lasting partnerships. Every edition of the Biennale celebrates both technique and imagination, uniting artists who are masters, storytellers, and visionaries pushing the medium’s limits.
A significant anniversary, the Jubilee Fifth International Print Biennale, Yerevan 2025, recognizes five cycles of growth, collaboration, and artistry. Featuring 423 works made by 213 artists from 48 countries, this year’s Biennale demonstrates a range of contemporary printmaking, from etchings and linocuts to hybrid techniques that combine traditional and digital processes. On display, one can see the power of printmaking, brought together by an extraordinary group of intergenerational, international practitioners.
Since its inaugural edition in 2017, the International Print Biennale, Yerevan, has blossomed into an important regional platform committed to the art of contemporary printmaking.
Over the years, the Biennale has welcomed and recognized over one thousand established and emerging talents. Each edition features numerous techniques, styles, and perspectives that spark intercultural dialogue and collaboration.
The following statistics illustrate the Biennale’s reach, trends, and commitment to artistic excellence. Including the number of submissions and participating artists, the nations most represented, and each edition’s previous winners, these figures highlight the Biennale’s growth and impact on the global printmaking community.
Winners:
Additional Prizes and Diplomas:
Winners:
Additional Prizes and Diplomas:
Winners:
Additional Prizes and Diplomas:
Winners:
In 2023, the Fourth International Print Biennale, Yerevan, hosted the First International Printmaking Symposium titled “Armenia: A Center of Printmaking in the Region.” The symposium welcomed over 50 artists, educators, and cultural leaders from 30 countries who gathered to present and discuss various printmaking techniques, many of which UNESCO recognizes as elements of intangible cultural heritage. Through lectures and masterclasses, participants shared their creative practices and teaching methods, generating meaningful exchanges that cultivated an atmosphere of inspiration and curiosity.
The Second International Printmaking Symposium, titled "From Print to Pixel: Art, Artificial Intelligence, and Industry," builds directly on that spirit of inquiry but turns its attention toward transformation. While the inaugural symposium honored technique and regional leadership, this convening explores how the arts work through the shifting terrain of digital technologies.
Artists have long embraced technology as a means of expanding, disrupting, and transforming their practices, just as technologists have fashioned works of striking visual and conceptual ingenuity. For example, in the twelfth century, the inventor and engineer Al-Jazari created elaborate devices including water clocks and automated musicians, that blended technological utility and storytelling; during the Renaissance, Antonio Canaletto and other masters utilized the camera obscura to produce careful architectural sketches and paintings; hundreds of years later, László Moholy-Nagy integrated photography and industrial materials into the Bauhaus vision of art-technology unity; and in the 1960s, Nam June Paik, often called the father of video art, manipulated television monitors and broadcast systems to critique mass media.
Today, artificial intelligence and machine learning have continued this dialogue between art and technology, encouraging the same level of creative curiosity that has driven artists for centuries – to discover, adapt, and interrogate the boundaries of materiality, authorship, and perception.
Subsequently, questions arise. How do artists mediate the tension between craftsmanship, traditionally valued for its labor intensiveness and/or unique aura, alongside automation, which delivers new possibilities but risks eroding human agency? How do we define originality and authenticity at a moment when artworks can be endlessly replicated or generated by machines? What happens to materiality when ink and paper give way to pixels and data? When an AI-generated piece is exhibited or sold at auction, who owns it? And what are the ecological costs of a digital art economy?
These questions create space for necessary critical discussions that investigate and reaffirm this cycle of adaptation and reinvention. At the threshold of a new artistic epoch, "From Print to Pixel: Art, Artificial Intelligence, and Industry" presents a timely forum that explores historical foundations, the challenges of the present, and future possibilities. Rooted in the traditions of printmaking, although extending to other mediums and forms of artmaking, this symposium brings together artists, scholars, and industry professionals whose work and ideas are shaped by a multitude of disciplines and geographies, guiding the evolution of contemporary art through this intersection of tradition and technological change.
Ultimately, the symposium will continue to build upon a shared belief in the evolution of arts and culture, one that connects artists and audiences across mediums, borders, and futures.
| The Jubilee Fifth International Print Biennale, Yerevan 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jubilee Fifth International Print Biennale, Yerevan 2025 Opening Ceremony “HayArt” Centre 7a Mashtots Street Yerevan, 0015 |
05.09.2025 19:00 |
| 2. | Official Awards Ceremony: “HayArt” Centre 7a Mashtots Street Yerevan, 0015 |
09.09.2025 19:00 |
| 3. | The Second International Printmaking Symposium:
“From Print to Pixel: Art, Artificial Intelligence, and Industry” Day 1 “HayArt” Centre 7a Mashtots Street Yerevan, 0015 |
12.09.2025 10:00-16:00 |
| 4. |
The Second International Printmaking Symposium:
“From Print to Pixel: Art, Artificial Intelligence, and Industry” Day 2 “HayArt” Centre 7a Mashtots Street Yerevan, 0015 |
13.09.2025 10:00-16:00 |
| 5. |
Workshop Lithography printmaking workshop held by Marcel Mayers NCA Studio Saryan 31 Yerevan, 0002 |
21.09-27.09 2025 |
| 6. | “Quilts for Dialogue” Moni Hovsepyan, Joe Cunningham A two-person exhibition “HayArt” Centre 7a Mashtots Street Yerevan, 0015 |
03.10-20.10 2025 |
| 7. |
“The Unreliable Ledger" Beirut Printmaking Studio Group Exhibition “HayArt” Centre 7a Mashtots Street Yerevan, 0015 |
07.11-28.11 2025 |
| 8. |
“Visual Letters” A group exhibition curated by VAZO “HayArt” Centre 7a Mashtots Street Yerevan, 0015 |
07.11-28.11 2025 |
| 9. |
Jubilee Fifth International Print Biennale, Yerevan 2025 Closing Ceremony “HayArt” Centre 7a Mashtots Street Yerevan, 0015 |
05.12.2025 19:00 |
Organizing Committee
Jubilee Fifth International Print Biennale, Yerevan 2025
By KulturDialog Armenien
27.08.2025