Pick Me Up Graphic Arts Festival

Now in its sixth year, the UK’s annual contemporary graphic arts festival 'Pick Me Up' returns with the best of new illustration, graphic design and related disciplines to inspire and delight – featuring a whole host of different working processes and techniques ranging from traditional screen-printing to animation, risograph printing to paper craft.

The original pieces produced throughout the festival, plus limited edition prints and accessories, will be available for purchase with prices ranging between £5 and £200.

A diverse mix of 12 young, international graphic artists, carefully chosen by a panel of respected industry professionals and festival curators as ‘ones-to-watch’ over the coming year, will all be creating new work especially for Pick Me Up. Selects artists in 2015 will include French artist Thomas Lamadieu’s Sky Art project, 2014 graduate Luke Evan’s electro-print project Xero, and intricate 3D paper craft by Hattie Newman.

Established graphic art galleries, studios and collectives will gather at Pick Me Up to each create a unique space within the festival. Here, they will make new work onsite and showcase complete projects. Key international guests for 2015 are Melbourne’s own Supergraph and multi-disciplinary collective Studio Fludd. Newcomers include screen-printing studio Peckham Print Studio, animation studio Moth Collective and graphic-inspired clothing designers Lazy Oaf.

Located at the heart of the festival will be a vibrant daily programme of over a hundred debates, presentations and demonstrations. Discussions will explore not only current work and trends but also address issues facing graphic art communities in years to come. Particular highlights for 2015 include the UK premiere of thought-provoking documentary Made You Look, ‘Show and Tell’ with this year’s Selects artists, and magazine editors sharing their opinions on what makes great work.