We have already started collecting material of historical value related to printing heritage of Bengal. Some people have generously offered us their collections. We will keep collecting such material in the coming years and take appropriate measures to conserve them in a scientific way, so that they become an invaluable resource in future.
With an aim to educate the younger generation about the printing heritage of Bengal, our educational programmes are offered as part of curriculum in various educational institutes. These modules have direct connection with their syllabus and offer the students a vocational skill or knowledge which helps them build a career in the field. We collaborate with eminent educational institutes for this.
We possess material and expertise for rigorously researched publications. We are working to publish thematic special editions, reprints of rare books, occasional research papers and ephemera related to printing heritage of Bengal from time to time. Since we are closely associated with printing, publishing such material will help us fulfil our desire to bridge the gap of academic resource and create awareness at the same time.
We aim to conduct 2-3 workshops every year for various sections of people who are either part of the printing industry, want to learn a new skill to generate livelihood or generally interested in the subject. These workshops are structured to provide the participants an opportunity to work directly with experts of the field, learn from them, upgrade their knowledge and upskill their craft.
We have realised not enough people familiar with the actual sites through which Bengal’s printing heritage has come this far. And nothing motivates people better about a subject than a physical experience. We have the required research in place. We wish to train young people in conducting tours through printing heritage sites of Bengal. We have already marked out some routes of varied intensity and duration. This is part of our effort to create awareness and offer a mode of livelihood generation for the people involved with this field.
We aim to organise serious discussions on subjects related to printing and heritage. We are aiming to organise at least one annual seminar, which will be longer in duration and will have multiple panels discussing current situation of printing and publishing. These can also be stand-alone shorter duration webinars, given the reach of the format and the world wide expertise we can invite. These will help us create awareness and a robust atmosphere of knowledge exchange in the subject.
We want contemporary artists, researchers and enthusiasts to use the old machinery and printed material in our collection and create new works. We wish to offer short and midterm residencies for participants chosen through an open call. At the end of their residency, we will organise temporary exhibitions to showcase the outcome.
