Part of our arts heritage lives to print another day

YOU could be forgiven for not knowing that in the heart of Fitzroy stands one of Australia's leading centres of print making, a cherished, historic hub used by a who's who of Australian artists, from Jeffrey Smart to Shaun Gladwell, Davida Allen to Emily Floyd.

The Australian Print Workshop, in Gertrude Street, has been easy to overlook, particularly in recent years. As Gertrude Street transformed itself from seedy thoroughfare to one of Melbourne's haughtiest shopping strips, the print workshop kept humming along, its inner workings concealed by dusty Venetian blinds that made it look as though it might be a gentlemen's club, a stubborn remnant from the street of old.

But it was so much more than that as is obvious when you're inside viewing the marvellous printing machinery, shelves stacked with old Bavarian limestone slabs used for lithographs, and walls adorned with prints such as Jan Senberg's sprawling renditions of Melbourne or Kimberley artist Lily Karadada's eerie wandjinas, created on copper plates in her community of Kalumburu, and then processed, proofed and printed in Melbourne. And yet, four years ago, this national treasure, if one may be so effusive, was threatened with extinction.

The building's long-time landlord died and his children needed to sell. A large 19th century corner building, opposite the buzzing Builders Arms Hotel, the site was prime real estate, the sort that has developers drooling. Except that the workshop's 16-year director, Anne Virgo, wasn't about to give them the opportunity. Virgo was adamant that she would save the workshop for posterity by buying the two-storey building. Established in 1981, the print workshop had inhabited the building since the late 1980s.

"Everyone thought it's not possible, it's too much money, you don't have the contacts, you don't have the big endowment fund, you don't have the fund-raising staff, etc, etc. And basically I said, 'No, bugger that,' " says Virgo.

She approached the landlord's children and asked whether she could have first option to buy.

"I told them I couldn't go to public auction, that we didn't have the money. They got two commercial valuations . . . so that was a bit of an agonising wait, and when I heard the word, it was fantastic. And then I thought, 'Oh my God, we've got to try to find the money.' "

Remarkably, she raised the money in six months. Although reluctant to reveal exact figures, Virgo says the site cost almost $2 million and on top of this, Virgo then had to find another $1.5 million to $2 million to renovate the ageing structure.

"We were able to buy the building outright, and do this major renovation, through the generosity of Melbourne's philanthropic sector," Virgo says. "It wouldn't have been possible without the mentoring of the benefactors who really gave me the confidence to say, 'Yes I can do this.' They were all terrific."

Benefactors included the Sidney Myer Fund, Ian Potter Foundation, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, ANZ Trustees, Collie Print Trust and the Gordon Darling Foundation. Some supporters donated rare old printers a Columbian press was given by the partner of the late artist Ian Gardiner and the Griffin family donated an Albion press in memory of the linocut artist Murray Griffin. Leading Melbourne designers also assisted, donating furniture for the new visiting artist's studio.

Tomorrow, the rejuvenated workshop opens to the public with an exhibition of prints by 16 major Australian artists , including Rick Amor, Louise Weaver, Tim Maguire and indigenous artists such as Kitty Kantilla, Rosie Karadada, Pedro Wonaeamirri and Butcher Janangoo Cherel. The exhibition has been selected from 119 prints that were acquired from the workshop last year by the British Museum a mark of the workshop's international standing.

"There's so much that happens in this building that people out there don't know about. That's our big agenda this year, to let people know," says Virgo.

That should prove easier now that the Venetians have gone, replaced by a sparkling glass shop-front that flaunts the workshop's new gallery.

"Everybody said we couldn't do it . . . I just feel like saying, 'Well actually, you can.' "

The Australian Print Workshop opens to the public tomorrow from noon to 5pm.