Elephant Grass Printmakers Society

Elephant Grass Printmakers Society (EGPS) is an artist-run printmaking studio committed to creating a space for printmaking and letterpress in the Annapolis Royal community. Our goal is to expand access to printmaking and letterpress equipment and education in a welcoming studio environment for our members and visiting printmakers. EGPS supports itself through our membership and fundraising efforts. EGPS membership is open to anyone, at any skill level, interested in printmaking; we provide equipment access and opportunities to lead public workshops. EGPS programs outreach workshops and events throughout the year to educate our community about the art of printmaking and connect with print shops and printmakers around the region.

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History

Elephant Grass Printmakers Society was established in 2013 to offer a space for printmakers to share skills, experiences, and work on projects. Our name gives a nod to a type of Norfolk Reed commonly found in the Annapolis Royal area. The story goes, one day a circus train passing through the valley stopped at the Annapolis Royal station to water and walk the elephants on board. A few weeks later, silvery grass over 10ft tall sprouted on the very path taken by the elephants. The grass was since called Elephant Grass by the local community. In truth, it is an introduced plant, used as thatching material by the Acadian settlers farming the region in the 1600s.

In 2020, EGPS formalized as a Non-Profit Society and moved from its original studio in Parker’s Cove, a fishing village on the Bay of Fundy, to downtown Annapolis Royal on the 2nd floor of 240 St. George Street.

Elephant Grass acknowledges we are in Kespukwitk, Mi’kma’ki – the unceded territory and ancestral homeland of the Mi’kmaq Nation. Our relationship is based on a series of Peace and Friendship treaties between the Mi’kmaq Nation and the Crown, dating back to 1725. In Nova Scotia, we recognize, WE are ALL Treaty People.

Board of Directors

• Bonnie Baker
• Sheri Hancock
• Basma Kavanagh
• Bien Mosher
• Katie Prescott
• Susan Tooke
• Janel Warmington