SAGA 88TH ANNUAL MEMBERS EXHIBITION

Dear Members, Friends and Supporters,

As the new president of SAGA, it is with great pleasure that I present our 88th Annual Members Exhibition at The Old Print Shop in its new location at 49 West 24th Street, New York City.

I will start by welcoming our 21 incredible new members and by thanking Robert Newman, third generation owner of The Old Print Sho, and his staff for this wonderful opportunity. With his support and wise advice, Robert has been instrumental in keeping our mission alive for decades. Many thanks to Kim Conaty, Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawings and Prints at The Whitney Museum of American Art for jurying our 88th Annual Members Exhibition.  I also would like to thank our ex-president DeAnn Prosia and our Council for their work towards making this show possible and our members, friends, and supporters for believing in our purpose.

Earlier this year, SAGA and the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve collaborated on an exhibition with awards sponsored by The Print Club of Cleveland and jurying by Dr. Emily J. Peters, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Cleveland Museum of Art. We are grateful for strengthening relations with these printmaking communities, since an important part of our history is connected to the work and innovation of print artists in that region. Along with our council members, DeAnn Prosia had the vision of forming a network of members around the country that would enable us to show in different regions and allow greater representation of our membership. Thanks to her and to our enthusiastic regional members for setting this vision in motion and promoting SAGA beyond the northeast.

The last few years have been exciting, challenging and filled with opportunities for us. Our Executive Committee began revising our operations and making strategic updates to improve our logistics. Coming up this fall, we are happy to share SAGA’s new website, a place to serve our members and promote their work. This reimagined platform will help us grow, contact prospective members and new audiences, and make public some of our 108 years of archives.

Another major project undertaken this past year is our newly transformed gallery in Union Square. In 1979, we moved from an office at the National Academy of Design to a skylit studio in Union Square which served for many years as SAGA’s office and storage space. Today, after many improvements, our new gallery has already shown four exhibitions including the most recent, the 2nd Annual Mini Gems Print Exhibition. As an open call, Mini Gems takes on the challenge of spreading the word about SAGA and printmaking while providing an exceptional venue in NYC for members and prospective members. SAGA Gallery will continue to grow and offer new options for solo and group shows, workshops, talks, and other exciting programming.

We look forward to continuing to promote a diverse scope of printmakers in the USA while deepening SAGA’s inclusivity and sustainability.

Enjoy The Show!

Diego Briceno,

President of SAGA

Juror

Kim Conaty is the Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawings and Prints at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In addition to overseeing the management and growth of the Whitney’s collection of drawings and prints, she has organized several exhibitions there, including Ruth Asawa Through Line (2023); Edward Hopper’s New York (2022); Nothing Is So Humble: Prints from Everyday Objects (2020), and Mary Corse: A Survey in Light (2018). Prior to the Whitney, Conaty was Curator at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University and Assistant Curator at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and Clark Fellowship, Conaty holds a Ph.D. in the History of Art from the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, and a Masters degree from Williams College.