2018
Built by JKN OilTools in Batley, the People Powered Press was originally created for These Northern Types and is the largest letterpress printing press of its kind in the world.
It was created to amplify local voices and words worth spreading, working with community groups through writing and printing workshops, to create prints for exhibition in the heart of the groups' communities – outdoors and in.
The first type made for the press is named Graft in honour of the team at JKN OilTools, the type is cut from solid steel at 60em (720pt), accompanied by a set of giant feature numerals that come in at 3480pt.
Featuring some seriously giant numerals, the first series of prints from the People Powered Press was We Are The Makers of the World, written by Helen Shay and Bee Smith for These Northern Types.
Led by poet Peter Spafford and in collaboration with East Leeds FM, a group of young writers from East Leeds created a series of phrases around the theme of 'being heard'.
The participants visited us in the studio over two weeks to print their posters on the People Powered Press. The posters were then displayed in East Leeds, and in two locations in the heart of the city. Articulate Your Silence was created as a four-part piece, fading from almost nothing to solid silver.
With thanks to Pop Art Media Group.
2019
On 15 April 2019, with the help of some friends, Split and JKN OilTools set a new Guinness World Record! The People Powered Press was recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest letterpress printing press of its kind in the world.
Pictured here are Oli Bentley of design studio Split and Ian Plant of JKN OilTools, Batley.
As part of 2019's Hear My Voice festival in Barnsley, the press was invited to run writing and printing workshops with local community groups, creating a series of collaborative poems and prints.
The works were displayed in an exhibition at Elsecar Heritage Centre's Ironworks, alongside the first piece by the People Powered Press' soon-to-be Poet in Residence, Antony Dunn.
Change Start(ed) Here: a new work installed at Wentworth Woodhouse, Rotherham.
Created in response to the climate crisis, the prints formed the entrance walk to the Gaia installation by artist Luke Jerram, part of the We Wonder Noir festival in November 2019.
2020
To mark International Women's Day we collaborated with Leeds-based charity Skippko to create a series of letterpress prints.
The designs were a recreation of original placard design from the suffrage movement. They use phrases written and printed by participants in a series of workshops.
2020
THANK YOU / TA
A dirty great big TA from the People Powered Press
These prints began as an open edition in lockdown which, combined with some of our other charity prints, raised over £1000 for a range of charities across the first 12 months of COVID19 and were also given away for free to local NHS staff, carers & care services.
The letterpress print edition continues today alongside the greetings cards using the TA design as a fundraising project for the non-profit People Powered Press, with 100% of the money from sales going to support our work.
