Pictured: The artists of SARTQ pose for a photo at the 2022 Print Party.

The annual SARTQ Print Party returns this Saturday, with the Sarasota-based artist collective taking over the parking lot of the CoreSRQ community center just off Bahia Vista for its flagship screenprinting event, inviting the public out to learn a bit about the artistic process and wear their love of local art quite literally on their sleeves. Running from 11am to 4pm, the event is family-friendly and includes food trucks and music from a live DJ. “It’s a great opportunity to get out, enjoy a couple hours of beautiful weather, some great food and fun music,” says SARTQ co-director Julie Kanapaux, “all while supporting local artists.”

With 14 member-artists participating this year, attendees will have 14 new and original designs to choose from, each available for printing on whatever bit of clothing, fabric or paper an attendee wants to bring. T-shirts are the norm but, over the years, the artists of SARTQ have seen just about everything. Tablecloths, towels, aprons and underwear, 19th-century canvas sails, funeral shrouds and old pizza boxes—the customer is always right, and the only requirement is that it has to fit in the silkscreen.

Designs run the gamut this year, from the stark abstract stylings of Ellen Kantro’s black-and-white “Box” to the in-your-face messaging of Dana Laag’s “Give Me Liberty,” emphasizing the Patrick Henry quotation at the tip of a knife. Print Party regular Javo Rodriguez showcases the oddball illustrative imagination that has become his signature with “Still Developing,” a slightly misshapen teddy bear sporting a crown and flowing cape, while Grace Howl embraces the power of minimalism, evoking the portrait of a woman with only a few slashes of hot pink ink in “A Trace of Herself.” All 14 designs are available for viewing on the SARTQ website, each available only in the color shown, so attendees are encouraged to take a peek and plan their prints beforehand. Everything will look good on white, says Kanapaux, but the green, blue, red and gold inks selected by some of the artists provide opportunity for all sorts of more inspired color-matching.

And that sort of artistic experimentation is what Kanapaux really wants to spread through SARTQ community events, such as the Print Party. “It’s the chance to bring the creative process to the community,“ she says. “To not just give people something to take home and enjoy but to feel like they’re part of the creative process.” And with each artist attending their own station, smearing the ink on Print Row, as they say (or should), and hand-making the prints for each customer, the community has a chance to engage the artist and learn more about their individual process—and maybe even try their own hand at screenprinting something. “If they want to, they should go for it!” says Kanapaux. “Art is not an impossible thing.”

The SARTQ Print Party is this Saturday, November 4, from 11am to 4pm at the CoreSRQ community center on S Euclid Avenue. Prints are $10 each or three for $20. White t-shirts will be available for purchase on-site. To view this year’s Print Party artist designs, visit the SARTQ website below.

Pictured: The artists of SARTQ pose for a photo at the 2022 Print Party.

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