(31 Mar 2018) LEAD IN:
Scores of new digital media resources have led to traditional printmaking being left behind in many countries.  
In Jordan, one artist is trying to revive the old art, setting up a studio and offering classes taught using non digital processes.

STORY-LINE:
Hakim Jamain gently places a zinc plaque on an old printing press.
Slowly, he turns its bars and a few seconds later, a fresh print appears. He grabs the print and carefully hangs it to dry.
Jamain opened Bayt al Graphic three months ago to revive the old art of printmaking in Jordan. An expert printmaker, Jamain has been an artist for more than 20 years.
"In the last years, a group of my artist friends and I, we have had a feeling that the art of printmaking is dying in the Arab region and almost in the world, and I announced that that I had returned to Jordan to found Bayt al Graphic," Jamain says.
Jamain says the arrival of new technology has steered artists away from traditional printmaking. This prompted him to found Bayt al Graphic to reinvigorate this almost forgotten art.
The art laboratory is located in Jabal al-Weibdeh, one of the oldest neighbourhoods of the Jordanian capital, Amman.
In his studio, Jamain works on printmaking that respects the concept of edition, which means that he makes only a specific number of editions with each print.
He uses old printing techniques and prints onto wood, zinc and linoleum. His work also respects the environment and protects the artists' health, as he uses non-toxic chemicals.
Since he opened his studio he has been receiving students who are eager to learn or improve their printmaking skills.
Sara Rashdan, a young artist and printmaking student, was a student of Jamain at the University of Jordan, in Amman. When she found out that he returned to Jordan to open Bayt al Graphic, she was pleased and decided to resume her printmaking training.
"He doesn't hold back, he teaches me everything, everything he knows, and he makes me want to learn more, want to experiment, and so when you have a space like that, that allows you to experiment, think, use all the techniques possible, then you are obviously going to keep on coming back," she says.
Jamain also teaches other art skills at Bayt al Graphic, such as painting, drawing and conceptual design and has approximately 10 students in total that come to his studio each week.
Bayt al Graphic is not only a place for students to learn, it is also a space for artists to gather and discuss the state of art in Jordan and the world.
Hussein Da'aseh, an artist, art critique and friend of Jamain, often goes to the studio to meet him and other fellow artists. He believes that Jamain's work is essential in the printmaking field and in the region.
"This house will carry the name of Jordan in this field, through the relations that will be consolidated through this house and its atmosphere," Da'aseh said. "It will also provide a new understanding of the printmaking work, and the importance of these canvases, of all these types of carvings and how close it is to the people and how much people need it."
Jamain is hopeful that printmaking, even if it has been slightly forgotten, will not disappear.
"A lot of youth and artists stepped away from printing specifically. But I personally think that the coming years will be the years of the return of old art, and I don't think it will vanish because it is an important and genuine thing," he says.
He hopes that Bayt al Graphic will help revive this old art and that the studio will become a reference for all printmaking artists in the Arab region.

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