Printed in Norfolk has finished now and the boxes of books and other works that made their way to England from Ballybeg in County Tipperary are now sitting on a kitchen table in Docking in Norfolk, waiting to be collected and sorted through.

We have made some wonderful new friends – in Norwich Neil Powell, Louisa Milsome, Tom Simmonds and Sarah Beare, in Sheffield Laura Sillars, Judith Harry, Jane Faram, Kira Askaroff, Charlotte Morgan, Joanna Loveday and Jen Smith, in Shandy Hall Patrick and Christine Wildgust, Eleanor Camille-Wood and Helen Williams and, at the Poetry Library in London Chris McCabe, Pascal O’Loughlin and Chrissie Williams.

We have also lost a friend and colleague, Martin Rogers of RGAP, who died just as Printed in Norfolk came to an end. Martin had been closely involved in planning the exhibition tour but, from the summer, his illness meant he could no longer be actively involved.

Simon, Erica, Helen and many of the artists and poets featured in Printed in Norfolk attended a celebration of his life in Derby on 14 December.  He is greatly missed and plans are being made to secure the future of RGAP’s artists’ books archive and the Small Publishers’ Fair – both of which are Martin’s creations.

Printed in Norfolk took the work of Coracle Press to audiences in Norwich, London, Sheffield and Coxwold in North Yorkshire.The exhibition was complicated to install. As well as vitrines and wall-mounted works there were several vinyls and a small neon, an Envelope Interior to install, shelves of ephemera and postcards, and reading room areas for people to handle and read artists’ and reference books.

In each of our venues, the exhibition fell in to place beautifully. It was seen by over 9,700 people. We liked that The Guardian’s Robert Clark called the exhibition ‘timely and inspiring’. We also liked these blogs by Liverpool-based exhibition organiser and writer Linda Hopwood, by book artist and lecturer Les Bicknell and by creative art museum interpretation professional and PhD researcher Alex Woodall.

“There are many things still to be done with folded paper and twine.”
Simon Cutts, Norwich 22 March 2012