about ESPA, the
Edmonton Small Press Association
The Edmonton Small Press Association (ESPA) is a registered non-profit arts society, grassroots and volunteer-operated since 1998, and is committed to fostering the awareness, development and dissemination of independent small press ventures in Canada and beyond. Under a community cultural development disposition, all ESPA initiatives are undertaken with the intent of fostering the notion that small press initiatives are viable artistic expressions and valuable tools for positive social change. As independent media and arts activists, ESPA encourages active citizenship and the full integration of the arts into our communities, thereby rejecting the systemic approach taken by the traditional arts establishment that has historically separated Oartist¹ and Oaudience¹ into separate classes. ESPA is a resource network for independent producers from all walks of life and skill levels, fostering the "D.I.Y or Die" philosophy (do-it-yourself), and their mottos are "People before Profits, Collaboration before Competition" and "Become the Media."
In addition to producing the biennial North of Nowhere Expo, the ESPA produces an annual Fair Trade Fair & Film Fest in partnership with TransFair Canada, and also produces the Our Voice Street Newspaper, an active-citizenship project which focuses on poverty, homelessness and community media, and is sold by low-income and homeless people as an alternative source of income. ESPA's Small Press Library & Archive is represented by over 700 artists and collectives from 33 countries, and is housed on the 6th Floor of the Stanley Milner Library in downtown Edmonton. ESPA also operates an Infoshop and tables at several community events year-round.
Meeting Schedule
Our meetings are at our office on the sixth foor of the Stanley A. Milner Library downtown.
Currently we are on a meeting schedule of roughly once a month.
Website
edmontonsmallpress.org
More information
Lyn X, contact \ at \ edmontonsmallpress.org
House of ESPA,
434-9236