In the 1960s and 1970s, Latin America experienced a printmaking boom. Prints allowed artists a faster, more economical artistic production and helped them open a new market in which collectors with limited budgets could acquire works by established and emerging artists. Printmaking also became a far-reaching medium for divergent ideas, for articulating issues that were difficult to mobilize through other more traditional artistic languages and that had little reception in the micro-spheres of art markets. This growing interest and the visible legitimization of printmaking translated into private initiatives such as the Pan-American Graphic Arts program (AGPA), led by Cartón de Colombia, who, inspired by the Mexican model they had previously developed, decided to replicate the idea in Colombia in 1971. The innovative collecting project basically consisted of creating annual portfolios that gathered original prints by Latin American artists — later they invited global artists — to distribute them in mass circulation formats. This effort, combined with the First American Biennial of Graphic Arts (1971) in Cali, sought to counteract the exclusion of printmaking from national artistic circuits, where it was understood as a secondary or minor language. This initiative not only showcased the quality of contemporary printmaking but also strengthened the ties between Colombian artists and the international scene, demonstrating the need for and impact of systematic efforts to present and circulate a democratic, mature, and diverse form of artistic language.
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