Faísca was created in June 2015 in Belo Horizonte, capital of  Minas Gerais state. For the International Riso Festival, in addition to having the participation of Brazilian specialized in Riso studios and of publishers from around the country, the program featured graphic artists, designers, writers and researchers, participating in activities such as workshops, lectures, debates, videozines, interviews, in both video and printed publications by faísca lab, as well as sending zines available on the festival’s web shop.

Through the partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2020, Faísca had in its program some of the worldwide references of Riso printing, as well as participants from other fields, such as cinema.

Guests:

• Astrid Florentinus, Jan Dirk de Wilde and Joyce Guley, from Knust (Nijmegen), pioneer group in the use of Riso for creative purposes and masters in stencil printing;
• Jo Frenken, artist who organizes Magical Riso and coordinator of the Printing & Publishing Lab at Jan van Eyck Academie (Maastricht);
• Ivana Smudja, who lives and works in Nijmegen, director of the documentary “Knust – the pioneers of Riso printing”;
• Ellen Kocken (Nijmegen), producer of the documentary and founder of the film agency Dziga;
• Miek Zwamborn, artist from the Netherlands, who currently lives in the Isle of Mull, in Scotland.

Activities:

• Interview with Knust;
• Interview with Jo Frenken;
• Brazilian premiere of the documentary “Knust – the pioneers of Riso printing”;
• Live broadcast from Knust headquarters, presenting the interview with Ivana Smudja and Ellen Kocken, with a virtual tour with Joyce Guley around the Extrapool building;
• Debate “Artists’ books in Riso: Brazil-Netherlands Connection;
• Collaborative process between Knust, Prumo and Faísca: Ko Zine “Fúria”, by Bruno Rios and Matheus Ferreira (Prumo), an artwork based on the visual identity that the duo created for Faísca, printed and published by Knust;
• Video-workshop on the “Fúria” process;
• Broadcast of Magical Riso with simultaneous translation into Portuguese: the main event in the world focused on Riso Art, held virtually from 1st to 4th December, organized by Jo Frenken from the Jan van Eyck Academie, was attended by masters of risography and artists from various parts of the planet, among them other Dutch participants: Miek Zwamborn, Sigrid Calon and Margriet Thissen, screen printing specialist at the Jan van Eyck Academie Printing and Publishing Lab.
• “Centum Nec Plura: the curiosity that connects us” interview, with Jo Frenken & Miek Zwamborn.

Several guests from Germany or Germany-based participated in Faísca International Riso Festival (2020-2021), through the support from Goethe-Institut, which promotes knowledge of the German language abroad and international cultural exchange. The guests were:

• Die Brueder Publishing / Lucky Punch Press – Malte Brenneisen

Participation in the Studios series, with a visit to the studio and an interview.

• Vetro Editions – Luca Bendandi

Participation in an interview and in the debate on publishing.

• John Z. Komourki

Participation in an interview, presentation of a video essay on Riso and cohosting of the episode with Die Brueder Publishing, part of the Studio Series.

• Nina Prader

Cohosted the episode with Die Brueder Publishing, part of the the Studio Series.

The institutional support of the French Embassy to Faísca 24, through the Service of Cooperation and Cultural Action for the State of Minas Gerais, has made feasible one interview in French with Portuguese subtitles, and the broadcasting, in Portuguese, of Magical Riso IV, which had the participation of the publishing house and Riso studio Quintal Éditions, from Paris, France.

In 2020, the Studios Series showcased the small press and Riso studio Ediciones El Fuerte, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cecilia Arbolave, who is a journalist, editor and producer from Argentina, and has been living in Brazil for over a decade, also participated in the festival.

Faísca invited, in 2020, the small press Pupi Club, from Santiago, to the Studios Series.

In partnership with Jerónimo Velásquez, from Perro Centinela and Primer Ocaso (Bogota, Colombia), and Mateus Acioli, from Livros Fantasma (São Paulo, Brazil), Faísca has produced a series of three interviews with guests who represent Latin American studios such as Eva Parra, from the specialized in Riso printing studio Calipso Press (Cali, Colombia) and with Valeria Giraldo, from the printing, publishing and design studio Relámpago (Bogota, Colombia).

In partnership with Jerónimo Velásquez, from Perro Centinela and Primer Ocaso (Bogota, Colombia), and Mateus Acioli, from Livros Fantasma (São Paulo, Brazil), Faísca has produced a series of three interviews with guests who represent Latin American studios, such as Terminal Ediciones, from Quito, Ecuador.

In partnership with Jerónimo Velásquez, from Perro Centinela and Primer Ocaso (Bogota, Colombia), and Mateus Acioli, from Livros Fantasma (São Paulo, Brazil), Faísca has produced a series of three interviews with guests who represent Latin American studios such as Oswaldo García, from Gold Rain (Queretaro, Mexico). Faísca also broadcasted, in Portuguese, the 2020 edition of Magical Riso, with the participation of Gato Negro Ediciones, from Mexico City.

Faísca featured, in 2020, an interview with George Wietor (Grand Rapids, Michigan), founder of Issue Press, which is a studio and small press specialized in Riso printing, and creator of the collaborative portal stencil.wiki. For the Studios Series in the same year, one of the guests was Travis Shaffer, born in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania and an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, in Columbia. Faísca has also broadcasted, with simultaneous translation to Portuguese, Magical Riso IV, which had the participation of Endless Editions, from New York.