Meet Jacques Bidon
Artist. Printer. Educator. Activist.
Jacques is known as a master printmaking expert.
Born in Haiti to Maud and Raynold, Bidon is an artist and writer. He spent his teenage years exploring the world of letterpress, offset, and the process of printmaking.
“When I found out what I could do with type and typography and images and how to layer colors so they could look like multiple colors, I was hooked.”
He spent over three decades working as a commercial printer in Connecticut. From commerical printing, Jacques shifted his career to pursue more artist work and relocated to Rhode Island.
Using his knowledge of this craft and his unique artistic eye to create works of his own and to collaborate with his fellow artists, he spent the next decade of his career working at AS220, a local community arts organization, where he established their letterpress print shop. Jacques taught workshops and mentored many amateur and professional artists on the art of printmaking.
Jacques has become a valued fixture in the local arts community. He continues to work part time as an instructor and mentor at AS220’s Community Print Shop and is involved in RISD’s Teaching + Learning in Art + Design (TLAD) department and their Project Open Door program which provides under-resourced youth in the greater Providence area with free art and design programming.
Today, he is the owner of the Bidon Community Print & Design Studio, a local space where learning and collaboration can bridge the gap between the arts and education in all undervalued communities.
You can find Jacque’s work in RISD’s permanent print collection.
He has been featured in GoLocalProv and Rhode Island Monthly.
Jacques at his brother’s print shop in New Haven, Connecticut
Youth Education
Jacques is actively involved in the Empowerment Factory , a non-profit organization dedicated to giving children the skills they need to lead happier, healthier, more empowered lives. The organization primarily serves students in Title I schools in Rhode Island’s urban core cities, focusing on three areas of development: creativity, self-esteem, and civic pride.
Jacques is also an active member of Reciprocity Rhode Island, a collective of people and organizations committed to creating a new educational reality for our young people and families that respects and leverages cultural capital, contributes to our community, and views our youth as future leaders.
“My hope is that these prints of historical figures and quotes pertaining to what’s going on today can be used as an educational tool in schools throughout RI. I believe with the right words and some beautiful layering of colors I can brighten someone’s day. I believe in the power of print.”