The Print Center and the International Print Center New York have come together to aggregate resources related to print and print culture supporting Black Lives Matter and other social justice causes. This list was born out of the 2020 protests. It is a work in progress. Resources include exhibitions, publications, free/low-cost printing, events, organizations, fundraisers, reading lists, and other initiatives. Please share resources for potential inclusion by emailing info@printcenter.org.
EVENTS/EVENT RECORDINGS
Radical Intersectional Printmakers Guild (RIPG)
Watch the first meeting of RIPG, introducing the group and seeking feedback from potential members on what they want the organization to represent.
FOR/FOUR #5: The Printmakers
Watch Black women printmakers LaToya Hobbs, Jennifer Mack-Watkins, and Tanekeya Word, founding members of Black Women of Print, discuss their work as cultural practitioners, their inspirations and paradigm shifts during these unprecedented times and beyond.
Printmaking for a Social Movement
For Grades 6 – 12, from PBS Learning Media’s Art and Social Justice Collection. Explore political printmaking that inspires, organizes and illustrates a social movement with Oakland-based graphic arts collaborative Dignidad Rebelde.
ORGANIZATIONS
Black Women of Print
A society of Black women printmakers making the narratives and works of Black women printmakers visible.
Printmaking As Resistance
Celebrating printmaking as a form of resistance. Current home of the Printmakers Against Racism project.
Prints for Protest
A diverse group of artists and activists who share the belief that art can be used as a tool for political activism and resistance.
Printers Without Margins
A project by Pickwick Independent Press, a community print shop in Portland, ME, interested in collaborating with individuals and organizations working for social, racial, economic, environmental and gender justice.
Anti-Racist Art Teachers
Working towards removing biases, stereotypes and false narratives in art education.
Towards Utopia
A print sale in solidarity with Black trans people and sex workers. Affordable editions and prints by artists.
READINGS
30 Days of Black American Printmaker History
Created by Sarah Ellis, this ongoing project introduces a Black American Printmaker each day with their artwork, interviews and other references.
Block Prints by African American Women Artists
From the National Museum of American History, this article by Helena E. Wright introduces Black women artists Margaret Taylor Burroughs and Elizabeth Catlett and their works.
Black Printmakers and the WPA
From City University of New York, an essay by Leslie King-Hammond on the history of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and how it lifted Black voices and created a generation of Black printmakers.
OTHER RESOURCES
Anti-Racist Print & Printmaking Resources
An incomplete, open source list of print and printmaking resources for fighting racism and supporting justice and equality.
Anti-Racism Resources in the Art World
Developed by Artsy, this is a list of resources that call for and support systemic change in the art industry.
Dox Thrash House
Prolific Black printmaker Dox Thrash’s historic Philadelphia home is threatened. Click to help raise funds for this project.
Printers for #BlackLivesMatter
A list of print studios offering free services for anti-racist protest use.
The Print Center condemns the violence and injustice routinely perpetrated on Black Americans, Asian Americans and other communities of color. We condemn the embedded, systemic racism in the United States, which has led to the senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and far too many others.
The Print Center's founding commitment to providing democratic access remains a guiding principle. We believe that art, artists, galleries and museums are deeply important to civic engagement and to building stronger communities. We honor the power of photography and print to raise and amplify a multiplicity of voices. We are committed to fostering that power to advocate for change as well as supporting artists working for equity and justice in our exhibitions and programs.
Through our exhibitions, public programs, publications, arts education activities and hiring practices, we will continue to work to eliminate systemic racism.