I want to begin a traditional printshop at New Community ArtSpace, a community-based art program that I am the founder and artistic director of in the heart of the Shaw neighborhood of Washington DC. Printmaking fosters a unique method of artistic expression and provides great advantages to an artist in terms of being able to easily reproduce and distribute original artworks. Masters like Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse included printmaking in their artistic endeavors. The field of printmaking has used contemporary digital mediums to advance the extraordinary technical richness of traditional printmaking. It has the ability to reach a personal expression that no other medium can.

At ArtSpace we have a number of resources for our students including a ceramic studio with 3 electric potter's wheels and a large electric kiln for all our clay and glass firings. We have a fully equipped b/w darkroom. We also have 6 weaving looms (4 floor looms and 2 table looms). We offer classes and workshops in those mediums but also in a number of other mediums like painting, collage, drawing, and printmaking. Adding a press to our collection of equipment would be an incredible resource to the community. The closest printshop accessible to the public is in Hyattsville, MD at Pyramid Atlantic.

The press will be available to our open studio participants and in our printmaking classes and workshops. With a press we expect to have one 10-week class and 4 workshops this coming year. The average hourly rate for the use of the press will be $5. We expect to maintain this rate for our classes and workshops plus a supply fees (average hourly rates elsewhere are $25).

The ArtSpace Exhibition Program increases the exposure of both emerging and established artists. Each year we curate 4-6 exhibits. 90 percent of our exhibiting artists live in Washington, DC. Prints made from the printshop will be a welcomed addition to our exhibition schedule.