Printmaking by the People
We have issued RFQs for artists, printmaking organizations and communities who would like to work on this project. Please see “Current Opportunities” below.
We are scheduling new workshops – free and open to the public – on an ongoing basis. Please see “Upcoming Community Workshops” below to learn more and register.
If you are an organization that would like to host an workshop in your community, please fill out this form.
Current Opportunities
We are searching for a Lead Artist to lead the mural design process. Depending on the artist’s availability, interest and skills, the artist can also be involved in the workshop process that leads to the mural and in the production / installation of the mural. The artist must have a strong connection to Philadelphia, and can work in any medium, including printmaking, graphic design, mural design. Teams are welcome to apply.
If you are interested in leading the mural design process, please review this background information and respond to this form.
We are searching for teams of artists (printmakers) or printmaking organizations to facilitate community-based workshops throughout the city over the next six to eight months. Qualified teams / organizations will be matched with community-based locations, and can also propose a workshop for their own facility.
If you are an artist team or an organization that would like to organize workshops for us, please review this background information and fill out this form.
We are inviting any community organization that would like to host a workshop to apply for consideration. Please respond by filling out this form. Please note that our funding allows for a limited number of workshops available, and we will want to make sure we reach all areas of the city, so we may not be able to schedule workshops for all applicants.
Artist Information Session
What: If you are interested in leading a workshop or creating the mural, these information sessions are a chance for you to learn more about this project, ask questions, and introduce yourself. You do not have to attend the full hour, only one session is necessary, and you can pop in and out as needed. We hope to see you there!
When: Tuesday March 25 from noon – 1 pm & Thursday March 27 from 6 pm – 7 pm
Where:
Tuesday March 25 is a virtual meeting. Use this link.
Thursday March 27 is a virtual meeting. Use this link.
For more information: Write us at printmaking@muralarts.org
Upcoming Community Workshops
Among These Are… Collaborative Typesetting
March 22, 2025 | 2:30 – 5:30 pm
The Soapbox: Community Print Shop & Zine Library | 4700 Kingsessing Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19143
This workshop will begin with a 30-minute discussion on the Declaration of Independence and the use of the printing press. Participants will then develop their own line of text (between 5 and 15 words), to compose in type for a group poster. Everyone will have a chance to print some posters themselves on a Vandercook printing press.
All are welcome to sign up– no prior experience is necessary. This is a great chance to learn letterpress and more about the history of The Declaration of Indepence and printmaking inside a local print studio.
This event is part of a larger project through Mural Arts called Printmaking by the People which aims to empower local printmakers and small arts organizations while discussing the relevance of print in the birth of our country. If you were to write the Declaration today, what kind of rights would you include? We want to capture the voices of Philadelphians as the 250th anniversary of this document approaches in 2026. Come be part of this citywide project and have a chance for your work to be shown at the Free Library or serve as inspiration for an upcoming mural!
**Please note video and photography may be used at these events for promotional purposes of the project. **
Please enter through the rear door on Reinhard Street
PLEASE REGISTER HERE.
Mimeograph Revolutionaries
March 31, 2025 | 2:30 – 5:30 pm
Wynnefield Library | 5325 Overbrook Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19131
Made famous during the mid-20th century during the “Mimeograph Revolution,” these low-cost “Mimeo” machines allowed poets, artists, and civil rights groups to spread their messages, free from the confines of the traditional book and periodical publishing industries. Now more of a niche hobby, mimeography continues to be an easy, low-cost way of duplicating artwork or printed text.
Using the original design of the mimeograph and a simple table-top stencil duplicator, you will create your very own version of a mimeograph print! Learn how to create a frame using everyday materials, burn art using an old fax machine, and with other commonly found paints and paper, you will be able to make multiple copies of your art.
This event is part of a larger project through Mural Arts called Printmaking by the People which aims to empower local printmakers and small arts organizations while discussing the relevance of print in the birth of our country. If you were to write the Declaration today, what kind of rights would you include? We want to capture the voices of Philadelphians as the 250th anniversary of this document approaches in 2026. Come be part of this citywide project and have a chance for your work to be shown at the Free Library or serve as inspiration for an upcoming mural!
Teachers: Dre Grigoropol & Corey Bechelli
Upcoming
Watch for updates to this schedule. Please note instructions for RSVP
- April 12, 2025, 10am – 1pm | printPHILLY2025! | Parkway Central Library, pop up (tentative)
- May 17 or 18, 2025, 1pm to 3pm | DaVinci Art Alliance, led by Sofie Seymour and Joy Lai. RSVP link to come.
About the Project
Printmaking by the People is a citywide dialogue and public art project about how the Declaration of Independence has set the stage for life in our city and our nation today.
The project is revisiting and reimagining printing’s historic role in public communication and civic dialogue, particularly its roots in Philadelphia as a means of disseminating debates about the movement for independence.
The project will hone in on the Declaration’s promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” to the emerging nation. Today, we will ask people to explore where we have succeeded at that, what work remains to be done, and what their own passions and commitments are for the future — and express their ideas through posters that they design and print themselves.
Throughout 2025, Mural Arts and its partners will be facilitating artist-led workshops across the city, featuring small-group dialogue and hands-on printmaking activities. Their posters will inspire a mural that will be created in Center City Philadelphia, will be featured in an exhibition at Parkway Central Library and branch libraries, and will be uploaded into an online archive.
Read more in our July, 2024 blog post here.
Project Partners and Team
Lead Partners
- Free Library of Philadelphia
- PHILADELPHIA250
- Visit Philadelphia
- Partners and Advisors
- Common Press, University of Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia Print Center
- Philadelphia Print Consortium
- Brandywine Workshop and Archive
- Second State Press
- Soapbox Community Print Shop and Zine Library
Pilot Workshop Artists
- Bill Brookover and Rhonda Viscusi-Babb
- Chloe Epstein
- Monika Lin
- Lori Raggio
- Ava Haitz
- Belle Handler
- Hannah Moog
- Jack Tobin-Gross
- Sofie Seymour
- Joy Lai
- Dre Grigoropol
- Corey Bechelli
Project Managers
- Todd Bressi
- Lindsey Rosenberg
- Ava Haitz
Funders
- Connelly Foundation / Funders Collaborative for 2026
- Philadelphia250