Printmaking by the People: Citywide Voices on 2026

Workshops 

Liberty, Freedom, and Social Justice by Lori Raggio

June 26, 2024  |  Tacony Lab Community Art Center  |  6918 Torresdale Ave, Philadelphia

In this workshop we will discuss the words “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” to create a dialogue of what Freedom and Social Justice mean in relation to the Declaration of Independence. We will then take our ideas and express them visually through a relief print made using EZ Cut Linoleum and Gelli plate printing for the background.

Among These Are…

A Common Press letterpress printing event in collaboration with Mural Arts
Wednesday, October 23, 2024  |  2 – 4 pm  |  Weitzman Plaza at University of Pennsylvania

Stop by Weitzman Plaza to take part in a community art project with Mural Arts. What would rights would you add to the Declaration of Independence today? We show you how to use wood type and letterpress printing to fill in the blank space in the prompt “Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness, and _________________”, and then help you print a copy on the hand-operated printing press.

Expressing Independence by Chloe Epstein

July 21, 2024  |  1-4pm  |  Philadelphia Sketch Club |  235 S Camac St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

To help commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Expressing Independence workshop will allow attendees to create two prints related to the document and its core ideas using erasure print techniques, while learning about printmaking and engaging in discussion. It is recommended for high school students and adults, and no prior experience with printmaking or art will be necessary.

Social Media 1776: Printing for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Rhonda Viscusi-Babb and Bill Brookover

July 30, 2024  |  4:30 pm – 6:30 PM  |  Free Library of Philadelphia, Independence Branch, 18 S. 7th Street

This workshop will allow participants to learn about the role of print and posters in political discourse and the dissemination of ideas more broadly. We will discuss ideas enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and their relevance today, and with the guidance of professional printmakers, participants will design and print copies of their own political poster using three printmaking techniques.

Blueprint for our Future: Declarations of Interdependence by Sofie Rose Seymour and Joy Lai

Workshop dates TBA

In this workshop participants will be able to rearrange, recombine, and layer together excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, their own writing and illustrations, and personal possessions in order to interrogate, challenge, and reclaim this document and the nation it created. By having excerpts of the Declaration prepared on transparent sheets, participants will be able to cut up and rearrange words, block out or annotate the text, and add their own words, creating a new declaration from the building blocks of the old while using the cyanotype process.

Mimeograph Revolutionaries by Corey Bechelli & Dre Grigoropol

Workshop dates TBA

Almost 250 years ago, the American colonies announced their independence from their colonial rulers. This revolutionary declaration spread across the world in the form of 200 printed broadsides. As we near the anniversary of the creation of America’s founding document, we invite you to join this printmaking workshop reflecting on the importance of the Declaration of Independence in 2024. Revitalizing the printing tool known as the Mimeograph, itself responsible for disseminating revolutionary thought during the 20th century, we will work together to print our own declarations about what independence means to us.

Printmaking by the People Workshop: Among These Are … the Pop-Up!

September 5, 2024  |  5:00 pm – 8:00 pm  |  Baltimore Avenue and 45th Street

Artist Belle Handler will be prototyping a pop-up version of the popular “Among These Are …” printmaking workshop in which people can contribute their voices to a citywide project reflecting on the significance of the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Join us during the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Days stroll for this pop-up workshop. Look for our table near the intersection of Baltimore Avenue and 45th Street. You’ll have an opportunity to pull your own letterpress print, upon which you can then make your own “declaration” using our collection of rubber stamps.

Produced in collaboration with our partners, PHILADELPHIA250 and the Soapbox Community Print Center and Zine Library. Thanks to artist Monika Lin for the inspiration for this pop-up.

For more information about the workshops or the project, please email: lindsey.rosenberg@muralarts.org

Project Partners

Philadelphia250

Free Library of Philadelphia

Funded by

Philadelphia Funders Consortium for 2026, Philadelphia250

Photo credit: Artist Monika Lin leads a workshop for Printmaking for the People at the Art Ed studios, 417 N 8th St.  Photos by Todd W. Bressi.