“I don’t think art is propaganda; it should be something that liberates the soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further.”
—Keith HaringOn June 2, 1982, New York City saw what was at the time the largest protest in American history: an estimated one million protesters gathered in Central Park and marched through the streets of Manhattan towards the United Nations, calling for the end of nuclear weapons as part of the Nuclear Freeze campaign. For the occasion, Haring used a pushcart to bring a hefty stack of his Poster for Nuclear Disarmament to the park, handing out posters to fellow demonstrators for free. The print depicts apocalyptic scenes of nuclear warfare, featuring his trademark Radiant Baby engulfed in the mushroom cloud of an atomic blast and surrounded by angel-like figures. Through Haring’s characteristic style, bursting with running figures, zigzags, swirls, and the artist’s signature energy lines, the print is suffused with an energetic sense of movement, panic and chaos that reflects the threat of nuclear arms and the urgent need for the public to make a stand for disarmament. 

“People brought linoleum from abandoned rolls or loosened bits from kitchen floors. We found rolls of paper here and there. A local ink company gave us cans of drying ink. We had a few old rollers. We learned to use sharp knives pointed away from our own hands and fingers and away from other people. We ranged in age from 5 to maybe 70 or more. We worked together and taught one another. Oh we were dangerous! We were PRESS!”
—Eleanor Magid, Lower East Side Printshop Founder

Founded in 1968, the Lower East Side Printshop began as an open access art and community center led by Eleanor Magid in the wake of New York City’s two month-long teachers’ strike. Magid, a local parent and printmaker who had studied under Universal Limited Art Editions master printer Robert Blackburn, transcended the typical art education curriculum by showing her daughter’s classmates and neighbors the ropes of printmaking through the creation of books, stories, and illustrations on a press in her home. Once teachers reached a resolution and schools restarted, Magid kept her studio open for collaborative printmaking. The homegrown operation quickly expanded beyond Magid’s space, moving to the East Village, where the operation soon became part of the alternative spaces movement of the 1970s, offering groundbreaking 24-hour studio use nestled in the buzzing artistic and cultural hub of East 4th Street.

 

Expanding their space yet again, in 2005 the organization relocated from the East Village to a facility five times larger in Midtown Manhattan, and the DIY spirit that inspired the start of the Printshop continued to prosper. Over its nearly 70-year history, the Printshop has become a premier non-profit New York City printmaking studio and resource that supports contemporary artists of all career stages and artistic backgrounds. Through the Printshop’s residency programs – which have hosted the likes of Derrick Adams, Jeffrey Gibson, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Dread Scott, Kara Walker, James Siena, and Hank Willis Thomas, among others – artist’s receive support through access to facilities, time, stipends, and technical assistance.

 

 

In 2006, the Printshop was awarded Primary Organization status by the New York State Council on the Arts. This status is reserved for organizations that are, by the quality of their services and their stature, particularly vital to the cultural life of the state. Such designation is a testament to the important work of the Lower East Side Printshop, providing valuable resources that strengthen the artistic community of New York and promote the growth of the printmaking discipline.