LatinaLista —
Campaign: Activist Print
Activist Print is a collaboration between The Andy Warhol Museum and a local screen printing collective, Artist Image Resource (AIR). It is inspired by the long history of artists using silkscreen and/or print based media to raise awareness of contemporary issues and inspire change.
Among the world's most comprehensive single-artist museums, The Warhol opened in 1994 to serve not only as the global keeper of Andy Warhol's legacy, but also as a forum where diverse audiences of artists, scholars, and the general public can be inspired through creative interaction with Andy Warhol's life and art. The Warhol has a long-standing mission to develop partnerships with disenfranchised and underrepresented audiences. These initiatives are designed to empower youth by exploring contemporary issues of personal relevance through art making and understanding of Warhol's creative process.
Artists Image Resource (AIR) is an artist-run, nonprofit printmaking studio whose purpose is to integrate the creation of fine art printwork with innovative educational programs that explore the role of the artist in contemporary culture. AIR’s primary purpose is to facilitate the creation of new work with professional artists and to design and implement educational projects based on the artist’s new work. The studio is located in an urban neighborhood on the Northside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and serves as a broad-based print and imaging laboratory for artists, educators and the public.
How is this going to work?
Three Pittsburgh artists will be commissioned to create socially and politically inspired print work over the course of 2016. The prints will be pasted on the windows of the Rosa Villa, a former bar/restaurant that is shuttered, vacant, and directly across the street from The Warhol. This building is located in a high traffic area due to its proximity to Pittsburgh's baseball and football stadiums. The Warhol was gifted the Rosa Villa property, but until a plan is established to rehabilitate the site, The Warhol has used the façade of the building for public works of art like Shepard Fairey's murals and screen-printed posters.
Activist Print project artists will be selected by a committee of local artists, a representative from AIR, and curators from The Warhol. After artworks have been selected, the artists will receive a stipend to access AIR's print shop, purchase materials, and receive technical support from AIR. Multiple screen print posters will be created by each artist over the course of the year.
Why is this project important?
The objective of this project is to provide a space for artists to be responsive to current events, support content/opinions that are marginalized in society, encourage artists to engage directly with society through commercial, media-based techniques, and to create a forum for discussion and action on timely social/political issues. The project will enable artists, with or without special knowledge or experience with printmaking, to express their ideas in a timely, convenient, and affordable manner. An artist educator from The Warhol will create and moderate this project on the Activist Print blog.
The campaign's goal is $20,000.
