Printmaking by the People: Philadelphia Voices on 2026

Mural Arts has launched its flagship project to mark the nation’s semi-quincentennial, Printmaking by the People. I’m proud to have conceived and guided this project in collaboration with co-project manager Lindsey Rosenberg.

Printmaking by the People – organized as a reflection on the nation’s semi-quincentennial – will engage people in communities across Philadelphia in a dialogue about how the Declaration of Independence has set the stage for life in our city and our nation today.

The project will reimagine printmaking’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. Today, we will ask people to explore how we have succeeded, what work remains to be done, and what their own passions and commitments are for the future, and express their ideas through the same tools.

The project will involve printmaking workshops across the city, led by facilitators and artists, that feature small-group dialogues and hands-on printing activities. The workshops will provide a space for people to create prints with their own messages, which can be assembled into public displays in their communities, uploaded into an online archive and incorporated into a culminating mural in Philadelphia.

We are beginning this summer with prototype workshops that will test various methodologies for community engagement and printmaking.