Chicago Printmakers Collaborative: Resistance Materials

In 1989, Deborah Maris Lader established Chicago Printmakers Collaborative (CPC) as a studio environment for working printmakers. Located at 4912 N Western Avenue in the Lincoln Square neighborhood, CPC’s regular community offerings include printmaking classes, demonstrations, workshops, exhibitions and visiting artist lectures along with providing a retail outlet for print-based artwork.

Shortly after the election of President Donald J. Trump, CPC joined Print - Organize - Protest (P.O.P.), a network of artists and printers for social change, to host an event to help create protest materials for DailyActivists, a progressive action smartphone app and website. The goal of the resulting March 5, 2017 event, “Postcards of Persistence,” was to enable the community to learn how the print arts, namely screen printing, could be used to create resistance materials such as posters, postcards and t-shirts for rallies and as part of campaigns to contact legislators. CPC provided screens, inks and several designs and offered hands-on assistance. Attendees brought their own t-shirts or paper.