The Vital Voice out of St. Louis wrote an article about the opening of a new community Printshop in their town. They chatted with us, to read more visit their site!

Shops like All Along Press are opening up across the United States. In Providence, R.I., a non-profit group called AS220 opened up a community shop in September 2007. The position of the shop's artistic director, Morgan Calderini, is funded by a grant from Americorps VISTA.

"I think the fact that we are not-for-profit sets us apart from some of the for-profit groups in Manhattan, for example," says Calderini.

Calderini is the only full-time staff member; the rest of the responsibility is spread among a group of artists.

"We have 15 key holders that have 24-hour access and monitor the shop for 12 hours each month," Calderini explains. "People can rent shop time in four-hour blocks or a month at a time. We offer classes and one-on-one assistance to people without a background in printmaking."

Calderini says the community has been very receptive and has created a great atmosphere in the shop. Referring to the proliferation of shops like the All Along Press, Calderini says, "It's great the momentum that's getting behind this sense of having people work together and share instead of artists being behind closed doors, working by themselves." *