AS220
We, the citizens of Rhode Island, associate ourselves for the purpose of providing a local forum and home for the arts, through the maintenance of residential and work studios, galleries, performance and educational spaces. Exhibitions and performances in the forum will be unjuried, uncensored and open to the general public. Our facilities and services are made available to all artists who need a place to exhibit, perform, or create their original artwork, especially those who cannot obtain space to exhibit or perform from traditional sources because of financial or other limitations.
Cottage IndustriesHistory
The Cottage Industries are AS220's self-sustaining, earned-income approach to building community by providing resources, access and education. AS220 currently houses three industries; AS220 Labs, Photo and Community Printshop. By providing affordable access and varied training opportunities, the Cottage Industries foster a diverse and dynamic learning environment for the people of Rhode Island.
The first iteration of the AS220 Community Printshop was spearheaded in 1996 by Americorps Vista Mark Pedini. Originally located in the basement of AS220's Empire Street Building, the Printshop provided screenprinting facilities to both novice and experienced printmakers in Providence, Rhode Island. In 2003, increasingly stringent fire codes led to the Printshop's closure.
In 2007, AS220 recognized an opportunity to relocate the Printshop to the redeveloped Dreyfus Building at 95 Mathewson Street in downtown Providence. A new full-time Americorps Vista and Shop Manager, Morgan Calderini, aided by a team of about 15 Key Members, set to work creating the new AS220 Community Printshop. In September 2007 the Dreyfus studio opened its doors to the public, providing affordable access to printmaking and classes for the community of Providence and beyond.
In late 2010, the Printshop moved from its 500 square foot incubator space in the Dreyfus to a spot six times that size in the adjacent Mercantile Block Building on Martha Street. This relocation permitted the Printshop to provide a stage for several long-stored and storied presses, including the RISD-donated Takach Etching press with a bed measuring a whopping 4.5 x 10.5 feet. The shop available for printmakers from all over the country to craft large scale works. In keeping with the broader mission of AS220, the Printshop is an unjuried and uncensored creative space.
AS220 Community Printshop
Martha Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02903
Lara Henderson, Printshop Manager
Phone: 401.831.9327 x201
Email: lara@as220.org
Monday- closed
Tuesday - Friday 10am-6pm
Tuesday - Sunday 10am-10pm in four-hour blocks (10am-2pm, 2-6pm, 6-10pm)
The AS220 Community Printshop presently employs one full-time Studio Manager. Morgan Calderini surrounds herself with rather odd yet satisfying specialties: hot air balloon building, printmaking, and pie baking are all things she takes very seriously. After having received her BFA in Printmaking from RISD in 2007, Calderini chose to redefine the hierarchical printshop archetype by establishing and managing Rhode Islands only community printshop with a grant from AmeriCorps VISTA. Combining an interest in preserving a dying craft and sustaining its place in society with a pure desire to provide affordable and accessible printmaking resources, Calderini has found a home at the AS220 Community Printshop. When she's not baking killer blueberry pies or hunting for long lost litho stones that people have been using as door stops, she's learning to fly Atlas, her 70 foot, 54,000 cu. ft. hot air balloon that she built.
A Printshop monitor, keymember, or studio manager is available from 10am - 10pm, Tuesday through Sunday, to let members in, restock supplies, help with safety and health measures, and offer help or advice when applicable.
