Support our mission to make printmaking safe, sustainable and accessible to printmakers worldwide!
Help us launch the next phase of our groundbreaking research program!
The research we have done has opened up the world of safer printmaking for hundreds of artists. Printmakers who had to leave the field due to chemical sensitivities, artists with allergies who thought printmaking was too dangerous for them, artists trying to balance their creative drive and their environmental impact – they come to Zea Mays Printmaking for advice, inspiration, and a safe place to create art. Our goal is to get our findings into as many hands as possible and to spread the word that safer printmaking doesn’t compromise the art, it actually opens up new avenues of creativity.
Building on the success of 25 years of research, the goals of this next phase are to:
- Pay and house 2 Research Fellows for one month each year, removing the need to rely on interns for our research.
- Cover the costs of materials, publishing and disseminating the research, so that we can continue to offer the finished results for free.
- Make the research process accessible to more artists.
The ZMP Research Fellowship will be a month-long intensive, diving deeply into new materials, safer alternatives and new procedures for making prints. We will recruit two qualified printmakers (Fellows) to conduct a research project under the supervision of the studio’s director and staff. The Research Fellows will receive free housing in our on-site apartment and a stipend to cover expenses. In addition, we will invite interested members to participate in the research. The results of each research project will be documented and uploaded to the Zea Mays Printmaking Online School and will remain free of charge to access and download from anywhere in the world.
If we are successful in launching this program, we hope to be able to dive into the following projects and more:
- Explore replacing petroleum based acrylics with safe plant based materials for etching grounds, aquatint and stop out
- Safe and sustainable photo-based printmaking techniques
- Recipes for plant-based inks for relief, intaglio, screenprinting
How can we make this happen?
That’s where we need your help!
Our goal is to raise $30,000 in order to cover the costs of running this program for two years. This amount will cover the housing and compensation of four Research Fellows (two in 2027, two in 2028), materials for two research projects, the overhead of editing, publishing and promoting the new research, and the staff time needed to implement and document the projects. Two inaugural years of running this program will give us a solid understanding of what works, what needs adjustment, and how we can sustain this model for years to come.
Wondering how much to give? Every bit of support, no matter how big or small, helps us to make this new program possible. Here are some options to consider if you want to help us reach our goal.
A recurring donation – any amount
One of the big questions we have going into this is how we can attract participants and collaborators. Consistency is key here, which means that we would love to be able to confidently state that we have the funds to keep this program running for 2 years or more. A recurring monthly donation allows us to plan for the future, anticipate our needs and scale up to make the program better every year.
One-time donation – $1000-$5000
A generous one-time donation gives us the boost we need to start making this project happen right away. $1000 covers the stipend for one of our Research Fellows. $5000 covers housing for both Research Fellows for the entire month. Having those funds secured means we can start reaching out to potential fellows and drumming up more excitement for this project. Help us to hit the ground running!
One-time donation – $250-$750
It’s not just the large expenses we have to consider – the little things add up too! Additional expenses include materials for the research projects (plates, paper, inks), staff time to edit and publish the findings and marketing and outreach to get the word out about the lab sessions. A one-time donation in this range helps us cover the gaps and ensure a smooth process from beginning to end.
One-time donation – $100 or less
Every little bit, be it $100, $10, or $5, moves us closer to our goal. One of the reasons the studio has lasted for 25 years and counting is because of our community members giving what they could, when they could. It’s because of small, one-time donations that we were able to endure the 2020-21 lockdowns and why we are able to offer 75% workshop scholarships to artists with financial need. Any amount you donate makes you a vital part of this project and of our community, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
