We are thrilled to announce that UIC Gallery 400 has received a Teiger Foundation Hosting grant supporting Press & Pull: Two Decades at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, which comes to us from the James Gallery at the CUNY Graduate Center. 

The Foundation views hosting as a form of curatorial collaboration that deepens relationships among artists, communities, and institutions. It extends the life of an exhibition while allowing it to take on new meaning and deepen knowledge in a different context. Mirroring these themes, our upcoming Fall 2026 exhibition Press & Pull features over 35 original prints, archival ephemera, and video drawn from the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop’s historic collection and archive. The exhibition traces the origins, mentorship, collaboration, and technical innovation that have made it the US’s oldest and continuously operating cooperative workshop.⁠

Rooted in radical inclusivity, the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop opened its doors in 1947 in New York City, providing space and opportunities for artists of color amid racial segregation and the mass defunding of community arts centers after WWII.⁠ Press & Pull’s Chicago iteration will feature a supplementary exhibition with prints and archival materials that trace the city’s historical parallels to the Workshop, underscoring the artistic ecosystems Black artists developed in the mid-twentieth century and their continued impact today.

Press & Pull: Two Decades at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop at UIC Gallery 400 is made possible by Teiger Foundation. The complete list of grantees can be found here.