Queer.Archive.Work

What Queer.Archive.Work does

Queer.Archive.Work is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 by Paul Soulellis and incorporated in Providence, Rhode Island in 2020. It operates as an integrated library, publishing studio, and artist residency program serving LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, immigrant, and disabled artists and writers, with secondary engagement of the broader Providence community, RISD/Brown University students, and institutional collectors. Its core offerings include a curated 1,000+ item physical library, a free Download Library of 39+ PDFs of significant publications from the last 50 years, and a calendar of collaborative publications (the QUEER.ARCHIVE.WORK series, Urgency Reader series, QUEER MATTERS, and others) produced on shared risograph, screen-print, and letterpress equipment housed in a 2,200 sq.ft. studio at 400 Harris Avenue shared with Binch Press.

The organization's underlying technology is predominantly analog print production — multiple risograph printers, screen-printing, and letterpress equipment — supplemented by a basic web presence for distribution, virtual events, and digital downloads. It runs a year-long residency program (15 residents per cohort), open membership applications (e.g., 17 new members welcomed in January 2022), Open Library Hours every other Sunday, and recurring art book fair participation (NY, Boston, Brooklyn, Printed Matter Virtual, Yale Odds and Ends). Collaborative publications frequently exceed 100 contributors and integrate mutual aid practices, such as contributors donating compensation back to the pool.

Queer.Archive.Work's revenue model combines subscription, sales, donations, and grants. Print CSA subscriptions ($60-120 full share, $10-50 single print, four shares/year) function as recurring fundraisers; studio memberships are pay-what-you-can and explicitly earmarked for rent; publications are sold at fairs and via mail order with sliding scale pricing (free or trade for QT/BIPoC, $45 for institutions); and the organization accepts tax-deductible donations and has received at least one Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) grant of $2,295. Go-to-market is community-led through social media, art book fairs, open events, and word-of-mouth rather than conventional marketing channels.

Name

Queer.Archive.Work

Legal name

Queer.Archive.Work, Inc.

Website

https://queer.archive.work

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Queer.Archive.Work is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit library, publishing studio, and residency program in Providence, RI that produces risograph-printed publications and maintains a 1,000+ item archive for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and other underserved artists and writers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Publishing

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115), Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Writing Retreats & Intensive Bootcamps (EDAMAMAK), Writing Critique Groups & Peer Workshops (EDAMAMAJ)

Keywords

• Risograph publishing
• Queer arts library
• Community supported art
• Artist residency
• Independent publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Providence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Print CSA Subscriptions: Seasonal subscription-based fundraiser offering print bundles. Subscribers receive four shares throughout the year. Full share bundles (including seasonal print) for $60-120, single prints for $10-50 per share. Funds subsidize memberships, pay staff, and maintain equipment.
2. Studio Memberships: Monthly pay-what-you-can membership fees that go directly to rent. Members receive 24/7 key access, studio equipment/tools access, library access, and support. Contributions of time toward studio maintenance required.
3. Publication Sales: Sale of risograph-printed publications including the QUEER.ARCHIVE.WORK series, Urgency Readers, and collaborative zines. Publications sold at art book fairs and through sliding scale pricing (free for QT/BIPoC, $45 for institutions/collectors).
4. Donations and Grants: Tax-deductible donations accepted. Received Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) grant funding. Incorporates mutual aid principles where contributors sometimes donate compensation back to the pool.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Queer.Archive.Work is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a library, publishing studio, and artist residency in Providence, RI. It produces and sells risograph-printed publications, runs a community-supported art (CSA) subscription program, maintains a 1,000+ item physical and digital archive of queer and radical publications, and offers studio memberships with equipment access (risograph, screen-print, letterpress) to LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, immigrant, and disabled artists.

Product overview

Queer.Archive.Work is a nonprofit library, publishing studio, and residency program rather than a traditional software product. The organization's offerings consist primarily of risograph-printed publications (QUEER.ARCHIVE.WORK 1-3, URGENCY READER 1-2, SCREEN ZINE, CULTURAL CHANGE IN USA, QUEER MATTERS, WHAT IS QUEER TYPOGRAPHY?, TINY DIGEST #1, and resting reader), a Download Library of historical PDFs, physical library/studio access, a Riso Residency Program for artists, and a Print CSA subscription service. The publications are collaborative, community-produced works featuring contributions from LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and other artists and writers. The organization uses risograph printing as its primary production method and prioritizes accessibility through sliding scale pricing, free downloads, and stipends for contributors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• QUEER.ARCHIVE.WORK 1 A loose folio of risograph prints and zines with no staples, glue, or clips; held together through folding, nesting, and enveloping techniques. Edition of 300, launched at NY & Boston Art Book Fairs.
• QUEER.ARCHIVE.WORK 2 (1923 Internet Archive Edition) A loose folio of risograph prints and print-on-demand zine produced during a residency at the Internet Archive in January 2019. Contains rare historical LGBTQ content digitized for the first time from 1923.
• QUEER.ARCHIVE.WORK 3 A 12-part loose folio in a resealable poly bag containing a 40-page newsprint broadsheet, 144-page paperback book, multiple risograph zines, and 6 risograph prints. Edition of 175+25 APs.
• URGENCY READER 1 A 252-page hand-bound risograph printed book of texts submitted by 80 contributors in response to an open call. Edition of 110 copies.
• URGENCY READER 2: Mutual Aid Publishing During Crisis A loose assemblage of 129 risograph prints, folded sheets, and zines (278 pages) with 110 contributors assembled during COVID-19 quarantine. Edition of 25 hand-numbered copies.
• SCREEN ZINE A 28-page risograph-printed zine produced from a one-hour online workshop. Participants composed images on their desktops during a Zoom session, which were captured and composed into 3-color risograph prints.
• CULTURAL CHANGE IN USA A 17-page long-form poem by Kenneth Reveiz, risograph printed and assembled at QAW in January 2021. The work was performed at a QAW event.
• QUEER MATTERS A collaborative 60-page folio/zine of risograph prints created during weekly workshops throughout fall and winter 2020, written, designed, and edited collectively by the QAW community. Edition of 200+10 APs.
• WHAT IS QUEER TYPOGRAPHY? A 20-page risograph-printed zine (3 colors) by Paul Soulellis examining queer typography, featuring work by Nat Pyper, nicole killian, Be Oakley, and others. Fundraiser edition of 100+10 APs.
• TINY DIGEST #1 (SPACE) A collaborative 1-page zine newsletter printed on the QAW SF9450 Risograph with purple ink, featuring 23 contributions around the theme of space. Unlimited edition.
• resting reader A 120-page book of texts and images assembled from source material found in the QAW library. RISO-printed in purple, black, and fluorescent pink, perfect bound. First printing of 100 copies.
• Download Library A collection of 39 PDFs of significant and difficult-to-find publications from the last fifty years focusing on urgency, radicality, and liberation. Includes the Black Panther Party Newspaper archive (487 issues), historical LGBTQ periodicals, and radical zines. Files posted openly for free download.
• Physical Library & Studio A 1,000+ item collection of books, zines, and objects housed at 400 Harris Avenue, Unit F, Providence, RI. Open to the public every other Sunday for library hours. Also includes shared studio equipment including risograph printing, screen-printing, and letterpress.
• Riso Residency Program An artist residency program offering studio access, equipment, and community for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and other underserved artists. Residents receive keys and 24/7 access to the studio. The 2020-21 and 2021-22 cohorts had 15 residents each.
• Print CSA (Community Supported Art) A seasonal subscription-based fundraiser offering four print shares throughout the year. Full share print bundles priced at $60-120; single prints at $10-50 per share. Funds subsidize memberships, pay studio staff, and maintain equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,000+ items in physical library collection
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Printed Matter Virtual Art Book FaircoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 February 2021QAW was one of 400+ exhibitors at Printed Matter's first-ever Virtual Art Book Fair in February 2021. Launched QUEER MATTERS publication at the fair with streaming live events in the QAW Queer Zoom Room.
• Binch PresscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Shared studio space at 400 Harris Ave, Providence. QAW and Binch Press co-occupy the 2,200 sq.ft. print studio, sharing equipment including risograph printers, screen-printing, and letterpress. Collaborative operations including joint Print CSA (Community Supported Art) offerings.
• Brooklyn Art Book FaircoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 June 2020QAW conducted the Screen Zine workshop for the 2020 Brooklyn Art Book Fair on Zoom. The workshop resulted in a collaborative publication. QAW has participated in multiple years of the fair.
• The Marsha P. Johnson InstituteminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2020A special reprint of excerpts from Urgency Reader 2 was sold at the Brooklyn Art Book Fair, with proceeds benefiting both The Marsha P. Johnson Institute and QAW residencies.
• Endless EditionsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2020Paul John, Hannah Coleman, and Samantha Schroeder of Endless Editions coordinated the Brooklyn Art Book Fair programming where QAW conducted workshops.
• Dispersed HoldingsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Publishing space run by Sal Randolph and David Richardson. Collaborated on 'reading zoom' events and shared community practices around digital attunement and communal reading.
• Odds and Ends Art Book Fair / Yale University Art GallerycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 December 2019Urgency Reader 1 launched at the Odds and Ends Art Book Fair at Yale University Art Gallery. Bound at the last minute and distributed freely or at minimal cost.
• INTERRUPT V Conference / Brown UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 February 2019URGENCY LAB workshop held at INTERRUPT V conference at Brown University's Granoff Center for the Creative Arts. One-hour collective action workshop with participants responding to language from QUEER.ARCHIVE.WORK publications.
• Internet ArchiveflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 January 2019Paul Soulellis was artist-in-residence at Internet Archive (January 7-25, 2019), producing QUEER.ARCHIVE.WORK 2 (1923 Internet Archive Edition). The publication was installed and distributed at the Internet Archive's Grand Re-Opening of the Public Domain celebration. QAW helped upload previously undigitized LGBTQ+ historical materials to archive.org.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Women's Studio Workshop: A nonprofit artists' workspace in Rosendale, NY offering residencies, studio access, and publication support. Highly comparable in the residency-plus-publication model, though oriented around women-identified rather than queer/trans artists specifically.
• Interference Archive: A volunteer-run Brooklyn archive and library focused on the cultural production of social movements, with a comparable mission to preserve and circulate activist and queer print materials. Both organizations operate as nonprofit archives prioritizing accessibility and radical publishing.
• Center for Book Arts: A NYC-based nonprofit dedicated to book arts and letterpress/lithography, offering residencies, workshops, and exhibitions. Closely comparable in operating a book-arts-focused studio and residency program, but serving a broader and more traditional audience.
• Bluestockings Cooperative: A volunteer-run, collectively-owned activist bookstore and café in NYC's Lower East Side. Comparable as a mission-driven, community-funded cultural retail space with overlapping audiences and values around queer and radical publishing.
• Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP): An ongoing effort to catalog and preserve queer zines, with an accessible online archive of thousands of items. Directly comparable in mission to preserve and distribute queer independent publishing, though operates primarily as a digital archive without a physical studio or residency.
• Bureau of General Services Queer Division: An NYC bookstore and event space operated as the queer division of the Bureau of General Services. Comparable as a small queer-focused cultural retail/library space offering publications and community programming, though without an integrated studio/residency component.
• Endless Editions: A Brooklyn-based risograph print studio and publishing collective coordinating the Brooklyn Art Book Fair alongside QAW. Closely comparable as a small risograph-focused publishing operation with overlapping community and event presence in the art book fair ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Hatch Show Print: A historic Nashville letterpress print shop and storefront. Comparable in operating a community-facing letterpress and printing studio with retail sales, though at significantly larger scale, longer history, and broader (non-niche) audience.
• Printed Matter: The leading nonprofit bookstore and publisher for artists' books, running the NY Art Book Fair where QAW has repeatedly exhibited. Comparable in distributing independent and experimental publications, but operates at much larger scale with a broader, less niche focus.
• Visual Studies Workshop: A Rochester, NY nonprofit artist-run organization supporting photography, book arts, and independent publishing through residencies and a research library. Comparable as a publishing-focused nonprofit with residency programs, though at significantly larger scale and broader artistic scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/queerwork
• Instagraminstagram.com/queerarchivework

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Queer.Archive.Work