Name

EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop

Legal name

Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop

Website

https://rbpmw-efanyc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Art Printmaking Services

NAICS

Printing and Related Support Activities (3231), Printing (32311)

SIC

Service Industries For The Printing Trade (2790)

akta.pro primary industry

Crafts & Maker Arts (Ceramics, Textiles, Jewelry, Mixed Media) (EDAMAAAD)

Keywords

• Cooperative printmaking workshop
• Printmaking classes and education
• Artist studio membership
• Fine art print editions
• Nonprofit arts residency

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Workshop Memberships: Annual membership providing studio access to the printmaking workspace for 250+ active members. Members can book press time, attend workshops, and participate in exhibitions and fellowship programs.
2. Printmaking Classes and Workshops: Fee-based classes and workshops taught by renowned printmakers covering various techniques (intaglio, lithography, screenprinting, relief, monotype). Classes offered on weekday afternoons, evenings, and weekends.
3. Workshop Store: Online storefront selling publications, gift certificates, and benefit editions created by workshop artists. Run through Square e-commerce platform.
4. Press Booking / Studio Access: Artists can book press time and access the workshop facilities during open hours (Weds-Sun 12-7pm).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop operates a 6,000-square-foot cooperative printmaking workspace providing professional-quality access to multi-technique printmaking equipment (riso, screenprinting, lithography, letterpress, relief, intaglio, monotype, embossement, cyanotype) for 250+ active members. The workshop sells annual memberships, multi-session classes, fellowship stipends, and benefit editions, and runs institutional programming at partner venues such as MoMA PS1 and The Met.

Product overview

EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop is a cooperative printmaking workspace providing professional-quality printmaking facilities to artists of every skill level. The organization offers a 6,000 sq ft community printshop serving 250+ active members, printmaking classes in techniques including riso, screenprinting, lithography, letterpress, relief, intaglio, and monotype, the Kahn | Mason SIP Fellowship with a $2,000 stipend, an internship program, an online workshop store, the Blackburn Study Center dedicated to the workshop's history, and editions/publications. The workshop operates as America's oldest continuously operating cooperative printshop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kahn | Mason SIP Fellowship: An intensive studio fellowship named in honor of avid printmakers and educators Emily Mason and Wolf Kahn, with partial funding from the Emily Mason | Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation and the Wolf Kahn Foundation.
• Blackburn Study Center

Products and services

• Annual Printmaking Membership Annual subscription providing artists access to the 6,000 sq ft cooperative printmaking workspace, press bookings, exhibition opportunities, and portfolio exchange programs. Sold via Square storefront.
• Printmaking Classes and Workshops Multi-session educational classes teaching techniques including riso, screenprinting, lithography, letterpress, relief, intaglio, embossement, cyanotype, and monotype for beginners and experienced printmakers. Pricing ranges approximately $300-$350 for multi-session intensives, with materials and free studio time included.
• Kahn | Mason SIP Fellowship Intensive studio fellowship (January-April) introducing artists from multiple disciplines to printmaking, providing a $2,000 stipend, one-year membership, unlimited studio access, three EFA RBPMW classes, a 6-session SIP Orientation Program, materials stipend, and a group exhibition opportunity the following year. Free to accepted artists; no application fee. Funded by NEA, NYC DCA, and the Kahn | Mason Foundations.
• Internship Program Unpaid positions offering studio and administrative experience, teaching assistant training, and archive assistance in exchange for studio access hours. Includes Studio & Administrative, Teaching Assistant, and Archive Assistant tracks for students and recent graduates.
• Blackburn Study Center Archival and study hub dedicated to the history and legacy of Robert Blackburn, hosting exhibitions, oral histories, and educational programming including the Only Thing That Lasts: An Oral History of Robert Blackburn's Printmaking Workshop project funded by Hauser & Wirth Institute and Dedalus Foundation.
• Benefit Editions and Publications Limited-edition prints and publications produced by workshop artists sold through the Square storefront, with proceeds supporting the Blackburn Study Center and Archives. Example: Michael Kelly Williams 'Harlem Stroll' 2023 benefit edition priced at $900-$1,200.
• Press Time Booking Hourly access to the workshop's professional presses during open hours (Wednesday-Sunday 12-7pm) for members and visiting artists, scheduled via Squarespace calendar.
• Safety Tours Required orientation tours for prospective new members, offered monthly on the first Thursday evening at 5pm and the third Saturday afternoon at 1pm, ensuring safe operation of professional-grade printmaking equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 250+ active members served through annual membership
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

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

• Twelve Gates ArtsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for the Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground multi-venue exhibition (March 28-June 7, 2026). Twelve Gates Arts in Philadelphia exhibited Khalil's work paying homage to Sudan, featuring collage paintings from the Suakin series and etchings based on Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North.
• Arab American National MuseumflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground exhibition (March 28-May 31, 2026) in Dearborn, MI. Showed collage paintings and printed works inspired by travels between Sudan and Morocco, with historical ephemera and soundscape from the Museum's archives.
• Jay Seven Inc., BrooklynflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground exhibition (March 28-June 1, 2026). Stages interactive research archive featuring curated books, music, prints, and ephemera tracing the influences of Khalil's work.
• Maqām Studio, BrooklynflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground exhibition featuring a special presentation of a collage painting from Khalil's Umm Kulthum series, accompanied by live performances from local musicians.
• Pratt InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for exhibition programming. Mohammad Omer Khalil taught at Pratt Institute from 1973 to 2012. Workshop collaborates with Pratt on programming related to Khalil's legacy and broader printmaking education initiatives.
• Queens MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for New New Yorkers Mohammad Omer Khalil programming (May 17, 2026) — Reflections from the World Fair: A Print Workshop. Workshop also held RISO printing workshops at the museum for Mundon Alternos exhibition.
• New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partnership spanning multiple years. Workshop participates in NADA Miami (2020-2025), NADA NY (2017-2023), and NADA House Governors Island (2021-2022), exhibiting member artists at booth presentations.
• The Armory ShowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual exhibition partnership at the Javits Center, NYC. Featured artists including Maren Hassinger (2022), Chakaia Booker (2021, 2024), and Stephanie Santana (2024) with lithographs, flocked lithographs on silk organza, and public art works.
• The Metropolitan Museum of ArtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMoMA partnership for printmaking workshops in conjunction with exhibitions (Charles White retrospective, Edgar Degas, Cecily Brown, Jasper Johns Mind/Mirror). Met hosts Open Studio—Printmaking Figures (2026), Pronto Plate Lithography (2024), and displays Khalil's work in Islamic Art Wing Gallery 450.
• MoMA PS1coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for Lizania Cruz's LA ESCUELA____: Education as Resistance exhibition (through Feb 2026), featuring block printing workshops with RBPMW teaching artists on January 31.
• The Africa CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue for Global Impressions programming, hosting drop-in activities in conjunction with Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground exhibition series.
• Children's Art CarnivalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership honoring legacies of CAC founder Betty Blayton-Taylor and Bob Blackburn. Joint programming includes annual workshops on Black History & Portraiture, monotype, drypoint monotype, cyanotype, and print & stitch — serving youth and community in Harlem.
• Print Center New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting workshops and public programming in conjunction with Krishna Reddy centennial celebrations (2025). Joint workshops including collagraph viscosity with Michael Kelly Williams, drypoint monotype with Joyce Wellman, and demonstrations with Kathy Caraccio.
• The Met CloisterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkshop partnership for woodblock printmaking workshops at The Met Cloisters (2023, 2024) in conjunction with the Met's educational programming.
• Anthology Film ArchivescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFilm archives partner for Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground programming, hosting a selections screening as part of the exhibition's multi-venue cultural programming series.
• Gallery 400, University of Illinois ChicagoflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for Press & Pull: Two Decades of the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop on national tour, documenting the workshop's history and contributions to printmaking.
• The James Gallery, CUNY Graduate CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExhibition and programming partner for Press & Pull: Two Decades (Sept-Nov 2025), including panel discussions on cooperation theory, emergence of NYC community printshops, and exhibition closing reception.
• Poster HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for First Friday drop-in printmaking activities and the Bearing Witness: Black Printmakers 'Calling Out' America! talk (Jan 2025) featuring Leslie King Hammond and Jazmine Catasús.
• Weeksville Heritage CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Where We At Black Women Artists Now! programming and exhibition, exploring collectives and self-organizing in dialogue with Dindga McCannon and the Free Black Women's Library.
• NYC DOTminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Car-Free Day / Open Streets programming (April 2024), providing printmaking activities at signature citywide environmental activism events.
• Brooklyn RailminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for The New Social Environment #1271 event (Oct 2025) featuring Press & Pull: Two Decades at RBPMW, and ongoing editorial coverage of workshop programming.
• Loisaida CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership including live screen printing at the Loisaida Festival (annual) and Egg Rolls, Egg Creams, and Empanadas Festival (2026), celebrating Latino/Latina cultural heritage through printmaking.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Direct peers

• Lower East Side Printshop: New York City nonprofit cooperative printmaking workspace offering professional printmaking facilities and residencies to artists. Directly comparable as a community printshop serving emerging and established printmakers with multi-technique access in NYC.
• Graphic Arts Workshop: San Francisco nonprofit community printmaking workshop providing studio access, classes, and equipment across multiple techniques. Directly comparable as a community-focused cooperative printmaking space.
• Kala Art Institute: Berkeley-based nonprofit arts center providing printmaking and book arts facilities, classes, and artist residencies. Directly comparable as a community printmaking and maker-arts organization with membership and educational programming.
• Visual Studies Workshop: Rochester-based nonprofit arts organization with a renowned press and publishing program, residencies, and exhibitions centered on photography, print media, and book arts. Comparable as a nonprofit printmaking-adjacent institution with residency and publishing programming.
• Print Center New York: NYC nonprofit institution dedicated to contemporary print and visual arts, offering exhibitions, publications, and educational programming. Directly comparable as a NYC-based printmaking-focused arts institution that already partners with EFA RBPMW on workshops.
• Anchor Graphics: Chicago-based nonprofit printmaking workshop affiliated with Columbia College Chicago, offering professional studio access, classes, and visiting artist programs. Directly comparable as a community-focused printmaking institution.
• Highpoint Center for Printmaking: Minneapolis-based nonprofit printmaking center offering studio access, classes, and exhibitions across multiple printmaking techniques. Directly comparable as a community-focused printmaking workshop with membership model and educational programming.
• Tamarind Institute: University-affiliated fine art lithography workshop offering professional printing services, education, and artist residencies. Comparable as a mission-driven printmaking institution providing professional facilities, training, and artist collaboration.
• Pyramid Atlantic Art Center: Maryland-based nonprofit arts center dedicated to printmaking, papermaking, and book arts. Directly comparable as a community printmaking facility offering classes, studio access, exhibitions, and artist residencies.

Broad incumbents

• Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE): Long Island-based fine art press producing limited-edition prints with renowned artists. Comparable as a professional printmaking operation but more commercially oriented and less community/workshop-focused than EFA RBPMW.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/119124545124151
• Instagraminstagram.com/efa.rbpmw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/efa-robert-blackburn-printmaking-workshop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop