INK as WITNESS: Chicago Printmaking Collectives, Alternative Media, & the Politics of Social Justice

Ink as Witness examines how contemporary artist collectives carry forward the enduring social, political, and collaborative traditions of printmaking in Chicago. Inspired by the legacies of Robert Blackburn, Margaret Burroughs, and Carlos Cortez, the exhibition positions today’s collectives as direct descendants of a history in which printmaking functioned as an artistic practice, a means of collective action, and a vehicle for alternative media. Across generations, artists have turned to print not simply to produce images, but to build communities, circulate information, preserve histories, and create accessible platforms for voices often excluded from institutional narratives.