December 11, 2017

 

Dear Friends,

 

Following a year of dynamic changes, including a continued and extensive fire recovery process, months of excellent institutional planning, progress, and an energized fresh new look, I am excited to announce the January 25^th, 2018 reopening of The Printing Museum!

 

This progress has been over a year in the making! In 2016, we identified the need to focus upon our collection as a way of improving our educational relevance and visitor experience moving forward.  The year culminated with the rewrite of our Mission, “To demonstrate the enduring impact of printing by exploring the intersections of the History, Art and Technology of the craft.”  I invite you to experience this renewed focus firsthand as we apply our new mission to reinstall our galleries.  We will open with a more focused and stronger guided tour experience which will include the new opportunity to print a broadside of the pivotal Emancipation Proclamation on our 19^th-century cast iron Columbia press.

 

After many months of assessing our collection, institutional value and assets, we are now ready to press forward into a more vibrant future that empowers individuals and society by encouraging creative self-expression, critical discourse, and debate.  Our Vision is to provide a forum for the exploration of how print and digital media work in tandem to influence our present-day lives.  We remain committed to our role as a facilitator amongst educators, designers, technology enthusiasts, history buffs, makers, and artists alike … serving our diverse community and standing firmly as “a place for all types.”

 

As we close our 35^th year of operation, the Board, staff and volunteers extend our most heartfelt thanks for your enduring friendship and support. However, as we embark upon this exciting, vibrant path forward, we need your help – now more than ever!  The museum is at a critical crossroads and needs your financial support to remain a vital force in our community.  We ask that you please consider making a significant one-time, or ideally make a monthly or quarterly reoccurring tax-deductible gift by pledging online at printingmuseum.org or by mail.

 

While we have been diligently working to rebuild both conceptually and physically, your gift will allow the museum to rebuild financially.  After an extended, but necessary and fruitful closure, our fundraising goal is bold – raising $12,000 by January 31^st, 2018.  Personally, I impress upon you the importance of your supporting role in our 2018 success.  Please help us continue to serve as a place where the history and legacy of printing is celebrated, evaluated, and explored as a vital component of our shared future.

 

With warm wishes and gratitude, we can only press forward together,

Jennifer C. Pearson

Executive Director

 P.S.  Look for announcements of our 2018 guest lecturers, events and more at printingmuseum.org!