Second State Press

Merch alert!!! 🚨

Our newest SSP merch has arrived, designed by the artists who know the studio best: our Fob Holders!!

Available in person during our Summer Mixer this Sunday at Human Robot, this limited run celebrates the artists who keep our studio running and reflects the creativity that makes Second State Press what it is!

Hat designed by Cecilia Quay celi
Bandana designed by Catherine Nelson Cat A Ran
Pocket Tee designed by Autumn Kidd Swan Girl

This is a limited run that isn’t currently available online. Join us on Sunday and be the first to snag the new merch!!

Merch alert!!! 🚨

Our newest SSP merch has arrived, designed by the artists who know the studio best: our Fob Holders!!

Available in person during our Summer Mixer this Sunday at Human Robot, this limited run celebrates the artists who keep our studio running and reflects the creativity that makes Second State Press what it is!

Hat designed by Cecilia Quay celi
Bandana designed by Catherine Nelson Cat A Ran
Pocket Tee designed by Autumn Kidd Swan Girl

This is a limited run that isn’t currently available online. Join us on Sunday and be the first to snag the new merch!!

🎟️ Come for the drinks, stay for the raffle.

Join us THIS SUNDAY at our Summer Mixer at Human Robot for a chance to win some incredible prizes while supporting Second State Press.

One lucky guest can win a pair of tickets to see the Phillies take on the Atlanta Braves!

Every raffle ticket helps support Second State Press and the artists, classes, and community that make this place thrive. PLUS Human Robot is donating $2 from every beer sold during the event to Second State Press so that every pint helps support our Fob Holder Program, which provides artists with 24/7 access to our community print studio through a work-trade exchange.

Grab a drink, meet fellow artists, and try your luck. (And yes, we'll be crossing our fingers for you.)

Sunday, August 2nd
2-4pm
Human Robot Kensington
1710 N 5th St, Philadelphia

Free entry
21+

See you there! 🍻🎉

You're invited to the SSP Summer Mixer!

Join us on August 2nd from 2-4pm for an afternoon of good company, cold drinks, and community at our SSP Summer Mixer at Human Robot! Whether you're a longtime member, have taken a class, or just want to meet creative people in Philadelphia, everyone is welcome.

This event celebrates the closing of our Fob Holder Alumni Invitational exhibition and the end of our Fob Holder Program fundraising campaign. We'll have raffle prizes, new limited edition merch for sale and a chance to celebrate the community that keeps Second State Press thriving.

Human Robot is donating $2 from every beer sold during the event to Second State Press. Every pint helps support our Fob Holder Program, which provides artists with 24/7 access to our community print studio through a work-trade exchange.

Bring a friend, grab a drink, enter the raffle, and help us raise a glass (and some funds!) for Philadelphia's printmaking community. We can't wait to see you there!

Please note this event is 21+ due to venue regulations.

What: SSP Summer Mixer
When: Sunday August 2nd from 2-4pm
Where: Human Robot 1710 N 5th St.
FREE ENTRY. 21+

Join us Thursday, July 9th, from 6pm-8pm, for an evening of free art-making and viewing!

EXHIBITION: ADD>

As we close out PRIDE month, SSP gives a special shout-out to the legacy of queerness in print and printmaking's unique ability to share narrative and identity, radically disrupt traditional hierarchies and build lasting community.

It's Fob Friday with ~

Rowan DeWitt is a comic artist, zinester, and printmaker. They graduated from Skidmore College with honors in Art and Classics in 2025. At Skidmore, they were the Vice President and co-founder of the Skidmore College Zine Club. As an artist, they use narratives as a way to explore the world and our place in it, employing many sci-fi, supernatural, and surreal elements to do so. Their art has been described as ‘expressive’ and ‘uncanny yet whimsical’ by friends, as well as ‘I worry if you are happy’ by their mom. They draw inspiration from family movie classics such as Fight Club and a fervid obsession with Dracula.

Need a break from the heat? Join us in the (cool, basement) studio for a class! Here’s our schedule for the first half of July:

☀️ Letterpress 1 with , July 11th

☀️ The Risographed Word with , July 12th

☀️ Lino Block Printing on Clothing with , July 15th

☀️ Intro to Screen Printing with , July 18th

☀️ Print & Fold Riso Books with , July 19th

We are pleased to announce that our 2026 Juried Open Call, Chance Encounter, is now accepting submissions!! This exhibition centers printmaking as a site of multiplicity: where material practice, shared space and human interaction converge.

In community print studios, structure and spontaneity coexist. They are active systems in which networks can seed, collide and accumulate. Within this dynamic, print becomes not just a medium, but a network of people, knowledge, and evolving relationships.

We are seeking works that embrace this condition of “in-between”: between control and chance, individual and collective, intention and encounter and invite artists who work with and through space; who return, who linger, and who allow their practice to be shaped by others.

Artists whose work emerges from sustained relationships with spaces such as community studios, workshops, collectives, or other sites of shared production, and who view these environments as active collaborators in their process are encouraged to apply.

Presented as part of Collective Futures, this open call sits within a city-wide network of artist-run spaces and community-driven initiatives across Philadelphia. Collective Futures centers collective practice as a vital mode of cultural production.

https://www.secondstatepress.org/chance-encounter-open-call?mc_cid=16cb13cbe2&mc_eid=dc29448f6b r
to read the entire prospectus and apply!

FALL 2026 FOB HOLDER APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!

This summer, we are highlighting the Fob Holder Program and inviting our community to engage with and support our most popular artist opportunity.

Been thinking about applying? Now is the time! This free program is a unique and competitive opportunity to gain 24/7 access to professional print facilities in exchange for working as a studio monitor.

But that’s not all! Fob Holders get access to other artists at varying stages of their careers, opportunities to sell and exhibit their work, experience supporting a nonprofit community space and more!!

Application deadline is July 15th at 11:59pm.

Follow the link in our bio to learn more and apply.

Interested in supporting the program?
Follow the fundraising campaign link in our bio to support and sustain this vital opportunity for artists for years to come.