October 2024 Newsletter
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Want to visit a funky museum with a top-notch education department and museum store (and free parking?!)
It’s official: IS Projects has officially transformed itself into the Miami Paper & Printing Museum.
We installed the art, we hosted the reception, the grand opening/10 year anniversary party, and came back to the studio this week to the buzzy, warm feeling of starting a fresh new chapter.
A question we were asked repeatedly throughout this transition has been, “what sparked this change?” So we thought this newsletter might be a good opportunity to shed some light on the thought process behind the museum:
In April 2022, we received a call from a man who was preparing to retire from his career as a “renaissance printer” here in Miami and move back to his home in Peru. Hernan Helfer had 50+ years of experience making paper, studying calligraphy, and much more. He also ran a non-profit called Miami Paper Museum for some time. We purchased Hernan’s collection and moved it into the studio (some of y’all might remember that giant pile of cardboard tubes that we were rehoming… yup those were Hernan’s). As we sorted through everything and integrated it into the space, we found a home for Hernan’s historical dioramas, which explore the history of writing, in the blank walls of our restroom. The restroom became, in tongue and cheek, The Miami Paper Museum.
It could have ended there, but the idea of building out a niche museum that could highlight some of the oddities and wonders that have been living in boxes and drawers throughout IS Projects for years while giving visitors deeper insight into the history and relevance of what we do here kept spinning in the back of our minds. We thought a lot about what a museum does for the community and how it can be a forum for discourse as well as a vessel of knowledge. I (Ingrid) thought a lot about my practice which revolves around the printed mark as a communication tool through time and printing as a means to build community.
The Museum itself is a collaborative art project that plays with our expectations of the word. The Permanent Collection lives in the smallest room in the space, the Contemporary Wing is the largest free wall in the building, the Museum Store focuses on art supplies and art by locals, and the Education Department (the studio) is the most substantial portion of the entire museum. This flips the typical art museum proportions to see what would happen if a museum was run by artists and focused on illuminating the act of making just as much, if not more, than the objects being made.
This newsletter, we’d like to take you through what all you can find here at the Miami Paper & Printing Museum.
WHAT’S ON VIEW
There are two exhibitions currently on view here at the Miami Paper & Printing Museum:
The Museum presents Carol Prusa’s Galaxias Kyklos etching suite as the inaugural exhibition in the Contemporary Wing. This intricate and technical suite of etchings offers an awestruck meditation on the contributions of women to the field of astronomy.
Permanent Collection
Curated by Beth Sheehan from the Museum’s extensive collection of artwork, ephemera, and equipment, the Permanent Collection offers visitors a solid foundational introduction to both papermaking and letterpress printing, and how the two practices intersect. It prominently features several tiny presses and a selection of contemporary letterpress printed posters from shops and artists we love from around the US.
Contemporary Wing
Carol Prusa’s Galaxias Kyklos etching suit is the inaugural exhibition in the Contemporary Wing of the Museum. This intricate and technical suite of etchings offers an awestruck meditation on the contributions of women to the field of astronomy. Seeing this work in person is worth the visit on it’s own — it’s truly a wonder.
THE MUSEUM STORE
Pro-quality inks, pigments, paper, and tools. No gimmicky erasers… but all the erasers we sell actually erase things.
Don’t get us wrong, we LOVE the fun and funky art-themed baubles and books that most museum stores carry, but here at the Miami Paper & Printing Museum, we have a slightly different focus: The P&PR Museum Store is all about making art and getting your hands on real art you can take home.
Some examples of things you can find in the Museum Store:
Supplies
Huge pieces of linoleum to carve for your next big relief print
Pro-quality pigment (you can add the pigment directly to whatever screen ink base you want to have total control over color. We also sell Speedball base!)
New and vintage bookcloth sold by the foot and lots of linen thread
A huge selection of paper (big, small, shiny, fancy, white, brightly colored, glittery, and more) and we can custom order paper for you to get exactly what you need.
Crafts
Letterpress printed thank you cards
Hand-sewn notebooks, sketchbooks, and journals
Bind-them-yourself customizable spiral notebooks with hard covers handmade in-house
Fine Art
Artists’ books like Nearing by Jen Clay and Devoted by Beth Sheehan (and a bunch more that aren’t on our website)
Prints (real hand-made prints!) by artists like Carol Todaro and Baghead
Most of the things we sell won’t be sold by us online (especially not anytime soon) so we strongly recommend stopping in for it.
MUSEUM EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
We’re teaching a TON in October and then there’s just a few short workshops before 2025
THREE of the workshops we’re teaching before the year ends start this week! This is your last chance to sign up for Intro to Bookbinding, Intro to Printmaking, and the Screenprinting Intensive, but if you sign up now, we can probably still sneak you in.
Alternatively, class can start whenever you’re ready.
Set up a custom workshop that fits with your needs and your schedule. Built for 1-4 people, browse our selection of ready-to-go workshops, or if you want to learn something really specific, you can submit a custom inquiry here.
MEMBERSHIP
Member passes: 7-day and 30-day options
Membership to this Museum sets you up to make things, since admission is already free!
One of the best perks we offer for our members is the studio pass. Passes include the following:
Admission to any Open Studio Sessions (RSVP encouraged but not required)
Unassisted Studio Time during our business hours (email Brooke to make sure the equipment you want is available before you come in, but if it is, it’s yours to use!)
Assisted Studio Time at a discounted rate of $45/hour
Not a member? These passes are for studio members only (we do need to know you a little bit before we set you loose in here.) Becoming a member is really easy, and memberships start at just $150 per year. If you want flexible studio access, membership is definitely the move, and it comes with enough perks, invitations, open calls, and discounts to keep you printing all year.
If you’ve got any questions, you can compare our different membership levels here, and if you still have questions, shoot Brooke an email at brooke@isprojectsfl.com and she’ll be happy to help you out.
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNER: SPF IS COMING UP
Are you coming? Learn more about the fair, or apply to reserve your table as an Exhibitor.
Apply to have a table at SPF this November!
Small Press Fair is coming up quick. Save the date. Sign up to volunteer or reserve your table before it’s too late.