Studio Two Three, Richmond’s nonprofit community print shop, has an exciting year ahead of them! Starting this month, and continuing throughout the month of February, Quirk Gallery is showcasing works by artists who call the studio home.
Studio Two Three, Richmond’s nonprofit community print shop, has an exciting year ahead of them! Starting this month, and continuing throughout the month of February, Quirk Gallery is showcasing works by artists who call the studio home.
In the Quirk shop, Studio Two Three is selling their annual Richmond map print on paper, fabric, t-shirts, tote bags, pillowcases, and other objects. Meanwhile, in the Quirk Gallery, a curated show of selected artists from the studio is presented.
The show is in an effort to promote, educate, and fundraise for Studio Two Three’s planned summer move to Scott’s Addition from their current location on Main St.
“It really showcases the potential of print, both in terms of traditional media [and] prints on paper; it has lithography, etching, relief printing, screen printing, and then it also shows the ability to turn print into tangible objects, or, you know, things you can sell,” says Studio Two Three owner, Ashley Hawkins.
“It’s a nice procession of what people are doing in contemporary print, and specifically in Richmond.”
Throughout the month of February, Quirk is holding multiple events to promote Studio Two Three’s move to their new space in early summer, and about Studio Two Three’s community role in general:
Thursday, Feb. 5th Opening 5-8
Friday, Feb. 6th First Friday 5-9
Friday, Feb. 13th – Valentine Print Event; Studio Two Three Love Fest
Sunday, Feb. 28th – Closing Reception
Hawkins said the members of Studio Two Three have outgrown their current space, and are excited for the move later this year. “We want to offer more workshops than we can fill, and we have demand for more workshops than we can successfully do here, given the amount of space and physical constraints,” she said.
Thus, the hunt for a new space began.
“We knew that Scott’s Addition is where we wanted to go,” Hawkins says. The neighborhood is centrally located, and easily accessible to the larger community of artists working with Studio Two Three.
The new location, 3300 W Clay Street, is a large warehouse in Richmond’s formerly industrial Scott’s Addition area. They’ll be adding a new classroom space, additional and larger workshop spaces, and 20 new private studio rooms. They are also doubling the space of the digital lab, increasing the size of the dark room, and including a flex space for events, such as seminars and professional development workshops for newly working artists.
Proposed new space detail:
Apart from new space, they are excited to have newly designed chairs, tables, and other equipment. “It’s really opening up our programs [and] how many people we can serve,” Hawkins says. “We’ll be much better able to serve community demand and growing demand especially, as Richmond remains an increasing destination for arts and artists.”
The new space is slated to be finished by May or June, and they are hoping to be moving in late spring/early summer.
While the new space is exciting for all, fundraising is an essential component to making the move a reality. For example, the studio is starting an Indiegogo campaign film, directed by Joey Tran. The film includes interviews with artists, volunteers, board members, and workshop guests. Largely, the film will cover how Studio Two Three fits into the larger Richmond community and why the move is important.
Hawkins says Studio Two Three really aims at “providing a sustainable fully equipped workspace for professional artists, because the city is so dependent upon our artists and our creative class, and we can really be that resource and enable people to keep making work and to make it affordably.”
Moving studio spaces will allow Studio Two Three to be bigger and better than what they are now.
“Our difference is providing the equipment and providing the professional development onsite. It’s providing the community and the resources for working artists to have successful careers,” said Hawkins. “I think that that’s first and foremost what we’re about. And then exposing the wider community to the art of printmaking, to the work of these artists and the work of this studio in general.”
Take a look at Studio Two Three’s show and events at Quirk Gallery (located at 311 W. Broad St) both this month and in February! Also keep an eye out for their Indiegogo Campaign, and events associated with the upcoming move.
