Guide
Best printmaking residencies for working printmakers
A printmaker's shortlist of residencies with the facilities, technical staff, and community that actually advance a serious print practice.
Printmaking residencies are a different proposition from general fine-art residencies. The medium is equipment-dependent in ways that painting and writing are not: a serious lithography practice requires a stone press and trained technicians; intaglio needs an etching press, acid baths, and proper ventilation; screen printing needs a vacuum table and an exposure unit; relief printing benefits from a Vandercook proofing press; bookbinding adds another tier of equipment entirely. The residencies worth applying to as a printmaker are the ones where the facilities and the technical knowledge to use them are actually present.
This guide covers residencies that have established printmaking infrastructure — most are dedicated print workshops with residency programs, plus a few multidisciplinary residencies with strong print facilities. The list emphasizes US and European programs because that's where most named printmaking residencies live, but a few non-Western programs are included where they offer genuinely unique facilities or processes.
Use the list as a starting point for serious printmaking application planning. The application craft for print residencies emphasizes process competence — panels of working printmakers are evaluating whether your application makes sense for the facilities the residency offers. Generic "I make prints" pitches lose to specific "I want to work on a series of soft-ground etchings building on the work I started in [previous show or residency]" pitches.
Section 1
Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, NYC
RBPW is one of the most established printmaking residencies in North America, based in the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York City. Residencies typically run 6 months with full access to lithography, intaglio, relief, screen printing, and book arts facilities, plus a stipend and exhibition opportunity at the workshop's gallery. What RBPW is for: serious printmakers working in established techniques who want sustained urban-studio time with technical staff support and a community of printmakers. The Manhattan location is both an advantage (access to galleries, curators, museum print rooms) and a financial consideration (housing is the artist's responsibility and Manhattan rent is real). Selection emphasizes prior body of work in printmaking, project clarity, and an articulated reason for needing the specific RBPW facilities. The application requires a portfolio of recent printmaking work, an artist statement focused on the print practice specifically, and a project proposal that names the techniques and outcomes you'd pursue.Section 2
Frans Masereel Centrum, Kasterlee Belgium
The Frans Masereel Centrum is a Flemish printmaking residency with comprehensive facilities — lithography, intaglio, relief, screen printing, and book arts — and a rotating residency program for international printmakers. Residencies typically run 4–8 weeks. Travel is sometimes covered for accepted European residents; international applicants from outside Europe may need to cover their own travel. What FMC is for: technical depth. The facilities are among the best-equipped in Europe and the resident technical staff have decades of experience with each process. Printmakers working on technically demanding projects (large-format intaglio, complex multi-color lithography, experimental processes) find FMC's equipment depth uniquely valuable. The application is straightforward by European standards — portfolio, project description, schedule preference. The acceptance rate is friendlier than most well-known residencies (estimated 15–25%). FMC is one of the most accessible high-quality printmaking residencies for early-to-mid-career printmakers internationally.Section 3
Tamarind Institute, Albuquerque NM
Tamarind is a lithography-focused institution affiliated with the University of New Mexico, with one of the strongest lithography facilities in the world and a residency-collaboration program where artists work alongside Tamarind's professional printer-collaborators to produce editions. Residencies are typically 2–4 weeks of intensive collaboration leading to a published edition. What Tamarind is for: artists serious about lithography specifically. The collaboration model means the artist works on technique and image-making while Tamarind printers handle plate preparation and printing details — producing finished editions that join the institution's archive. The model produces high-quality work but the artist is one half of a collaboration, not a soloist in a studio. Selection emphasizes the artist's existing body of work and the panel's read of whether lithography would serve the artist's vision. Lithography newcomers are not the target; the program is for artists with established practice who want a sustained dedicated engagement with the medium. Application materials emphasize the body of work in any medium plus a project proposal showing how lithography would advance it.
Printmaking residencies are a specialized category that rewards research and clear targeting. The eight programs above span US East Coast, US Midwest, US West, US Northwest (Indigenous-focused), Belgium, France, and others — covering most of the major print-residency landscape with strong technical infrastructure.
For a printmaker building an annual application strategy, the right approach is to identify 3–4 of these residencies that genuinely fit your specific print process (lithography vs intaglio vs screen vs relief vs book arts) and your career stage, and apply to those over a 12-month period. Spread the applications across the year — most have annual deadlines that don't all cluster — and treat the applications as multi-year campaigns rather than single shots.
Browse the OpenCall Radar discipline filter for "Craft" and "Print" categories to surface live deadlines. Cross-reference each residency's website carefully — printmaking facilities vary significantly even among programs that all call themselves "print residencies," and the technical fit is what separates a productive residency from a frustrating one.
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Ready to apply? Browse the catalog of current open calls and residencies.