Free press: printmaking and social justice in the midst of lively pop music | New

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The students circled the tables, their hands stained with ink, searching for the perfect printing block. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they took turns using the ink rollers and patiently waited for a space to put down their tote bag, t-shirt or mask.

The atmosphere outside the Benjamin E. Mays Center was cheerful and friendly, as the students exchanged compliments and encouragement. Upbeat pop music poured from the speakers, and despite the strong breeze threatening to blow paper and shirts everywhere, the event was a huge success.

This is the third year that the “Stringfellows” – students working with the Multiconfessional Chaplaincy in the spirit of William Stringfellow ’49 – coordinated their Free Press social justice print event, and each time more students are participating. According to Brittany Longsdorf, Bates’ multi-faith chaplain, around 150 people came to the event to make raffles this year.

Join us for Free Press on Friday, October 1 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. outside the Benjamin Mays Center. Printmaking at Free Press involves applying ink to stamps sculpted by a variety of talented Bates artists and using those stamps to create designs on the canvas of your choice. We will provide limited quantities of paper, fabric masks and canvas print tote bags, you bring anything that needs decorating (t-shirts? Denim jackets? Your roommate's bedspread? ). No prior art experience or skills are necessary - we'll have artists on hand to walk you through the engraving process.
A student presses an inked block on a tote bag during the Free Press social justice print event on October 1, 2021. (Phyllis Graber Jensen / Bates College)

“It got bigger and bigger over the years,” says Longsdorf. “I am in a way the keeper of the memory of its functioning, then [the Stringfellows] choose whether or not they want to run it, and how they want to run it.

Stringfellows help organize opportunities for activists to connect with each other on campus and reflect on their work. The events all aim to “help them find practices and spaces to take root and remember why they are doing this important work that can transform the world,” says Longsdorf.

Dianna Georges ’22 from Clifton, NJ, is a Stringfellow, and was helping students participate in the event. Georges has participated in the event since its first year. “I feel like this is one of the first places I started to meet different organizers on campus,” said Georges. “I think it’s really cool because the sophomores and the first years, they haven’t had a chance to do anything in person.”

Join us for Free Press on Friday, October 1 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. outside the Benjamin Mays Center. Printmaking at Free Press involves applying ink to stamps sculpted by a variety of talented Bates artists and using those stamps to create designs on the canvas of your choice. We will provide limited quantities of paper, fabric masks and canvas tote bags to print, you bring anything that needs decorating (t-shirts? Denim jackets? Your roommate's bedspread ?). No prior art experience or skills are necessary - we'll have artists on hand to walk you through the engraving process.
Students make room for each other at the table as they decorate tote bags and t-shirts at the Free Press Social Justice Print Event on October 1, 2021.
(Phyllis Graber Jensen / Bates College)

“I think the symbols are important,” said Georges. “And I think it’s an opportunity for people to put the symbols of what they believe. It’s a bit the same as hanging a flag; it shows what you believe in, so hopefully people just do a bunch of crap and hang it all over the place, and it just becomes part of campus ethics.

The printing blocks are handmade by Bates students and donated to the event. The general theme of “social justice” allows for an artistic license and means different things to different students. From images of trees evoking eco-justice to empowering phrases and statements challenging social structures – “F— White Supremacy” – students shared their messages with each other and with the Bates community.

Join us for Free Press on Friday, October 1 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. outside the Benjamin Mays Center. Printmaking at Free Press involves applying ink to stamps sculpted by a variety of talented Bates artists and using those stamps to create designs on the canvas of your choice. We will provide limited quantities of paper, fabric masks and canvas tote bags to print, you bring anything that needs decorating (t-shirts? Denim jackets? Your roommate's bedspread ?). No prior art experience or skills are necessary - we'll have artists on hand to walk you through the engraving process.
“Less locks, more keys” proclaims a printing block at the Free Press event on October 1, 2021. The social justice themed printing blocks were designed and sculpted by students. (Phyllis Graber Jensen / Bates College)

Stella Santucci ’22, a psychology student from Falmouth, Maine, has participated in the event every year. “This is my favorite event on campus,” Santucci said. “It’s super fun, and it’s artistic freedom. The subject is “social justice”, but it’s up to you to build an idea and implement it. I think it’s a place where students can connect and help each other, and be activists together.

The Multi-Faith Chaplaincy provides the rubber blocks and tools to the students, who then come up with a design to carve and return the finished block to the organizers for the students to use.

Santucci does a block for the event every year and then always attends. “The fact that I can choose what I do and then come here and see everyone, I think it’s really amazing,” Santucci said. “[It’s] what Bates really is.

"This message is more than just three words. Growing, evolving, and transforming means accepting and embracing the path you were meant to be on in order to grow as an individual and change the world around you."Thanks for this opportunity! I hope it can reach people. Let me know if you need anything else.
Elena Valle ’25 from Damascus, Maryland, posts a print with a message that is “more than three words,” she said. “Growing, evolving and transforming means accepting and embracing the path you were meant to be on in order to grow as an individual and to change the world around you.” (Phyllis Graber Jensen / Bates College)

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