Manhattan Graphics Center was founded in 1986 by a group of 20 printmakers who needed a place to work when Pratt Graphics Center was forced to close. They rented a loft in SoHo and incorporated under the laws governing not-for-profit public corporations; 501(c)3 IRS tax-exempt charitable status followed in 1988. For nearly 20 years, MGC was governed by an operations committee: a volunteer corps of keyholder/monitors who managed the workshop and classes. The facility was relocated to Washington Street in the West Village in the early 1990s. In 2007, MGC established a formal elected board of directors. The studio relocated to the Garment District three years later, in 2010. In 2021 Manhattan Graphics Center appointed a management team to run the studio with the input of the members, volunteers, executive committee and board. In 2024, Manhattan Graphics Center relocated to Powerhouse Arts (PHA) in Brooklyn, NY, as part of their initiative to convene and connect artists to each other and to the resources they need to express themselves and support their practices.

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Manhattan Graphics Center is committed to elevating diverse voices in our leadership, management, faculty, exhibitions, and community at large. We strive to make our printshop a safe and welcoming space for all to learn and practice fine art printmaking techniques, and we hold ourselves accountable for building an equitable future for our artist members and for the broader community of which we are part.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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We acknowledge that Manhattan Graphics Center is located on Lenapehoking, the unceded homeland of the Lenape people. Our printshop stands 150 feet from what was originally the largest walking route used by the Lenape. We honor the Lenape of the past, present, and future.