imPRESS shows the work created at PRESS over a span of two months by six of MASS MoCA’s Teenspace participants: Caitlyn Howland, Evan Sanders, Noelle Gageant, Evan Canales,   Hugo  Seven   and   Harry  Seven. It opens on June 20th as part of the first DownStreet Art opening of the 2013 summer season with a reception from 6-9 p.m.

The students worked with MASS MoCA exhibiting artist Johnny Carrera and PRESS Founder and MCLA Associate Professor of Visual Art Melanie Mowinski, to learn about printmaking, typography, letterpress and experimental & traditional relief printing. Shannon Toye, Kidspace’s School Program Coordinator, helped coordinate classes and materials.

Melanie Mowinski, PRESS Founder shared, “My favorite moment during the run of the course was when the students started brainstorming ways to unify all the participants in a type-based design. After several minutes of concentrating, Evan Canales came up with the wonderful idea to use North Adams as the connector word with each of our names coming off one of the letters. We used this design as our broadside to advertise the event.”

Other work on display consists of a printed word collage—an image made up of words inspiring the artists right now, printed from antique wood type. The same text makes up the painted word collage in one of the storefront’s windows. In the other window, Teenspace, is spelled out on the backs of sandragraphs, collaged printing matrixes with their printed counterparts on display in the gallery.

MASS MoCA offers a wide-range of learning opportunities for students, teenagers, teachers, adults, and families. Programs include hands-on workshops and art classes, lectures, school time performances, artist Q&A sessions, guided tours, art camps, after school activities, and Kidspace at MASS MoCA, a child-centered art gallery and hands-on studio. Teenspace artist residencies were established in 2010 for local teenagers to work with professional artists in creating new works of art and curating exhibitions as part of DownStreet Art.