EXHIBITION | Asilah Oui: Robert Blackburn in Morocco
Sep
19
to Dec 13

EXHIBITION | Asilah Oui: Robert Blackburn in Morocco

  • EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (map)
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September 15 - December 13, 2026

Opening Reception:

Saturday, September 19, 3-6PM

Asilah Oui: Robert Blackburn in Morocco mobilizes firsthand accounts and never-before-exhibited private collections of prints, photographs and ephemera from the first decade of the Asilah Cultural Moussem. Established in 1978, this international festival brought together printmakers, musicians, intellectuals, and poets from around the globe to create, as co-founders Mohamad Melehi and Mohamed Benaissa described it, “a permanent centre for cultural diffusion, rich in authenticity and steeped in heritage.”*

The exhibition illuminates how Robert Blackburn’s Printmaking Workshop served as a conduit in connecting the Moussem’s international artists: from the creative and technical experiments facilitated within the budding print atelier to the cultural exchange reflected in the work produced therein. Asilah Oui celebrates the mutual growth between the two workshops and their intertwined communities.


Together, this presentation reflects the Workshop’s critical history, its contributions to the development of printmaking as both form and practice, and the active evolution of a printmaking community who in Blackburn’s guiding vision of access, equity, and collaboration has made this America’s oldest, continuously operating cooperative printshop.


We would like to thank the following for their contributions, and loans to make this exhibition possible: Hisham Aidi, Mujah Maraini-Melehi, Noor Melehi, Amina Agueznay, Shafiah Bennaissa, Luis Cancel, Ernestine White-Mifetu, Tarek Elhaik, Ryan Lee Gallery, LUHRING AUGUSTINE, Galerie Lelong, Estate of Rodolfo Abulrach and David Nolan Gallery, Judy Blum Reddy, Mohammad Omer Khalil, Jenna Hamed, Amina Ahmad, Simone Fattal, Rose Viggiano, Michael Kelly Williams, and finally, Richard Nelson.

Programming will include a series of print workshops, poetry series and conversations with scholars and early Moussem participants | More details to follow.

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Experimental Print Workshop with Shubho O. Saha
Aug
20
3:00 PM15:00

Experimental Print Workshop with Shubho O. Saha

  • EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (map)
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William Anastasi, Without Title [Subway Drawing: 3:14 Aug 20, 1975], 1975. Pencil on paper, 7 1/4 x 11 in.


The Unmemorized Mark with Shubho O. Saha
Printmaking with Meditative and Collective Movements


‘The Unmemorized Mark’ is a participatory printmaking workshop exploring what happens when habitual ways of seeing, moving and making are temporarily suspended.
 
Rather than teaching a specific printmaking technique, participants will engage in meditation, bodily awareness, spontaneous drawing, cutting, layering, printing and collective action. Our hands carry learned gestures, while our minds interpret the world through accumulated memories. The workshop asks: What kind of mark can emerge when these familiar patterns become quiet?
 
Participants will begin with simple meditative and bodily exercises, followed by spontaneous drawing and responses to found and textured objects. These marks will gradually enter a shared woodblock, where participants will draw, cut, transform and respond to one another’s actions. The woodblock becomes a collective body and archive of encounters, where no single participant controls the final image. 
 
The resulting collective print will emerge through interaction, uncertainty and shared attention, exploring presence, interconnectedness, memory and collective consciousness.
 
Participants are requested to bring a few found objects, textured materials, and used home appliances.

Email rbpmw@efanyc.org, or RSVP here

Shubho o Saha is a Dhaka-based interdisciplinary artist, a founding member of the artist collective Back ART Foundation, and the founder director of the Dhaka Live Art Biennale (D’LAB). As a leading advocate for the contemporary art field in Bangladesh, his recent achievement included British Council CTC Grant (2025) on community based sonic art project, and Asian Cultural Council (ACC) fellowship award to research contemporary art practice in the USA (2017). The aim of his work is to discover the secret relationship of nature with its inner self. The abstraction of this relation goes beyond the collaboration of energy sources. His artistic practice is engaged with spirituality and mythological stories where community engagement and cultural awareness remain integral aspects strategies for new artistic creations. He believes in combining sustainable art practices with a deep commitment to long-term involvement and interaction within the community where he is working generates a greater impact for the artistic project.

Shubho’s major achievements also included: ‘Young Printmaker Award’, Bangladesh Cultural Ministry & Kalakendra in 2015, Fellowship at Salina Art Center, KS, USA in 2015, Award on experimental photography from Japan-Bangladesh Society, Tokyo, Japan 2018, Production Fellowship at Shangyuan Art Museum, Beijing, China in 2014, Sand Sculpture Grand prize from Bangladesh Kite Federation in 2009, Dean's Award from University of Dhaka in 2007, and receiving recognition for his innovative ideas and art projects. He works in varied mediums, such as, Printmaking, performance, sculpture, installation, video etc. as a way to express his endless thinking. He has produced many site-specific artworks that examine and deconstruct the relationship between spaces. His works were featured solo in Bangladesh, China and USA and he has participated in many group exhibitions around the world. His works are usually held in private and corporate collections. He earned his BFA and MFA from Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and was born on 26th May, 1983 in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

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Poster House: Curatorial Walkthrough with Es-pranza Humphrey
Aug
18
2:00 PM14:00

Poster House: Curatorial Walkthrough with Es-pranza Humphrey

Act Black: Posters from Black American Stage & Screen with Es-pranza Humphrey 
LOCATION: POSTER HOUSE 119 W. 23rd Street New York, NY 10011

Starting in the 1880s, Black performers and those invested in telling stories centering Black people attempted to counter the dehumanizing and harmful stereotypes used to portray Black characters. Shows began touting “All Colored Revues” to indicate that a cast was made up of actual Black performers rather than white people in blackface and that these spectacles aimed to build stories around the perception of Black experiences. Although these performances were sometimes flawed and even overtly prejudiced, they represented a significant form of Black American cultural development and expression. Playwrights and composers also expanded the ways in which Black humanity was represented on stage, adding emotional depth and a range of perspectives.

Learn more here! Interested? Email rbpmw@efanyc.org, or RSVP here

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FIRST FRIDAY | Poster House with Khari Johnson
Jun
5
12:00 PM12:00

FIRST FRIDAY | Poster House with Khari Johnson

  • EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

in artist Khari Johnson and the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop for a drop-in zine- and collage-making workshop inspired by Act Black: Posters from Black American Stage & Screen and Love & Fury: New York’s Fight Against AIDS. Using Xerox printouts, magazines, and found materials, participants will create their own zines and posters exploring themes of visibility, performance, community, and protest. Guests will be encouraged to remix imagery from print publications into bold, personal compositions, though all are welcome to create whatever inspires them.

No experience necessary—just bring your creativity and curiosity! Supplies are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

This drop-in activity is pay-what-you-wish. Donations are appreciated and encouraged! 

MORE INFORMATION heres://posterhouse.org/event/first-friday-drop-in-printmaking-with-robert-blackburn-printmaking-studio-2/

Khari Johnson-Ricks is an artist and athlete whose work includes zines, collage, works on paper, and Black vernacular dance. Through workshops and collaborative artmaking, Khari creates spaces for play, connection, and self-expression. They are also passionate about preserving Black dance histories and celebrating the role of movement in community building and storytelling.

Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (RBPMW) is a dynamic community print studio that honors the legacy of pioneering artist and master printmaker Robert Blackburn (1920–2003). Founded in the spirit of inclusivity and artistic excellence, RBPMW provides a supportive, collaborative space for artists of all backgrounds to explore and expand their printmaking practice.

Accessibility Note: Masks and clear masks are available free of charge at the museum. Assistive listening devices and stools are available. ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or a CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) is also available upon request. Please contact access@posterhouse.org or (914) 295-2387 to request interpretation services and to address any other accessibility needs. For other event-related questions, please contact events@posterhouse.org.

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