Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts

Thank you to @hyperallergic and @hellgateny for spotlighting Mohammad Omer Khalil’s retrospective, Common Ground @efa.rbpmw 🌟 Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground, is now on view through May 31 at the Blackburn Study Center, and is part of a multi-city exhibition. ”These days, Khalil is sorting through his studio, rediscovering and revitalizing plates from throughout his life. The artist, now and then, celebrates and invites surprise and experimentation. “You have to have your eyes open to whatever happens and see if you can use it or reject it,” he told Hyperallergic. Though Common Ground is just his third solo exhibition in New York City, Khalil has been celebrated across the Arab and African art worlds, the curators said. They hope the exhibition will raise his profile to deserved new heights. “One of the sparks of our interest in wanting to tell Mohammad’s story is because there were stories that he was left out of,” Hamed said.” —Jasmine Weber for Hyperallergic "For a man who could plausibly claim to be the Arab world's first major printmaker, the Sudanese American artist Mohammad Omer Khalil cuts a surprisingly disarming figure. Casually dressed in a Scooby Doo bucket hat, he's spry and lively at 90 years old, an eager storyteller who constantly gestures outwards with his large hands as he talks, as if he were trying to literally pass his knowledge onto you. "I do people that I like, artists that I like, places I visit, books, and you know, poetry, cinema, music," Khalil told Hell Gate about his subjects, as he stood before a wall of etchings. "So I have a lot of points to jump from one to the other. I never think about anything, just do it." —Aaron Fox-Lerner for Hell Gate @mohammadomerkhalil @teigerfoundation @jennilcrain @j7md @12gates @theafricacenter @jayseveninc @queensmuseum @maqam.studio.nyc @anthologyfilmarchives Image: Mohammad Omer Khalil with his work in Common Ground at Blackburn Study Center, New York (photo Leslie Jean-Bart, courtesy the artist/Blackburn Study Center)

These are the final weeks to see Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground at the Blackburn Study Center @efa.rbpmw 🌟 Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground March 28 - May 31, 2026 📍 Blackburn Study Center, 323 West 39th St., 2nd Fl JOINT EXHIBITIONS / PROGRAMMING Twelve Gates Arts, Philadelphia - April 3 - May 15 Arab American Museum, Dearborn - March 28 - May 31 Maqam Studios Brooklyn - Starts April 25 Jay Seven Inc., Brooklyn - March 28 - May 31 Check out @efa.rbpmw for full list of programming and joint exhibitions in Brooklyn, Queens, Philadelphia, and Dearborn! Over the next three years, the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop will foreground its international connections through Global Impressions, a programming initiative that builds on Blackburn’s legacy of solidarity with artists from the Global South, showing how print has functioned as both cultural resistance and diasporic exchange. Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground @mohammadomerkhalil curated by Amina Ahmed and Jenna Hamed is the first iteration of Global Impressions series, to be held at the Blackburn Study Center, a space dedicated to the history and legacy of Robert Blackburn. Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground is a focused survey of work by the New York-based Sudanese artist and master printmaker Mohammed Omer Khalil (b.1936). The exhibition presents a selection of his paintings and printed works spanning six decades, employing collage and offering tribute to the scenes, sounds and syntax influential to Khalil’s visual language. The exhibition program includes stories, discussions, music performances, and poetry readings. @teigerfoundation @jennilcrain @j7md @12gates @theafricacenter @queensmuseum @maqam.studio.nyc @prattinstitute @anthologyfilmarchives @jayseveninc Image: Exhibition installation view Photo: Samoel González. #RBPMW #ContemporaryArt #GalleryOpening #Printmaking #GlobalImpressions

EFA Studios @efastudios excited to present “After the Rains”, a group exhibition featuring EFA Member artists in conversation with Yale MFA alumni. 🗓️ May 6 – July 24, 2026 🕑 Opening Reception: May 6, 6–8 PM 📍EFA Gallery, 323 West 39th St., 3rd Fl, New York, NY Hours: Tue–Fri, 12–5 PM Featuring: Selva Aparicio (@selvaaparicio ) Bianca Abdi-Boragi (biancaabdiboragi) Von Coffin (@coffin1001 ) Armando Guadalupe Cortés* (@armandogcortes ) Abbey McBride Virginia L. Montgomery (@virginia.l.montgomery ) Randi Renate (@randiirenate ) Raúl Romero (@rauoool ) Susan Silas* (@susansilas ) Curated by: Michael Eckblad* (@michaeleckblad ) and Deric Carner * = EFA Member Artists Through hybrid forms traversing sculpture, installation, sound, and video, the artists engage themes of transience, renewal, and the interconnectedness of all things. Moving between the organic and the manufactured, the works explore reflections on mortality, technology, and human-nature relations through materials such as adobe, bronze, dandelion seeds, and digital video. 🌟 Special Programming Join us on Thursday, May 14, at 6 PM for an evening of performances by Armando Guadalupe Cortés and Abbey McBride. Image info: Raúl Romero, "Gravitational Grit," 2023. A sculpture reimagining a bass drum as a living object, seeking sunlight. Courtesy of the Artist. #EFAGallery #AfterTheRains #ContemporaryArt #NYCGallery #Sculpture #InstallationArt #EFASociety #YaleMFA

Ink on hands, presses in motion, and prints coming to life. This is a typical Saturday at the country’s oldest community printshop. The Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (@efa.rbpmw ), a program of the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, is a cooperative workspace in New York City offering printmaking facilities, classes, and services to artists of all skill levels. Here, artists explore contemporary and traditional techniques—from screenprinting, a stencil-based process that transfers ink through a mesh screen, to mezzotint, a richly detailed engraving method dating back to the 17th century. Programming furthers Robert Blackburn’s vision of building an international community of printmakers and artists. “Common Ground,” now on exhibit, is a multi-city survey of work by Sudanese artist and master printmaker Mohammed Omer Khalil. For Khalil, the workshop was an artistic home when he arrived in New York in 1967. “Education remains central to the Workshop’s mission,” say Co-Directors Jazmine Catasús, Essye Klempner, and Justin Sanz. Today, there are fellowships for local artists and Legacy Residencies for printmakers who worked with Blackburn. Proceeds from print sales help offset the costs for members, keeping studio access affordable, and ensuring new works are bring created every day. “Printmaking remains a medium grounded in collective practice,” say the Co-Directors. “As Bob [Blackburn] said, ‘studios like ours are designed to share.’” Visit the link in bio to explore upcoming, classes, and events at RBPMW.

“Press & Pull: Two Decades at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop” traces the Workshop’s early foundations, culture of innovation, and ongoing role as a hub for mentorship and collaboration. Featuring more than 35 prints by legacy and contemporary artists, the exhibition celebrates the impact of Robert Blackburn (1920–2003) and his enduring vision of equity, experimentation, and community in American printmaking.⁠ ⁠ "It’s clear that creativity and pushing boundaries are hallmarks of the workshop. The pieces in “Press & Pull” test the limits of what a print can be, particularly through material and texture."⁠ –– @baystatebanner ⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Read more of the article from Bay State Banner at the link in bio. ⁠ ⁠ 🎟️ Always free!⁠ 📸: Robert Blackburn. “Untitled (aka Broken Stone),” 1960s-1971. Uneditioned. Courtesy Estate of Robert Blackburn. Photo: Argenis Apolinario.⁠ ⁠ @massartboston @massart.students #maamboston

Have you see Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground at the Blackburn Study Center @efa.rbpmw yet? 🌟 Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground March 28 - May 31, 2026 📍 Blackburn Study Center, 323 West 39th St., 2nd Fl JOINT EXHIBITIONS / PROGRAMMING Twelve Gates Arts, Philadelphia - April 3 - May 15 Arab American Museum, Dearborn - March 28 - May 31 Maqam Studios Brooklyn - Starts April 25 Jay Seven Inc., Brooklyn - March 28 - May 31 Check out @efa.rbpmw for full list of programming and joint exhibitions in Brooklyn, Queens. Philadelphia, and Dearborn! Over the next three years, the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop will foreground its international connections through Global Impressions, a programming initiative that builds on Blackburn’s legacy of solidarity with artists from the Global South, showing how print has functioned as both cultural resistance and diasporic exchange. Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground @mohammadomerkhalil curated by Amina Ahmed and Jenna Hamed is the first iteration of Global Impressions series, to be held at the Blackburn Study Center, a space dedicated to the history and legacy of Robert Blackburn. Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground is a focused survey of work by the New York-based Sudanese artist and master printmaker Mohammed Omer Khalil (b.1936). The exhibition presents a selection of his paintings and printed works spanning six decades, employing collage and offering tribute to the scenes, sounds and syntax influential to Khalil’s visual language. The exhibition program includes stories, discussions, music performances, and poetry readings. @teigerfoundation @jennilcrain @j7md @12gates @theafricacenter @queensmuseum @maqam.studio.nyc @prattinstitute @anthologyfilmarchives @jayseveninc Image: Mohammad Omer Khalil with his work Petra VIII (1994). Photo: Samoel González. #RBPMW #ContemporaryArt #GalleryOpening #Printmaking #GlobalImpressions

EFA Studios @efastudios are pleased to present Forest Lane, a solo exhibition of new works by EFA Studio Member Allen Ball @allenthomasball 🌲 Allen Ball: Forest Lane April 8 – 24, 2026 Opening Reception: April 8, 6–8 PM 📍 EFA Gallery, 323 10th Ave, New York, NY Hours: Tue – Fri, 12 – 5 PM Forest Lane explores the intersection of nature, geology, and infrastructure. Featuring new works in painting, found objects, and sound, the exhibition reflects on urbanization’s erasure of nature. Key pieces like Roadlight, 2026 and Overspill, 2026 invite viewers to engage with layered materials and unsettling presence, questioning time, visibility, and our connection to built environments. Join us for the opening reception on Wednesday, April 8, 6-8 PM! Image: Allen Ball, Trace 115, 2020 #EFAGallery #AllenBall #ForestLane #EFAStudios #ContemporaryArt #NYCExhibition #soloshow

The master printmaker Robert Blackburn was known as an “artist’s artist.” His more than six-decade career was marked not only by a deep devotion to his craft, but also by his generous spirit and mentorship of young artists. Born in 1920 to Jamaican parents, he came of age during the Harlem Renaissance and discovered printmaking at age 13. At the Harlem Arts Community Center—a Works Progress Administration program—he studied lithography under Riva Helfond. He frequented the “306” Salon, led by Charles Alston, where he built lasting friendships with artists like Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence. In 1947, Blackburn founded the Printmaking Workshop in his Chelsea loft, creating a space for experimentation and collaboration. As the workshop expanded, so did Blackburn’s international reach. Through his relationships, he sponsored visiting artists from the Global South and inspired printmaking shops around the world—in Morocco, South Africa, Namibia, and throughout the Caribbean. Over time, Blackburn and the Workshop amassed a significant collection of prints. Its archives currently hold more than 10,000 prints by artists from more than 60 countries. The Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (@efa.rbpmw )—now a program of the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts and located in Midtown Manhattan—is the oldest and longest-running community print shop in the U.S. RBPMW continues to sustain Blackburn’s legacy by providing affordable access to experimental and traditional printmaking techniques and advocating for print artists across the globe. Learn more about Robert Blackburn's explorations of color through lithography and abstraction—link in bio. 📷 1. Blackburn showing prints to students, 1988. The Vasari Project. Special Collections & Archives. Miami-Dade Public Library System 2 & 6. Courtesy of Camille Billops & James V. Hatch archives, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University 3. Robert Blackburn’s “Interior,” 1958. Lithograph 4. Contact Sheet, including Workshop artists, ca. 1972 5. Two printers at workshop by Louis Dienes, 1956 7-8. Blackburn, Mavis Pusey, Vivian Browne & Otto Neals, ca. 1972 9. Etching workshop, ca. 1972

We are excited to share the upcoming RBPMW Exhibition @efa.rbpmw Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground at the Blackburn Study Center as part of Global Impressions. Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground March 28 - May 31, 2026 Opening Reception: Saturday, March 28, 3-6 PM 📍 Blackburn Study Center, 323 West 39th St., 2nd Fl JOINT EXHIBITIONS / PROGRAMMING Twelve Gates Arts @12gates April 3 - May 15 Arab American Museum, Dearborn @arabamericanmuseum March 28 - May 31 Maqam Studios Brooklyn @maqam.studio.nyc Starts April 25 Jay Seven Inc., Brooklyn @jayseveninc March 28 - May 31 Over the next three years, the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop will foreground its international connections through Global Impressions, a programming initiative that builds on Blackburn’s legacy of solidarity with artists from the Global South, showing how print has functioned as both cultural resistance and diasporic exchange. Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground curated by Amina Ahmed and Jenna Hamed is the first iteration of Global Impressions series, to be held at the Blackburn Study Center, a space dedicated to the history and legacy of Robert Blackburn. Mohammad Omer Khalil: Common Ground is a focused survey of work by the New York-based Sudanese artist and master printmaker Mohammed Omer Khalil (b.1936). The exhibition presents a selection of his paintings and printed works spanning six decades, employing collage and offering tribute to the scenes, sounds and syntax influential to Khalil’s visual language. The exhibition program includes stories, discussions, music performances, and poetry readings. #RBPMW #ContemporaryArt #GalleryOpening #Printmaking #GlobalImpressions

EFA Studios @efastudios is pleased to present The Forces, a solo exhibition of new works by EFA Studio Member Watson Mere @artofmere_ , curated by Jesse Bandler Firestone @heavymetalcurator Watson Mere: The Forces March 18 – April 1, 2026 Opening Reception: March 18, 6–8 PM 📍EFA Gallery, 323 West 39th st., 3rd Fl, New York, NY Hours: Tue- Fri, 12-5pm Developed following Mere’s residency at Haiti Cultural Exchange, the exhibition brings together a new body of work exploring the artist’s spiritual awakening through Haitian Vodou, Yoruba religion (Ifá/Orisha), and West African Vodun. Rooted in personal history and spiritual practice, The Forces centers symbolism, ritual codes, and material presence. Figures remain implied as fire, flags, and votive forms carry meaning—inviting viewers to encounter the spiritual dimensions embedded within the work. Photo info: Watson Mere, Lafimen, 2026. Courtesy of the Artist. #EFAGallery #WatsonMere #TheForces #ElizabethFoundationForTheArts #NYCArt #GalleryOpening #ContemporaryPainting #ContemporaryArt

We are pleased to present Close to the Ground, a group exhibition featuring works printed at EFA Studios @efastudios and the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop @efa.rbpmw Close to the Ground March 18 – April 24, 2026 Opening Reception: March 28, 3–6 PM 📍EFA Gallery, 323 West 39th St., 3rd Fl, New York, NY Hours: Tue–Fri, 12–5 PM Featuring: Fanny Allié @fannyallie Dana Bell @dana_bell Chakaia Booker @chakaiabooker Molly Crabapple @mollycrabapple Devraj Dakoji @devrajdakoji Michael Eade @eggtempera Beth Ganz @bethganz2 Patricia Leighton @leighton.patricia Nazanin Noroozi @nazanin_noroozi Kenny Rivero @kennyrivero Xin Song @xinsongart Jia Sung @jiazilla Michael Kelly Williams Across techniques including relief, photogravure, lithography, chine collé, intaglio, and blind embossing, the artists explore how the printed mark can carry memory, myth, figuration, and humor. Moving between landscape, abstraction, and the body, the works reflect on land, history, and the material process of printmaking. Join us for the opening reception on March 28, 3–6 PM! Image info: Michael Eade, "Dream Garden," Woodcut with a blend roll printed on handmade Japanese Misu paper. Block: 20 x 24 inches, Edition of 10, Block created in 2005, Edition printed in 2014 by Justin Sanz at RBPMW. #EFAGallery #CloseToTheGround #Printmaking #RobertBlackburnPrintmakingWorkshop #ContemporaryPrint #NYCArt

We’re honored to announce that we’ve received a grant from @NYCulture FY2026 Cultural Development Fund (CDF)! 🌟 EFA is proud to be among the nearly 1,200 groups receiving city support this year thanks to the partnership between the NYC Mayor’s Office and the City Council. This investment in our work will help us bring accessible, affordable cultural programs to our community. Our CDF grant will support the operations of the EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop @efa.rbpmw the oldest community printshop in the United States. We look forward to furthering the 80-year legacy and community of Bob Blackburn by provides affordable access to printmaking, fostering education in printmaking traditions, and caring for our historic print collection.