About us
Artichoke Print Workshop is a registered charity in England and Wales (charity no. 1056503). Our mission is to provide facilities and training in fine art printmaking. We do this through open-access membership, courses for all skill levels and community outreach programmes.
What we do
Based in the heart of Brixton since 1992, Artichoke is an open-access printmaking workshop for artists, students and community groups. With seven presses, including two large Rochat etching presses, the studio supports all kinds of intaglio, relief and plate lithographic processes. We teach courses and run technician-aided sessions to make printmaking accessible at every skill level.
The studio hosts a number of highly sought-after professional printers, including Paul Catherall, Liorah Tchiprout, Jake Garfield, Morgan Doyle and Marcelle Hanselaar, and works with artists such as Jack Davison, Duncan Wylie, Kate Boxer and Faye Wei Wei on editioning projects.
Artichoke has a strong track record of supporting young artists after graduation — a particularly difficult period post-university. Joining a community of artists is the way forward for networking and continuing your artistic journey.
Our Outreach Programme, launching in 2026, is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Our history
Artichoke Print Workshop was founded in 1992 by Colin Gale and Melvyn Petterson, two friends who met at Camberwell School of Art and Crafts. It took them two years to collect the equipment needed, which they stored in a squatted hospital in Stockwell. The original planned site was Artichoke Mews in Camberwell, but when this proved too small they settled in Loughborough Junction, Brixton, where the studio remains to this day. The workshop was up and running in two weeks with the help of engineer Chris Holladay.
The studio's first major editioning project was with Maxim Kantor in 1999 on his portfolio Metropolis, featuring 70 relief prints. Artichoke remains a hub for artists working in print, with a long-standing relationship with the technical staff at Camberwell College of Arts and with the Affordable Art Fair, where it has run demonstrations and sold members' work since the fair began in 1999.
In August 2020, following the regeneration of the site as Coldharbour Works, the studio relocated within the same building to a more accessible ground-floor space with a yard. As vibrant as ever, our community of artists continues to grow.
How we're structured
Editioning and print sales are operated through Artichoke Art Ltd, the charity's trading company. Its profits are gifted back to support the charity's work.
People
Workshop Manager & Master Printmaker - Colin Gale
Studio Technicians - Ellie Hayward, Erika Turner-Gale, Kat Hassan, Marigold Plunkett, Staffan Gnospellius
Outreach Project Manager - Kat Hassan
Trustees - Heather Haythornewaite , Lee Steven Johnson, Rahil Sheikh
Facilities
Two large Rochat etching presses | Small Hunter-Penrose etching press | Two manual relief presses | Two large relief presses | Aquatint box in a separate room | Area for etching copper, zinc and steel | Metal cutter | Materials such as paper, inks, and plates are available to purchase from the studio.
