Due to their increasing rent, the Honolulu Printmakers are preparing to move from their Chinatown location before March.
Executive Director Denise Karabinus said the move could be expensive, but the nonprofit needs a permanent home.
"I think we can make the move," she said. "I definitely have a lot of sleepless nights, and I spend a lot of time thinking about and worrying about the future of the printmakers because it feels like a tremendous responsibility and something I'm incredibly passionate about."
Printmaking is an art form dating back to the seventh century. It requires transferring an image from a template to a flat surface using paper or fabric. Printmakers can create the template from wood, metal or other materials. Then, the artist inks the template and transfers it onto another surface.
For nearly a century, the nonprofit has supported the printmaking culture in Honolulu. Its programs include a community-access studio, exhibitions by local printmakers, workshops and lectures.
"It's almost unheard of," Karabinus said. "We believe we're one of the oldest, if not the oldest, printmaking community in the country."
Karabinus said it will be the fourth time the organization will move. Before operating at its current location, it spent 30 years at the Honolulu Museum of Art School.
Karabinus said she's looking at a space at a Buddhist temple in the back of Palolo Valley and numerous churches. The nonprofit is also considering sharing space with the Downtown Art Center a few blocks away.
For the past four years, the Honolulu Printmakers have been working out of a 1,500-square-foot studio at 1142 Bethel St.
Karabinus said the nonprofit pays a monthly rent of more than $4,000, but will increase annually by 3%.
"For a retail business, maybe it is doable, like a business that's selling a lot of goods, but what we are is an open-access studio," she said. "So a big part of our mission is to enable other artists to make art here and not translate all the costs of running the operation to our members.
"Otherwise, it becomes a situation where only the most wealthy artists can afford to work in our space," she continued.
Last year, the nonprofit's revenues were more than $95,000, and Karabinus said this year they broke even.
Karabinus is the only part-time employee. The nonprofit relies on volunteers numbering between 40 and 200 throughout the year. Its revenue streams include memberships, sustaining members, donations, grants and class fees.
Karabinus said she's worried about moving because the supplies and 2,000 pounds of presses cost the nonprofit $60,000 in 2020. She said the nonprofit could renew its lease for another three years, but Karabinus underscored permanency.
"I'm not interested in moving for a short term. Like, we don't want a three-year or four-year plan," she said. "The next move has to be this long-term vision so that we have our home to dream into."
