Arcadia students Willow Edmonds ’26, Gertie Smith ’27, and MK Butler ’27, along with alumni Lichen Balay ’25 and Alessandra Mitchell ’25, and Jennifer Manzella, adjunct professor of Printmaking, took part in printPHILLY! 2026, an event that brings together individual artists, print shops, collectives, schools, and non-profit organizations in one space to share their work.

“As a faculty member representing Arcadia University, I have been an organizer for this event for the past four years since its inception in 2023,” Manzella said. “The group I work with is the Philadelphia Print Consortium, and we are a group of volunteers that come from a variety of different backgrounds–directors, curators, teachers, and professional artists–who are united around promoting the medium of printmaking and forming a strong community of collaborative entities around this subject.”

Edmonds, a Scientific Illustration major, is newer to the printmaking world, using the medium during their thesis as they work on large-scale relief prints of current bird habitats, how they are affected by environmental change and introduced species, and current dialogue on future avian conservation practices. They feel their printmaking skills have improved greatly since participating in last year’s printPHILLY!, leading to even more excitement this year.

“I’ve dedicated the majority of my life to drawing and artmaking, and I’ve also had a strong interest in the sciences,” Edmonds said. “I am executing my Scientific Illustration thesis primarily through the medium, so I’ve assumed a space in the studio. This year, alongside Gertie Smith and MK Butler, I sold traditionally-made prints as well as art prints of acrylic and gouache paintings.”

A transfer student from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Butler previously held the opinion that nothing she made was “worth buying.” This stopped her from participating in last year’s event, but this year was different as she is more confident in her skills and work overall.

“I went through a stage of not being proud of what I was making at the time,” she explained. “One of my main goals for my career as a printmaker is to have a solo exhibition, but of course, in order to get there, I have to branch out and let people know who I am. So I was very appreciative to get this opportunity to start toward my goal.”

After graduation, Edmonds does not plan to go to graduate school right away. Instead, they are looking for opportunities to work in institutions to document specimens, help with collections and archives, or learn more about the current science field through a museum. Edmonds believes that knowing this leads to stronger connections with others.

“I took this opportunity to seriously network, as I now have a better understanding of what I would be interested in post-grad,” Edmonds said. “’I’ve caught the museum bug, as they say!”