Support the Artists Who Support the Studio
Since our founding in 2010, the Fob Holder Program has been the cornerstone of the Second State Press. We are an artist run and community-supported organization.
Fob Holders trade their time and labor for studio access, helping keep the shop running while developing their own artistic practices. Through this work-exchange residency model, artists gain continued access to equipment, community, and opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.
This summer, we're celebrating and highlighting the program through our Fob Alumni Exhibition, Fob Mixer and Summer Fundraiser to ensure it remains accessible for years to come.
Donate today and help keep the Fob Holder Program free for working artists.
The Program Behind the Program
Every exhibition, class, event, and partnership is supported by the work of Fob Holders.
They clean presses, maintain workspaces, welcome visitors, support events, and help make the studio function day after day.
In exchange, they receive 24/7 studio access and become part of a community of artists, educators, organizers, and creative leaders.
Many of the people who shape Second State Press today began as Fob Holders.
The Real Cost of Free Access
The Fob Holder Program is free to participants, but it isn't free to operate.
Second State Press absorbs the costs of maintaining studio space, utilities, equipment, supplies, and administrative support so that artists can access the studio through contribution rather than financial means.
Your donation helps sustain this model and ensures that access remains rooted in participation, not privilege.
Your Support Helps:
Provide free studio access to artists through work exchange
Directly sustain SSP’s daily operations
Build long-term artistic community and leadership
Offset the operational costs that make work-trade possible
Support emerging and working artists
Maintain studio equipment and shared resources
Strengthen the community that powers Second State Press
Labor opens the door, community keeps it open.
$550 covers the cost of one Fob in the program. This includes membership plus the cost of four months unlimited studio time but doesn’t factor in access to community supplies, studio space and equipment.
The Fob Holder Program has helped define Second State Press for decades. It has welcomed artists into the studio, built lifelong friendships, launched careers, and created a culture of shared responsibility and collective care in Philadelphia.
When you support the Fob Holder Program, you're investing in the people who make this place possible and ensuring that future artists have the same opportunity to learn, contribute, and belong.
Make a gift today and help keep the door open.