Mess Hall Press Makes Its Mark

In the art world, Madison has a longstanding tradition as a Mecca for printmaking. It appears that tradition is in good hands, thanks to Mess Hall Press.

A free art, design and screen-printing workshop that operates out of Lussier Teen Center, Mess Hall Press has been meeting weekly since early 2005. Over Earth Day weekend, this dedicated group of high school students and volunteer mentors (both college art students and local graphic designers) made a grand debut around town: They introduced their own line of collaboratively-created, sweatshop-free, organic t-shirts. Each with a focus on sustainability.

The t-shirts were sold at a Friday evening reception held at CONTEXT Clothing on King Street and again Saturday at the Habitat ReStore’s Earth Day Celebration. The limited run of 40 shirts nearly sold out.

“I was impressed by the number of people that came out to help with this project,” said Scott Pauli, Mess Hall Press’ founder and volunteer director, along with UW student Zach Kaiser. “I was also amazed to see the response we received. It’s great to know people support what we’re doing, and for the high school students to understand that as well. It has already taken Mess Hall Press to a new level.”

Soon the t-shirts, as well as a related poster series, will hit the national circuit as part of a project sponsored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). The project, Design Ignites Change, runs annually and challenges professional designers and students around the country to collaborate on ways to communicate messages about a single social issue.

Look for more to come from Mess Hall Press. As Kaiser says, “From Howard Hayes, who runs the Teen Center, to Ryan Huber, who runs CONTEXT, we have great community support behind us. And that’s without even naming all the volunteers and high school students who show up each week.”

To join the creative process, contact Mess Hall Press at 256-3581.