Printer Training Program
Tamarind offers the only formal educational program in the world for professional fine art collaborative printers
Tamarind’s two-part Printer Training Program is designed for students who wish to pursue careers as fine art collaborative printers. This intensive, full-time program concentrates first on strengthening and refining the students’ technical skills, then on the application of those skills to collaborative projects. Prior knowledge of lithography is required. A maximum of eight students will be accepted.
Printer Training Program Courses
Students will be required to enroll in the following courses during the fall and spring semesters:
Fall: Refining Technical Skills
- The Professional Printer (4 credits) an intensive technical course that covers the theoretical and applied aspects of the medium. Taught by Tamarind’s education director, Brandon Gunn, the course includes frequent lectures and demonstrations as well as 50 hours or more per week in the workshop.(FA476)
- Professional Print Workshop (2 credits)taught by the Director and other expert staff at Tamarind Institute, this course addresses Tamarind history, policies, management, and the challenges of establishing and sustaining a workshop. The course includes regular readings, class presentations and discussion, and a business proposal to launch a sustainable workshop. (FA475)
Spring: Collaborative Projects
- The Professional Printer (3 credits) provides practical collaborative experience for printer-trainees who work with visiting artists, and students from the Department of Art at The University of New Mexico.
- History of the Graphic Arts II (3 credits) offered through the Department of Art, covers the development of the original print from Goya to the present, utilizing the University Art Museum collection.
PLEASE NOTE: Although students are required to enroll for only six/seven credit hours per semester, this is an intensive program that requires a minimum of 50-60 hours participation per week.
Printer Training Program Costs
Costs for participation in the Printer Training Program will include University of New Mexico tuition for two semesters, plus living expenses. The University extends in-state tuition and non-degree seeking rates to Tamarind students. For the first semester only, Tamarind collects a workshop fee of $2000 for expendable materials (payable directly to Tamarind by July 1). Additional drawing and printing supplies will cost students approximately $500.
International Students
Students who are not United States citizens will be required to obtain a visa. After a student is admitted to Tamarind, The University of New Mexico will initiate the paperwork needed to obtain a visa. All foreign students must prove that they have the equivalent of approximately $27,122.82, the amount necessary to support one person (the amount is greater if family members accompany the student) for the nine-month period of the Tamarind course. Due to the intense demands of the course, outside employment is not allowed. International students are not eligible for federal student loans, but may apply for limited financial assistance from Tamarind Institute.
Master Printer Apprentice Program
Students who complete the Printer Training Program may apply for the one-year Tamarind apprenticeship in Tamarind’s professional workshop. The Apprentice Printer is paid a stipend and takes part in the activity in the professional workshop, working under the supervision of the Tamarind Master Printer and Workshop Manager. The Apprentice Printer collaborates with and prints editions for visiting artists, participates in shop management, and conducts an extensive research project. At the successful completion of the apprenticeship the individual is certified as a Tamarind Master Printer.
Master of Fine Arts
Brandon Gunn, Tamarind Master Printer
Professor of Practice/Education Director
Brandon J. Gunn joined the Tamarind staff in January 2016 as Director of Education. Gunn is originally from Orem, Utah. After receiving a Masters degree in Printmaking at Illinois State University in 2006, and the Tamarind Master Printer Certificate in 2008, he began teaching full time, in addition to producing his own artwork, printing collaboratively, and constructing leather rollers. Gunn has considerable experience as a collaborative printer and educator, and is extremely knowledgeable in traditional and modern lithography, intaglio, woodcut, and digital printing techniques.
He has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses at Santa Fe Community College, Concordia University in Montreal, Brigham Young University Idaho, and Indiana University in Bloomington. He has also printed at Normal Editions Workshop, Stinger Editions, and for Indiana University’s visiting artist program. Gunn is responsible for the internationally recognized Professional Printer Training Program and the intensive Summer Workshop. He also regularly conducts external workshops and presentations, researches new materials and techniques, and consults with educational institutions, workshops and suppliers in the field.
Printer Training Program Class of 2023-2024
Caroline Ongpin
Caroline Ongpin is a New York-based visual artist working primarily in printmaking. She has had solo exhibitions at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Museo Taller Erasto Cortes in Puebla, Mexico. Caroline has been an artist-in-residence at Arquetopia Foundation in Mexico and Guttenberg Arts in New Jersey. In 2019, she received the Kuniyoshi Award and Grant at The Art Students League of New York, where she was introduced to lithography by the school’s Master Printer, Tomomi Ono. She intends to use the knowledge and practices gained at Tamarind for teaching and collaborative work.
Mar Arriaga
Mar Arriaga is a printmaker originally from San Diego, CA. They earned their BA in Printmaking at Northeastern Illinois University in 2021. They studied and worked in a lithography workshop at Harold Washington College in Chicago under Tamarind Printer, Richard Repasky and have not stopped researching lithography since. Mar’s printmaking work is primarily focused in examining the intersections of their Latinx culture and Queer identity through Mesoamerican imagery and Chicanx references. Upon completing the Printer Training Program, they hope to continue to work towards an MFA with the intention of teaching lithography at the college level.
Ginny Fielding
Ginny Fielding is an artist and printmaker from Richmond, Virginia. She earned her BFA and an Outstanding Graduate Award in Painting/Drawing/Printmaking from Southern Utah University in 2023. Since graduation, she has continued to exhibit nationally through her imagery about family roles and heritage. Ginny also has a background working with Richmond-based community art programs. After Tamarind, not only will she make even more prints, but she will further her involvement with youth, young adults, and other artists to share the practice of lithography in her own community.
Anna Fiacco
Anna Fiacco is a NYC-based printmaker from St.Louis, Missouri and member of the EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. They discovered their fascination for lithography while earning a BFA from The Cooper Union. Fiacco’s time at Tamarind will further deepen their technical skill set and allow for further investigations into alternative processes. Through either collaborative printing, academia, or their personal work, they hope to expand the public’s accessibility to the art of lithography.
Teresa de Artíñano Gómez
Teresa de Artíñano Gómez is a printmaker with a passion for the graphic medium in constant search of specialization. After graduating in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country, Spain, Teresa spent part of her career between the Complutense University of Madrid and the Université Michel de Montaigne (Bordeaux, France). Her training as a printmaker began at the different universities and continued at the Royal Mint House of Madrid, where she received a master’s degree in printmaking. Focused on the processual aspect of printmaking, she seeks to fully understand the medium and to explore its limits, starting with traditional techniques and working towards the gap between the graphic and the artistic. The Printer Training Program provides an opportunity to obtain advanced technical knowledge in lithography, and to absorb the consistency and professionalism that this training offers.
Aniol Barris Cornet
Aniol Barris Cornet is an artist and printmaker born and raised between Púbol and Olot, Catalunya. With previous studies in Illustration (Escola d’Art i Superior de Disseny d’Olot, 2016), Printmaking (Escuela de Arte de Pamplona, 2018) and after graduating in Art History (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2023) he is currently attending the Printer Training Program. With the knowledge and skills he will obtain at Tamarind Institute, Aniol hopes to achieve his dream of working as a printmaker and devoting his life to this art form, inspiring others and sharing his passion for lithography.
Consider supporting our students
The Marjorie L. Devon Tamarind Scholarship Fund was created to honor Tamarind’s director for over thirty years. This fund directly supports students enrolled in Tamarind’s one-year Printer Training Program. Give Here
How to apply for Tamarind's Educational Programs
For students applying for the MFA Program, please note that there is a separate application to the College of Fine Arts, which will be reviewed independently of the Tamarind application. Students must apply for both the Tamarind Printer Training Program and the UNM MFA program. January 15 is the deadline for UNM's College of Fine Arts.
Applications for the 2024 Summer Workshops and 2024-2025 Printer Training Program MUST BE RECEIVED BY JANUARY 15, 2024.
Scholarship Support
Tamarind offers scholarship support for students enrolled in the one-year Printer Training Program.
The Marjorie L. Devon Tamarind Scholarship Fund, created in honor of Tamarind’s Director Emerita who served for thirty years (1985-2015), provides several merit-based scholarships between $2000-8000. This scholarship fund provides support for tuition and workshop fees and will be awarded to students expressing an interest in pursuing a professional career in collaborative printmaking.
Applications from candidates accepted into the Printer Training Program are due March 1, 2024. Please inquire with tamarind@unm.edu for information and to request an application form.