About Us

We are a small network of artists, educators, children, and volunteers who collaborate with community-based organizations to offer workshops culminating in collaborative publications. 

Founded in 2022, Citation Needed was created by Ari Wolff and a small group of 3rd-5th graders. In 2024, the project expanded to work with multiple teaching artists, editors, and designers, taking on a more formal structure as a workshop series and a small press. Cristina Ferrigno serves as a consistent collaborator, facilitator, designer, and advisor on this project.

Our Mission

Our mission is to create learning environments and publications that prioritize joy, creative exploration, and intergenerational dialogue. We view publishing as a tool for self-expression, radical dissent, and the exchange of ideas, strategies, and resources. Through our workshops, we honor this tradition by inviting children, artists, and communities into collaborative authorship. We recognize the potential of creative writing, drawing, and bookmaking as vital pathways for literacy development across all ages. We are committed to creating spaces that support autonomy, encourage interdependence, and amplify our collective power.