“Citation Needed” was selected by the first group of 3rd-5th graders who published books with us at the 14th Street Y. One author had been learning about Wikipedia and the citation process. He shared with the other authors that it meant unverified or unresearched, which they liked. We used a consensus-based model to choose this name, with the runner up being “Mixed Emotions about Pickles Press.”

Our workshops are designed to share book arts and process-based art making with a wide range of intergenerational audiences. Each workshop has its own set of visual literacy prompts to encourage creative writing and 2-D experimentation.

We open with introductions and norms, then provide a materials overview, warm-up, and spend the bulk of the time on an independent or collaborative project, with a closing reflection.

Most engagements range from 5-10 sessions, with some occurring weekly for an entire year. Though we enjoy our shorter term collaborations, we find maximum participation and agency are possible when there is time for trust-building, trial and error, consensus-based decision-making, editing, and group design.

We are interested in building long term relationships with communities and organizations; our hope is to develop sustainable partnerships that allow organizations to work with us in ongoing ways.

We currently don’t have an official space. Our inventory, materials, and devising happens between several apartments and a storage unit in Sunnyside, Queens. The production for each project typically happens with a partner organization or press.

Typically, the answer is no. The money from book sales covers production costs and contributes to free and low-cost programming in NYC. For books created by individual children, they receive a portion of the edition each time it is printed. These are imperfect processes and something we are actively considering and reconsidering the ethics of.

Yes! We are actively seeking an after school space for the 2025-2026 school year.

We are interested in long-term collaborations with other presses or access to printing resources.

If you think we might be a good fit for your program or you’d like support/collaborate in another way, please write to us at citationnneededpress@gmail.com or by completing our interest form here.  

The center of our pedagogy is that children are thoughtful, independent human beings who possess rights and the ability to make decisions collaboratively. Our work draws inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach, Socially-Engaged Art Education, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and international organizing for children’s rights. As educators, we recognize our responsibility to unlearn systems of oppression that harm children and adults. We are invested cultivating spaces that are rooted in community care, abolition, and self determination.

We are always interested in working artists and communities who value youth voices and intergenerational community.

Write to us via the collaborator form, here!