MISSION STATEMENT

Syracuse Cultural Workers (SCW) is a peace and justice publisher founded in 1982. We create and publish visual materials, like calendars, posters, and cards, that are feminist, lesbian/gay allied, racially inclusive, and honor elders and children. We also distribute selected products, like books, music and video, to complement our offerings.
Our mission is to help create a culture that honors diversity and celebrates community; that inspires and nurtures justice, equality and freedom; that respects our fragile Earth and all its beings; that encourages and supports all forms of creative expression.
We see cultural work as an essential part of and support for political and economic change. Many of our materials celebrate movements for social change and their leaders, thus helping to legitimize history that is largely ignored or trivialized by commercial media and school textbooks. SCW also helps to unite socially concerned artists with a growing audience hungry for meaningful artwork.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

Art is a critical complement to activism, lending soul to a function which is often brain heavy and spirit thin. No matter how brilliant our attempts to inform, it is our ability to inspire that will turn the tides.

When we look for hope, we turn to works of socially responsible artists which address the richness, the sacredness and the crisis of the contemporary human family. We are inspired by work that relates matter to spirit, that transforms a chunk of honest reality into profound possibility by a change of tone or throw of light. Art created with a sense of integrity has a redemptive power, a healing power which helps us transcend the tragic particularities of our culture. We are responsible for creating a culture in our own image. Our work is not simply to expose the evils, display our disrespect for greed and violence, refuse to cooperate with a consumerist culture. We need to build a culture of change. We need political art that is visionary, visionary art that is political.

We are a vast community of resisters and believers, artists and activists. Though we are renewed collectively at political rallies, music festivals, Solstice rituals, what is it that sustains us when the candles are out and the crowd disperses? What is it that keeps us fueled for the fight in our day-to-dayness? Art reflects our visions back to us, bears witness to the triumph of our sensibilities, helps us remember what we need to remember in order to survive. Art and activism is like yin and yang, light and dark - one is nothing without the other.

- Jan Phillips, SCW Co-founder From left to right: Dik Cool - Publisher, Lynn Fallon - Admin. Asst., Teresa Florack - Studio Coord/Imprinted Cards, Jim Spencer - Shipping Supervisor, Allison Gates - Webmaster, Marie Summerwood - Design Assoc., Rose Zee - Operations Supervisor, Randy Squillace - Shipping/Receiving, Karen Kerney - Art Director, Donna Tarbania - Assoc. Publisher, Jon Grey - Shipping/Receiving, Lisa Mattes - Framing, John Faley - Business Manager and Vince Santarelle - Operations.

VISIT US!

Please click here to view store hours and directions.

SYRACUSE CULTURAL WORKERS INSIDE-OUT EXHIBIT

November 12, 2008 to December 6, 2008
Celebrate SCW’S 25th anniversary at ARTRAGE!

OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, November 15, 2008
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

SCW presents a familiar face (or, rather, several familiar faces) to the progressive community in Syracuse. The calendars, posters, cards and T-shirts we publish are well-known; and the banners, drums, and willing bodies are a ready resource for just about any event designed to educate/agitate.

With this exhibit, titled SCW INSIDE-OUT, we celebrate our 25th anniversary with a behind-the-scenes look at some of the less obvious aspects of what it means to be an international “peace and justice publisher and distributor.” Topics include: the poster process, from brainstorm to finished product; customer feedback when we don’t get it right (and when we do); the poster backlist/greatest flops, and more! Join us for what promises to be a show filled with surprising, entertaining, and visually stimulating perspectives!

FESTIVALS/TRADE SHOWS SCHEDULE

Click here to view a current list of festivals and shows that SCW will be tabling at.

EARTH AND UNION FRIENDLY PRODUCTS & PRACTICES

Click here to view a full breakdown of our products and our practices here at SCW.

FRAMING INFORMATION

Click here to read about our framing services

CALL FOR ART

We accept art and photography submissions year-round. Please download our Art Call for specifications and deadlines for specific products, payment terms, etc.

BE A CATALOG HAWKER FOR SCW

If you would like to sign up to help us distribute extra catalogs please fill out this PDF form HERE and send it back to us and we'll send you some catalogs.

ACTIVIST RESOURCES

Despite increasing corporate control over media in the US, there remains a vibrant world of alternative publications. Our Media Alert leaflet lists 30-40 great sources of news and analysis.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Read From the Publisher here.