- What is a free shop?
- Can I download/print/use the work listed here?
- Do I have to credit the artists?
- Why do this?
- Can I submit work?
- Who runs this site?
What is a free shop?
It’s a storefront where you can take whatever you like, at no cost.
All graphics and artworks uploaded here are free for you to save, print, perform, project, copy, cover, sample, remix, or otherwise use as you like.
You are not obligated to credit the artists, or this website, but we’d like it if you spread the word about the resources shared here.
Can I download/print/use the work listed here?
Yes.
Can I use it for [X]?
You can do whatever you want with it forever.
But what if I want to [Y]?
You can do whatever you want with it forever.
Do I have to credit the artists?
No, but let’s unpack this a bit.
Everything on Unprintable has been released to the public domain. That means the original creators have voluntarily waived all rights of ownership, including the legal right to be credited. They are still the creators of the work of course, and you can still credit them if you choose. But we want it to be your decision.
You might want to credit creators to help others find similar work by the same artist, or so that you remember their name if you come across them again in future. You might really like a piece of work and want the public record to show who accomplished it. It might help reduce the bloat of the ‘Anonymous’ folder. You might just feel it’s polite.
Your reasoning is your business. But we’d like you to think about it, and to make your decision on purpose.
Why do this?
A few reasons:
1. We want a space to just share things, no strings attached.
We recognise that copyright is an irrational system that was designed to protect the profit interests of publishing middlemen and IP hoarders. In fact, copyright is often weaponised against the creators it pretends to protect. As long as it exists, we are unlikely to win any other form of protection for our work, and we are profoundly limited from engaging in the kind of communal artistic and storytelling practices that were the norm around the world for thousands of years.
2. Radical art is often unprintable.
Profit motives make people cautious. A lot of print-on-demand or local print shop services will refuse artwork with controversial, sensitive or political content. This is very frustrating when these themes are the focus of so much of our work (and indeed our lives). Rather than waste any more breath trying to explain why a trans artist might want to print the word ‘faggot’, we can give our work away for free. Got a printer? It’s yours.
3. It feels good.
Sharing is joyful. It’s the reason we love making things in the first place. We don’t write poems because we look forward to filleting them for consumption, or layer colours so that we can sell a canvas by the ounce. We have only ever wanted to be able to support ourselves so that we can make, but that relationship is deeply dysfunctional under capitalism. We made these things, and we want you to have them. It doesn’t need to be complicated.
Can I submit work?
The short answer is: no.
The longer answer is: This is a closed collection. As the organiser, I’m not comfortable representing anyone’s work as public domain unless I know them personally.
Giving away one’s art is (and should be) a very personal and valuable act. I’m comfortable participating in that gesture with my close friends, family, and local activists in my personal social sphere, but I’m not the right person to represent that process for the public, or for online artists as a whole.
Good news, though: it’s very easy to give away art! You can do it yourself, and we heartily encourage you to make that connection with your own work and your own community. You don’t need Unprintable to act as an elevated platform or filter. We would love to see others like you start to build more free art outlets, with friends or on your own terms, and for this project to become utterly unremarkable.
Who runs this site?
The free shop is organised and maintained by R/L Monroe, but a variety of artists contribute work. Some give one-off donations, while others add to the collection regularly.
If you need to get in touch with us for any reason, please use the form below: