An Interview with Sweet Corn Press, July 2025

Tell me about the beginning! What inspired the creation of Sweet Corn Press? How was the collective formed - what is the big idea  behind it? 

The collective began as a group project in a capstone university class for visual design where the theme was “community”. We all struggled with this theme, not really knowing where to go with it and struggling to be creative in such distressing times. Me personally, I was finding it difficult to justify ‘graphic design’ when my world was burning around me.  History is repeating itself and this sense of a looming calamity I could do nothing to stop left me with little creative spark. Ultimately, art is human culture and design is how we  continue to talk to each other in trying times. That said, I think we all came together to find  purpose and fight for our communities using art and design to act as messengers in these  trying times. 

The name Sweet Corn was inspired by agriculture, specifically my experience working on  a farm throughout college. Agriculture is tough but important work that heavily relies on  the hard work of immigrants. It’s also where I personally learned a lot of life lessons on the  value of labour, collaboration, and coexisting with nature. Sweet corn is an iconic  American food and is only fruitful when grown in groups/clusters— the plants may not  even survive if planted in isolation. That’s where this idea of “we only reap the fruits of  labour if we grow together” came from— it’s one big metaphor. – RAT 

What is your overall goal/mission? Why is advocating for your communities important to you/the collective? 

The overall mission of Sweet Corn Press is to make art that advocates for our communities,  fostering greater empathy in a world consumed by fear. While each of us are from varying  communities and have different motivations—whether that be workers’ rights,  environmentalism, immigrant rights, racial equity, human experience—we are all  connected by the general want for a world unburdened by the everyday consequences of  rampant capitalism. –CHICKEN 

Personally, I want Sweet Corn Press to act as a free press that shares important  information to the people and advocates for resilience and change. I’d like it to become a  newsletter that can provide people important relevant information in a graphically  pleasing way. Our country is rather divided right now but our strength lies in our  numbers. The real enemy is the 1%, the few people of power. We are stronger together and I  hope Sweet Corn Press can help people feel belonging in this fight. –RAT 

Our goal and mission is to bring the issues we see our communities facing to light through  art and design. I think one of the best ways to understand the world and people around us  is through art. By being a voice for and in our community we can come together in  resistance of a common adversary. –WORM

Tell me about your interest in print work specifically! Why are zines,  pamphlets, etc. one of your main focuses? 

We focus on print work like zines, pamphlets, and posters because these are cheap (depending on the number of details) and easy to produce while also being easy to disseminate. We do charge for our handouts right now as we are just getting started, but  the goal is to create a system of printed information that people can either take for free or  on a “pay what you can” basis. The focus on printed material is also majorly influenced by  avoiding the security risks that come with using the internet. – CHICKEN 

Printed memorabilia is accessible and hard to track. We’re taking graphic design back to its roots!  – RAT 

We love print because we’re graphic designers! Truthfully though, I think that print media  holds a certain kind of “authority”. If you’re handed a flyer, brochure, or pamphlet it’s likely got information that someone wants you to read. I not only want you to read about what we have to say, but I also want you to enjoy the time you spend with each piece. Printing everything ourselves is a great way to circumvent the potential negative effects  that come with creating and distributing art with ideas that go against the western status quo. – WORM 

You have a pretty wide array of pieces covering a lot of different  topics - are they all made from the collective? Or are they sourced  from other artists as well? Either way, what does that process look like? Is it more individually contributing or is it done in a group  setting? 

Almost all the work that we display is work made by people in the collective, although we have and want to continue to invite artists to contribute! In terms of what is individually made vs. made in a group, it varies. All works have a main contributor/artist, but there are some pieces that I would consider a “group-effort.” I think personally that my own  work differs quite a bit from everyone else’s, so it tends to be more individual, but I do have a few pieces that were made with the help and valuable insight of others! – CHICKEN

Our making process is mostly individual with people working on their own projects but bouncing ideas off of each other. In university, we were able to work more collaboratively in-person but our process will have to change a bit now that most of SCP’s members have graduated. – RAT 

Most work is done by the six of us however, we did invite a guest artist to work with us in one gallery. Inviting local artists to share their stories is something that we want to continue  doing. Process differs from person to person of course, but most of our work is done on an  individual basis with fresh ideas and feedback from the rest of the collective. – WORM 

Tell me about the process of zine making when in a group/collective like this! How do your zines/pamphlets go from an idea to a designed  and finished reality? 

I’m in a particularly bad bout of artist block and have been for quite a while in terms of graphic design, so I’ve been finding it difficult to have a routine when it comes to designing. My art has always been driven by emotion and tangibility, presented in experimental forms that some people might not find appealing. As such, I’ve been struggling to embrace my personal style and prioritizing design that is more generally “acceptable.” I guess all I  can say is I do what feels right! –CHICKEN 

Based on my experience, the making of zines begins with an issue or message we want to send. For me, I was seeing the signs of authoritarianism in our government so I made it my message to inform people of those signs in a zine. So the next step was research (research, research, research! We are semi-journalists after all) then sketching out the best way to graphically communicate the information. You make it digitally then move onto printing. – RAT 

We actually don’t have any set rules or guidelines on zine making, or any other art. Some of us like to get weird with it and produce small runs of experimental zines. Other times we have an important idea or message that needs to be stated clearly. Each zine is created to serve the purpose of its contents. Lately my work has been very experimental focusing on what seems to be reality breaking before our very eyes while we all go about our days hyper normalizing genocide, hate, and greed. – WORM 

What are some of your current aspirations/goals? Where would you  like to see Sweet Corn Press end up or achieve? 

Our main goal right now is getting ourselves out into the local community! We want this to be a community advocacy group, which we can’t do if we don’t know the communities we’re trying to advocate for. In the future, it would be amazing to have a studio to run Sweet Corn Press from with all that equipment that one might need! – CHICKEN 

Currently our main goal is to get out there and establish a solid footing in our local communities. Since we want to advocate for our city we need to get as familiar as we can with those we want to uplift. The ultimate goal would be to run a full print studio with a gallery space so that we can hold events, fundraisers and showcase local artists. – WORM  

You've set up shop in a few different markets and galleries! What  does that process look like? (researching opportunities, setting up,  deciding where/when, etc.) 

We find our opportunities to pop up either through social media or networking with other artists. The process for getting ready is very relaxed. We sign up, figure out who's going to  be there, make some art, run our printer, and show up. The hardest part is transporting  our cart back and forth. – SWEET CORN PRESS (GROUP ANSWER)

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start a  collective/organization like this? 

Starting a collective can be easy! The most important things you need are like-minded friends and passion. As long as you set a clear goal and work towards it, everything else  starts to fall in place. Find a community of people who care about what you do and start  from there! – SWEET CORN PRESS (GROUP ANSWER) 

ALSO do you have any advice for people looking to support their own communities? Any suggestions on actions they could take? 

In terms of supporting one’s own community, I would simply start by researching advocacy groups that already exist and joining in on their efforts! It’s a lot easier than sitting in your  home wondering what you could possibly do on your own. A lot of the time, these organizations already have a connection to the communities they are trying to help and a set plan with tangible events that you can participate in. That’s actually kind of how Sweet Corn Press started. Before we’d decided on a collaborative project, we all had all attended a postering event spreading information on rights under ICE throughout Milwaukee with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Social justice is always stronger in groups, so if you’re ever wanting to make a change but find yourself stuck, find people to do it with! – CHICKEN 

Talk to your neighbors! Talk to people! Volunteer to pick up trash or give food out at shelters. But most importantly, just be around people. Learn from them, be kind, pick a thing to care about and act on it. You can’t save the world, you most certainly can’t prevent a war or recession. But you can start small and witness how the smallest act of kindness and empathy can have an everlasting impact on your community. – RAT 

I think the best way to support your community is to look out for one another, support your neighborhood businesses. These are steps that do require a lot of effort, and can make a big difference. If you’re more extroverted you can be a voice for those who are overlooked or  under represented. – WORM

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