Printing has always been political.
Who gets to tell stories, share ideas, and shape public debate has often depended on who controls the means of publication.
That is why places like Rabbits Road Press matter.
Hidden inside the historic and magnificent Old Manor Park Library on Romford Road is one of London's few community Risograph studios: a place where artists, activists, neighbours, and first-time makers can become publishers themselves.
Earlier this year, I wrote about the Curwen Press of Plaistow, whose pioneering approach to printing helped democratise art and design in the 20th century.
Nearly a century later, Rabbits Road Press feels like a worthy successor to that tradition, placing creative tools directly into the hands of local people.
The press was established in 2017 by artist collective OOMK (One Of My Kind), who had already spent years exploring self-publishing through zines, workshops, and independent publishing projects.
What began as an artist residency in Old Manor Park Library was only intended to last 18 months.
Instead, it is approaching its 10th anniversary, a cause for celebration for the artist trio, Heiba Lamara, Sofia Niazi, and Rose Nordin.
"We teach people how to print their own ideas," co-founder Heiba Lamara explains.
For anyone unfamiliar with Risograph printing, the machines look a lot like photocopiers from another era.
Developed in Japan during the 1980s, they were originally designed as affordable duplicating machines for small businesses, schools, churches, and community organisations.
Long before social media, they helped people produce newsletters, campaign literature, posters, and pamphlets quickly and cheaply.
Artists soon recognised their creative potential.
Combining elements of photocopying, screen printing, and publishing, Risographs produce vivid colours, layered textures, and gloriously imperfect results.
Yet, the real magic of Rabbits Road Press lies less in the machines than in the people gathered around them.
"Somebody could be printing birthday cards and somebody else could be doing protest posters," says Heiba.
"We wanted that crossover."
Heiba feels that print should be accessible to working-class people, and Rabbits Road Press works to remove barriers and reveal the possibilities of arts education.
That philosophy has shaped the press from the beginning.
Workshops and open-access sessions bring together artists, campaigners, designers, community organisers, and complete beginners.
Ideas are exchanged alongside technical skills.
People arrive to make things and often leave having encountered new perspectives and new communities.
Looking back, Heiba believes one of the reasons the project survived was that it was given something increasingly rare in London as an arts organisation: time in a space without the pressure to be immediately profitable.
"We had the opportunity and immense privilege to be able to try and fail, try and fail, and just work on things for several years," she says.
In a city where creative spaces are constantly under pressure, Rabbits Road Press is a reminder of what can happen when artists are trusted to experiment and communities are trusted to create.
Like the Curwen Press before it, Rabbits Road Press is proof that Newham's printing story is far from over.
You can support Rabbits Road Press (rabbitsroadpress.com) by following them online, and if you sign up for their newsletter you will be the first to hear when they release their incredibly popular introductory Riso sessions in June and July.
Rosamond Murdoch is a freelance cultural producer.
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