Artist Highlight: Tom Virgin
We’re thrilled to welcome Tom Virgin as one of the newest additions to the Bakehouse community! A Miami-based artist and educator, Tom transforms printmaking, book arts, and public art into vibrant celebrations of community, literature, and public spaces. As the founder of Extra Virgin Press, he has built a practice rooted in collaboration and storytelling. His work is featured in major collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Walker Art Center. Through decades of teaching and community engagement, Tom invites us to recognize and honor community treasures, like literature, public schools, and public spaces.
Can you tell us about your artistic practice?
After earning two degrees in Printmaking (BFA in Painting and Printmaking from FAU, 1989; MFA in Printmaking from UM, 1994), I briefly worked in two museum roles (at the Wolfsonian Museum and FIU, both in 1994). Shortly afterward, I began teaching art in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (at Miami Beach Senior High and Hialeah High). Teaching the students — and learning from them in return — deeply shaped my practice.
Each summer, I worked with youth through various programs until I began taking workshops (in printmaking and book arts myself). Through professional development classes (with Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs) and connections with fellow artists, I learned about artist residencies. Summers spent in residencies exposed me to new communities — and I invited many of those artists back to Miami.
Tell us about a personal artistic project or body of work that you are currently excited about.
Books have always been a passion of mine, and printmaking eventually led me back to them. Artist and writer collaborations opened doors to communities across the U.S. (that still worked with letterpress printing).
In 2015, after receiving a Knight Arts Challenge Grant, Emerson Dorsch Gallery invited me to launch Extra Virgin Press in their Little Haiti space. Through my mentors and colleagues in the printing and book arts worlds, I was introduced to fine press books. I have since completed four of five books partially funded by Oolite Arts' Ellies Creator Grants.
Why are you excited to be joining the Bakehouse community?
We all have stories to tell, and with artists, those stories take many forms. My time collaborating with writers through residencies introduced me to a vibrant current of creativity shared through broadsheets and artist books. I have been visiting Bakehouse since 1992, when I moved to Miami (for my MFA in Printmaking at the University of Miami). Being in this space, surrounded by so many dedicated artists, offers endless opportunities for collaboration, inspiration, and support. Printers share presses; artists share ideas. Bakehouse has always felt like a true creative community, and I’m excited to now be part of it.