Each year, 15 to 18 artists are invited, through a referral and juror system, to participate in the Serie Project. They come to Coronado Studio, one of only three Latino-based print studios in the United States, to create an original work, collaborate with a master printer, learn how to create a serigraph print, and produce an edition of 50 prints.

Serigraph printmaking is a very specialized printing medium. Only a handful of fine art print shops exist in the United States. Depending on the number of artists, anywhere between 750 and 900 prints are produced annually through the Serie Project. The focus is on the work of Latina/o artists, but is not exclusively so. The artist keeps one half of the prints s/he produces, and the Serie Project keeps the other. The work of all the artists is then shown at exhibits during the course of the year. In this way, they are made available to the public, both for viewing and for sale.

The artists are not charged for their participation in the program and they learn the basic process of fine art printmaking, as well as its technical aspects. Serigraphy is the fine art process of printmaking commonly known as screen-printing. In contrast to the commercial silk-screen pneumatic machine process, each color run in the serigraph printmaking process is hand-pulled by the master printer in collaboration with each individual artist. This hand-pulled craftsmanship makes the small edition as unique as an original painting. Each artist is provided with the facility, materials, and master printer needed to complete the printmaking process. This allows the artist to explore and create work in a medium they might not otherwise be able to do, due to the lack of resources.

Artists selected to participate in the program represent an array of experience, backgrounds, and techniques. The artists are selected through a referral and juror system. Artists that have participated in the program recommend two or more artists for the program. The work of all the referred artists are reviewed by Sam Coronado, the master printer, artists who have previously participated in Serie, and arts professionals and organizations such as Mexic-Arte Museum and La Peña, Inc.

Sam Coronado initiated the Serie Project in 1993. The project is modeled after Self-Help Graphics in Los Angeles, California, a 30 year-old community-based organization which works with 20-30 artists per year and whose prints have been exhibited nationally and internationally. It was through Sam Coronado’s participation in Self-Help Graphics’ Atelier print project that he was inspired to create a similar print studio in Austin, Texas. Prior to December 1999 the Serie Project was an umbrella project sponsored by La Peña, Inc., a local Latino non-profit arts organization. In December 1999 the Serie Project, Inc., was formally organized and incorporated as a State of Texas Non-Profit Corporation and received its federal tax exempt status 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Service in December 2000.

To date, over 150 artists have participated in the Serie program. It has gained the attention and support of museums such as the Art Institute of South Texas in Corpus Christi, Texas; the Austin Museum of Art in Austin, Texas; the McAllen International Museum in McAllen, Texas; the South Broadway Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the Guadalupe Cultural Center in San Antonio, Texas; the Hispanic Research Center at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona; and other venues around the United States and Texas. Some of the prints have been featured in the PBS Series titled Art Journeys. In addition, several artists that have participated in Serie have been featured in Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art, a two-volume book by Gary D. Keller, Mary Erickson, Kaytie Johnson, and Joaquin Alvarado, published by Bilingual Review/Press in 2002. Several of the artists’ serigraphs were reproduced in the volumes.