In 1979, the german artist Wolfgang Hunecke, who was organizing an exposition of primitive painting of Solentiname in his studio in Bonn, got to know Ernesto Cardenal, the minister of culture of Nicaragua at this time. Hunecke talked to Cardenal about his idea to help nicaraguan artists to ameliorate their life situation by creating a gravure and lithography workshop.
Ten years later, in 1989, Hunecke had collected all the money he needed for the project with the help of some German friends. Ernesto Cardenal and Dietmar Schönherr proposed him to establish the planned workshop in the recently founded Casa de los Tres Mundos.
In Bonn Hunecke showed the different basic gravure techniques to Fernando López who is the cultural director of the Foundation today. They both came to Nicaragua and brought the first printing press and the material for the first art printings in Granada. After Hunecke had visited Nicaragua continuously for ten years to refine the printing techniques, the artist Paúl Morales took the responsibility for the workshop in the beginning of the 1990’s.