United States
Alabama
- In 1985, University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama began to offer a master's degree in the book arts [1] in the School of Library and Informational Studies. It emphasizes making books by hand.
- Edith Frohock taught book arts at University of Alabama at Birmingham. Frohock specialized in painting, printmaking and artist's books and was the first instructor to teach books as art in the South. Mary Ann Sampson credits Frohock for steering her in the direction of book arts. [2]
- Space One Eleven in Birmingham, Alabama is a not-for-profit under the direction of Anne Arrasmith and Peter Prinz. The organization has exhibited books as art on numerous occasions including the work of Larry Gens Anderson, Pinky Bass, Jon Coffelt, Edith Frohock, Anne Howard, Joni Mabe, Mary Ann Sampson, David Sandlin, Joel Seah and Marie Weaver among many others who have worked in book arts.
- Agnes 1992–2001 was the first commercial gallery to show book arts in the South and one of only a handful in the country. During its eight years, the gallery, owned by Shawn Boley, Jon Coffelt and Janet Hughes exhibited the work of many noteworthy book artists including Sara Garden Armstrong, Pinky Bass, Mare Blocker, Elisa Bryan, Denise Carbone, Al Edwards, Susan Hensel, Jenny Holzer, Davi Det Hompson, Lee Isaacs, Sally Johnson, Susan E. King, Jim Koss, Ruth Laxson, Miranda Maher, Emily Martin, Vicki Ragan, Tut Altman Riddick, Anita Ronderos, Jessica Rosner, Ed Ruscha, David Sandlin, Claire Jeanine Satin and Joel Seah.
- OEO Press founded by Mary Ann Sampson. After studying bookmaking at University of Alabama at Birmingham with Edith Frohock, Sampson says she was steering into a career in artist's books. Her press is located in Ragland, Alabama and continues to produce limited edition fine art books.
California
- The CODEX Foundation, founded in 2005 by Peter Rutledge Koch and Susan Filter, and located in Berkeley. [3] They hold the CODEX International Symposium and Artists' Book Fair every two years in early February, on the odd year. [4] It is the largest artists' book fair in the world with over 300 artists coming from more than 26 countries. The Codex Foundation exists to preserve and promote the contemporary hand-made book as a work of art in the broadest possible context and to bring to public recognition the artists, the craftsmanship, and the rich history of the civilization of the book. [3]
- The San Francisco Center for the Book was founded by Mary Austin and Kathleen Burch in 1996 and was the first Center of its kind on the West Coast. [5] SFCB maintains a 6,358 square foot facility that houses a large print studio, book bindery, and classroom and administrative space. SFCB offers four to five book arts-related exhibitions each year, focused on artist's books, design bindings, fine press books, artist retrospectives, and private collections among other topics. Its workshop program presents 325 letterpress printing, bookbinding, and related arts workshops to nearly 2,000 students annually. SFCB is also home to the annual Roadworks Steamroller Printing Festival, a local artist/vendor street festival that celebrates printing by using the road surface as a printing bed and antique steamrollers as presses for large-scale linocut prints. Attendance at this street festival tops 3,000.
- The Los Angeles art scene (see: Art in the Greater Los Angeles Area) is considered one of the founding homes of the artist's book. "Twenty-Six Gasoline Stations", created by Ed Ruscha in 1964 is one of the first artist's books. The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla has a large collection of artists' books, focusing on conceptual artists' books, and those created by California artists and presses. The library holds the complete collection of Ruscha's conceptual artist's books created during the 1960s and 70s.
- The Women's Graphic Center, at the Woman's Building, was founded in 1973, for women artists to create artist's books. Exhibitions were held there. The center closed in 1991. The Lab Press was founded in the 1970s by Woman's Building co-founder Sheila Levrant de Bretteville to teach printing and the making of books.
- The Otis College of Art and Design began collecting and exhibiting artists' books in the 1960s.
Florida
- Florida Atlantic University's Wimberly Library is home to the Jaffe Center for Book Arts which revolves around a collection of books as aesthetic objects focused on artists' books and limited editions. In 1998, Arthur and Mata Jaffe donated their collection of 2,800 books to FAU and the Jaffe Collection opened in 2000. Since then, the collection has grown to over 6,000 cataloged materials, as well as thousands more yet to be cataloged. In 2007, an expanded Jaffe Center for Book Arts opened; it included a letterpress studio, book bindery and paper making lab. In 2011, poet and artist Helen M. Salzberg established JCBA's Artist in Residence (AIR) program which funds two residencies each academic year. The AIRs produce creative works utilizing JCBA facilities. They also teach workshops and provide mentoring opportunities to FAU students and staff. JCBA is based at a university, but the center's programming is community-based: JCBA offers workshops and presents educational book arts programming (as well as intimate concerts, films and other book art related events) for the students and faculty of FAU as well as the broader community.
- The University of Florida in Gainesville, FL has a small collection of book arts in the Harold and Mary Jean Hanson Rare Book Collection, [6] including engraving proofs from William Morris, engraved wood blocks by Eric Gill, and letterpress books by Julie Chen (book artist). In addition, undergraduate and graduate courses in book arts and letterpress are offered in the University of Florida College of the Arts.
Georgia
- Nexus Press, in Atlanta, was a major publisher of artists books. Founded in 1978 by Michael Goodman and Gary Lee Super, Nexus Press encouraged artists to make books as original works of art. Nexus Press was one of the few artists book publishing centers that provided artists with access to offset lithography as a creative process. Though the press also had letterpress equipment, it never was a center for fine print production. It was a center for experimental book production and produced more than 150 titles, including I Want to Take Picture, by Bill Burke. The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center suspended all Nexus Press operations in 2003.
Illinois
- The Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts, founded in 1994, offers a wide range of classes in papermaking, bookbinding, and printing, in addition to an active exhibition program, artists' residencies, and a lecture series. The center is also home to a graduate program focused on using the book arts in the production of contemporary art.
Iowa
- The University of Iowa Center for the Book is a research program dedicated to the past, present, and future of the book. Located in the University of Iowa Graduate College, the Center integrates practice in the art of the book with study of the book in society. The center offers curricula in the arts of printing, binding, papermaking, and calligraphy, in the history and culture of books as a field of study, and in the expressive power of the book form. The center hosts visiting lectures and workshops with book scholars and artists, including the annual Brownell Lecture on the History of the Book and Mitchell Lecture on the Arts of the Book. [7]
- The center offers a Master of Fine Arts in the Book Arts, as well as a Graduate Certificate, which can be pursued alongside a master's or doctoral degree in another department. The UICB also offers a joint degree with the School of Library and Information Sciences and affiliates with book scholars in UI departments and programs such as History, English, Journalism and Communication Studies, Religious Studies, the Writers' Workshop, and American Studies. [7]
- In 2015, the Center entered a joint publishing project with the University of Iowa Press called Impressions: Studies in the Art, Culture, and Future of Books, edited by Matthew P. Brown. [8] The series invites works that attend to the changing meanings of authorship, publication, and reading and that explain the shifting valences of print, image, speech, script, and screen. [8]
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
- Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis has a large gallery space and sponsors a number of artist programs, including residencies, fellowships, and lecture series. In addition, educational opportunities are offered to both youth and adult learners through classes, tours, workshops and onsite visits.
- Susan Hensel Gallery is the home of "A Reader's Art", a long running survey show of artists books. Minneapolis, Minnesota. The mission for Susan Hensel Gallery is art, story and activism, bringing together artists working in all media in the service of story.
Mississippi
- Mississippi Art Colony The colony, established in 1948 is one of the oldest continuing artists colonies in the United States. Notable instructors are Edith Frohock who taught book arts as well as, Larry Gens Anderson, Frances de LaRosa, Moe Brooker, Howard Goodson, Fred Mitchell (artist), Shirley Romer, Barbara Gallagher, Auseklis Ozols, Johnnie Winona Ross and Hugh Williams.
New Hampshire
- The International School of Typography & Letters at Golgonooza Letter Foundry & Press holds classes and workshop retreats in Letterpress Printing, Typographic design, and the Book Arts as well as having a focus on the transformative effect of craft on creativity and process in art and music. Formed in 2013, after 30 years of making books as Golgonooza Letter Foundry & Press, the school offers ongoing internships to students. Julia Ferrari established the school after the loss of her partner, Dan Carr (punch cutter, poet, and type designer) in 2012.
New Jersey
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey has several significant programs that support artists' books. The Brodsky Center (formerly, Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper), in New Brunswick, New Jersey founded by Judith K. Brodsky teaches classes in book-making with an emphasis on both traditional and non-traditional (artists') books. The Rutgers University Libraries support an annual event in the fall on its Newark, New Jersey campus, it calls The New Jersey Book Arts Symposium. Founded in 1994 by Michael Joseph and Susan G. Swartzburg, [9] the NJBAS consistently showcases artists' books by artists who reside, work, or were born or educated in the state, although its inclusive focus falls on every facet of the book arts. As well as featuring presentations by New Jersey artists, the NJBAS includes extended considerations of topics deemed of moment to students and practitioners of the book arts. The NJBAS goes beyond state borders and invites presenters from all parts of the world to speak when their expertise dovetails with that year's topic. The Symposium has posted numerous web pages including a photographic essay on a recent symposium on the relation of artists and collectors of artists' books.
New York
- The Center for Book Arts was founded in 1974 by Richard Minsky, and was the first center dedicated to all aspects of book arts. It has mounted over 140 exhibitions of artists' books. Exhibited artists include Warja Honegger-Lavater.
- Franklin Furnace Archive and Printed Matter, Inc were both founded in 1976, originally as one organization which quickly splintered into two projects: the Franklin Furnace as a major collection of artists' books; Printed Matter as a publisher and distributor. The Franklin Furnace Collection is now held at the Library of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Printed Matter continues to publish and distribute artists' books, but also mounts exhibitions of artists' books, hosts book launches, and acts as an advisory service to both artists and collecting institutions. Printed Matter, Inc also hosts the annual NY Art Book Fair.
- Brooklyn, New York is a center for book arts and is the home of book artist Judy Hoffman.
- 2007–2008 SDCA (Seaport District Cultural Association) under its founding directors, Richard Sack, Jim Wintner and Florence Wack, opened SPACE gallery on Front street in the downtown seaport area of Manhattan. Jon Coffelt was the curator/director of SPACE upstairs book arts venue. Anne Bean exhibited a tie-in exhibition with Franklin Furnace here in the Summer of 2007. SPACE' inaugural exhibition was "Cuerpos Santos" by Pinky Bass followed with an organic book installation by Judy Hoffman. SPACE venue represented artists books as an out-of-the-vernacular experience pushing the boundaries of what is considered a book.
- Central Booking was founded in 2009 by Maddy Rosenberg in DUMBO, Brooklyn gallery district. In 2010, it began publishing CENTRAL BOOKING Magazine. In early 2012 the gallery left its Dumbo space.
- Booklyn Artist Alliance is an artist non-profit that helps document and distribute artist publications and also curates exhibitions. It is located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
North Carolina
- Asheville Bookworks was founded in 2004 in Asheville, North Carolina by Laurie Corral. [10] The organization's goals included providing education and building community for people interested in book arts, letterpress, and printmaking. [10] The facility provided multiple printing presses and equipment for classes, as well as a dedicated gallery space. [11] Exhibitions over the years 2009-2018 included multiple iterations of the Bookopolis event, as listed at the organizations website. [12] [13] The organization announced plans to close in 2019. [14]
Ohio
- Cincinnati has an active book arts community that formed The Cincinnati Book Arts Society approximately 9 years ago. Small but active, the society offers study groups, opportunities to exhibit, workshops and a friendly community of artists ranging from fine bookbinders, librarians, visual artists and novices. Visit the website for more information. The Cincinnati Book Arts Society in conjunction with the Cincinnati Public Library has for the past eight years sponsored an annual "BookWorks" exhibit at the downtown main library. Typically held in the spring, the exhibit features a wide range of books from small edition to one of a kind books.
Texas
- College of the Mainland in Texas City, Texas just hosted a critical overview of the field of book arts called "The Book "ever after"". Co-curators Janet Hassinger and Jon Coffelt selected 38 artists for this exhibition, an overview starting from the beginning of the book arts movement with works by Ed Ruscha, John Cage, Yoko Ono and Dieter Roth to contemporary works by Pinky Bass, Coffelt, and Mary Ann Sampson. [15] The Printing Museum in Houston has a large collection of printing equipment, mounts exhibits, and holds classes in various aspects of book arts.
Austin Book Arts Center opened a "maker space" in a shared studio building in 2015 and began to teach classes in various aspects of the book arts. In Feb. 2019 a large studio was established at 5501 N. Lamar Blvd Suite C-125 Austin 78751. In 2020 ABAC began to teach classes over zoom; a kit is sent to each student. Zoom and in-person classes continue to the present day.
The ABAC mission statement: The mission of Austin Book Arts Center is to engage people of all ages in creative, interpretive, and educational experiences related to the arts of the book.
ABAC regularly offers workshops in letterpress printing, bookbinding, papermaking, typography, book history and design, and various arts of the book. In addition, ABAC provides access to equipment for qualified users during regularly scheduled Open Studio times.
Virginia
- Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia has a large and notable collection of rare and original book art in its Special Collections Department housed in the main university library, James Branch Cabell Library. Included in the collection are books by Lothar Meggendorfer, Davi Det Hompson (aka David E. Thompson), Lucy Lippard, Louise Odes Neaderland, International Society of Copier Artists, Ed Ruscha, Carol Barton, Dieter Roth, Barbara Kruger, Richmond Artists Association (RAA), and many others. VCU's Cabell Library is also a repository for the Women's Studio Workshop, one of the most noted large publishers in the United States of hand printed and hand bound artists' books. [16]
- The Virginia Arts of the Book Center was founded in 1995 in Charlottesville as a public-access book arts workshop providing cooperative use of presses and type for letterpress printing. Begun by Josef Beery, Cal Otto, and Terry Belanger, the Center became the locus of serious artistic activity during the years preceding and following the turn of the millennium when book artist, art theoretician, and author Johanna Drucker became its visiting artist for almost a decade. Partnership with the University of Virginia Art Department through the sponsorship of art professor and book artist Dean Dass opened the center to the activities of college students from surrounding academic institutions. Through the leadership of Kevin McFadden, the self-governed organization was absorbed by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities during this period and then in 2018 became a part of the Virginia Center for the Book. The current resident artist and program director is Garrett Queen who provides support to a vibrant group of book artists who teach classes and sponsor events encouraging and supporting the arts of the book. They describe themselves as "a community of artists exploring books, paper, and printmaking."
Washington
- The Pacific Northwest is a hub of book art activity. Notable collections at the University of Washington Suzzallo Library, whose Book Arts Collection, under the Direction of Sandra Kroupa, is part of the Libraries Special Collections Division. Just across Puget Sound by ferry on Bainbridge Island is the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art which houses the Cynthia Sears Artists' Book Collection, curated by Catherine Alice Michaelis. The Cynthia Sears Artists' Book Collection comprises more than 3,500 works (as of 10/13/2023) and is growing every day. The Museum's Sherry Grover Gallery is a permanent public showcase for the art form with three unique exhibitions per year and the museum does an expanded artists' book collection and related festival triannually.
Wisconsin
- Activity in the book arts in Wisconsin is centered around the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For many years, Walter Hamady taught in Madison, and countless notable book artists studied with him. His Perishable Press, Ltd. is located nearby in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. [17] Today, a considerable community of book artists live and work in and around Madison.
