Exhibiting Artists’ Books:
Discovering New Best Practices for the Exhibition and Interpretation of Artists’ Books
Center for Book Arts is pleased to announce an open call for a five day, hands-on convening to consider best practices for the public exhibition of artists’ books for early- to mid-career curators and specialists in the field of prints and drawings.
ABOUT THE CONVENING
The convening will include hands on workshops in printing and binding methods used by artists in the production of artists’ books, visits to artists’ book collections at New York Museums, and group discussions focussing on developing new best practices for exhibiting artists’ books. Participants will get a rare glimpse into how artists’ books are considered in some of the most important prints and drawings collections in NYC and an opportunity to learn from some of the challenges and successes of the curators who steward these works.
ELIGIBILITY
This project prioritizes mid-career curators, with up to 20 years of experience, whose curatorial focuses are in prints and drawings. Center for Book Arts will also consider early-career curators with the same focus area. Affiliation with a museum or institution is preferred but not required.
ABOUT CENTER FOR BOOK ARTS
Center for Book Arts promotes active explorations of both contemporary and traditional artistic practices related to the book as an art object.
Center for Book Arts was the earliest in the world to organize a focus on the creation, study and interpretation of artists’ books, as well as the book arts practices which support their creation, which include bookbinding, typesetting, printing, paper making, and book design. Since its founding in 1974 by Richard Minksy, Center for Book Arts has continued to not only teach these practices but reflect on them critically, through avenues including exhibitions with corresponding scholarly catalogues; hosting the Contemporary Artists’ Book Conference; and publishing Book Art Review, a new periodical designed to encourage and further scholarship and critical writing about artists’ books. For the past five decades, Center for Book Arts has served as a champion for artists and the art of the book—as well as an inspiration for the creation of book arts centers across the world. Nationally and internationally, Center for Book Arts is noted for building bridges between the book arts field and the larger spheres of contemporary visual, literary, and interdisciplinary art.
CBA’s Permanent Collection consists of three parts:
- Fine Arts Collection of artists’ books, prints, and objects
- Reference Library focused on the practice, theory, and history of book arts
- CBA’s Archives containing records of original exhibitions presented at CBA and the history of CBA’s programmatic activities.
Taken as a whole, CBA’s collections serve as a historical record of book art as a creative medium and a framework for critical research into book art practice.
You can browse the collections online or make an appointment to visit in-person by emailing collections@centerforbookarts.org.
IMPORTANT DATES
Application Posted:
May 15, 2024
Application Deadline:
June 15 20, 2024 by 11:59pm (APPLICATION EXTENDED!)
Applicants Notified:
July 2024
Convening Takes Place: October 7-11, 2024
SELECTION PROCESS
Participants will be selected by an independent panel of professionals based on the applicant’s experience working with artists’ books, interest, and the potential impact of the program on their career and institution. 6-10 applicants will be selected to participate.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications should be submitted via submittable and must include all of the following:
- A resume or CV
- A statement of interest
- A letter of recommendation
Please note that this opportunity is intended for professional curators rather than artists.
This workshop is made possible with support from Getty through The Paper Project initiative.
