About
Center for Book Arts promotes active explorations of artistic practices related to the book as an art object.
For nearly 50 years, CBA has supported artists and uplifted the book arts by presenting exhibitions, lectures, readings, and performances; providing opportunities for artists, writers, curators and scholars through residencies, fellowships, publishing, and collecting; and empowering the creation of new book art by providing courses on book art related technique and history. We are committed to providing a nurturing environment for our community in New York City and beyond to grow and learn together. Our studios and virtual educational programming make accessible the equipment and skills needed for artists and writers to take book production into their own hands, and giving creative voices a tool to self amplify without the need to rely on the gallery model or commercial pressures.
Founded in 1974, Center for Book Arts was the first not-for-profit organization of its kind in the nation, and has since become a model for others around the world, serving as a space for research, education, exhibition, making, and community building.
In solidarity with Black lives and in our efforts toward utilizing the book arts as a tool and methodology toward liberation, the Board and Staff of the Center for Book Arts are reaffirming our ongoing commitment to anti-racism and to restate our stance and active work against violence in all its guises.
A major goal of our programs both in person and online, is to encourage and nurture the many perspectives, experiences, and processes that artists bring to the space; cultivating a myriad of practices within the book arts, tying in our varied and collective histories outside of the dominant canon.
We, as an organization, support efforts that oppose discrimination due to race, ability, sexual orientation, and gender identity, religion, and age, and are dedicated to values that ensure transparency and equity for all our staff, students, faculty, and the greater book arts community.
Artist-in-Residence Rachel Hillery
Visit
Center for Book Arts
28 West 27th Street, 3rd Fl
New York, NY 10001
Admission is FREE
Hours
- Mon, 11am–4pm
- Tue, 11am–4pm
- Wed, 11am–4pm
- Thu, 11am–4pm
- Fri, 11am–4pm
- Sat, 11am–4pm
- Sun, CLOSED
CBA is closed to the public on the following dates
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Memorial Day Weekend
- Fourth of July
- Labor Day Weekend
- Thanksgiving Holiday
- 2019–2020 Winter Holiday
- Dec 23, 2010–Jan 4, 2021
CBA is open to the public but will not hold classes on these dates
- Passover
- Rosh Hashanah
- Yom Kippur
Center for Book Arts’ loft space is located in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan, conveniently near public transit. Our facilities serve as a space for education, creation and exhibition of book art. Our central gallery spaces feature rotating exhibitions that present artists’ books and the book as a contemporary art medium.
Our studios include a letterpress print shop with five Vandercook proof presses, two platen presses, a 19th century Washington hand press and several platen presses; a composing room with many cabinets of foundry type; the bindery includes a 36” guillotine paper cutter, many nipping presses, standing presses, three board shears, two 3-ton Kensol hot stamping presses, several Kwikprint hot stamping presses, lying presses, backing presses, and a large variety of hand tools.
The reference library contains over 5000 volumes on artist books, book art, bookbinding, design, printmaking, typography, and related topics. The fine art collection contains over 2500 artist’s books, book art objects, posters and prints. Both collections are searchable in our online catalog. To make an appointment to view a particular item or to conduct research, email collections@centerforbookarts.org.
How to get here
Center for Book Arts is located on the 3rd Floor of 28 West 27th Street, between 6th Avenue and Broadway AND Broadway is east of 6th Avenue in this neighborhood.
Arriving by subway
- N or R train to 28th Street and Broadway
- F or M train to 23rd Street and 6th Avenue
- 6 train to 28th and Lexington Avenue
- 1 train to 28th Street and 7th Avenue
- B, D, Q, and F trains to 34th and 6th Avenue (Herald Square)
- 2 or 3 train to 34th Street (Penn Station)
Arriving by bus
- M1, M2, M3, M5, M6, M7, M10 buses
- Crosstown buses M23 & M34
Visiting from outside the city
- 33rd Street PATH trains from Jersey City or Hoboken to 23rd Street and 6th Avenue or 33rd Street and 6th Avenue
- Amtrak and NJ Transit to Penn Station (34th Street and 7th Avenue)
- MetroNorth trains to Grand Central Station, then the downtown 6 subway to 28th Street and Lexington Avenue
Nearby parking locations
- 29 West 28th Street, between Broadway and 6th Avenue
(Enter on 28th Street or Broadway) - 6th Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets
- 101 West 23rd Street, near 6th Avenue
- 1251 Broadway, near 31st Street
- 39 West 23rd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues
*Street parking in Manhattan is VERY limited and restrictions prevent the general public from using street parking on weekdays from 6am-7pm in our neighborhood.*
Accessibility
Center for Book Arts welcomes all and makes every attempt to accommodate our community’s access needs. CBA’s building has an elevator, with a backup freight elevator, which are both accessible from street level. Our galleries and studio space are wheelchair accessible with an ADA-compliant bathroom. The space is regularly cleaned and sanitized. If you do not have a mask when you arrive, one will be provided for you. Large type programs are available on request. Please call ahead if you have questions or needs.
Contact Us
Center for Book Arts
28 West 27th Street, 3rd Fl
New York, New York 10001
(212) 481-0295
Staff
Corina Reynolds
Executive Director
Jenna Hamed
Programs Manager
Devyn Mañibo*
Marketing Manager
Emily Miranker
Audience Development & Special Projects Manager
Theo Roth
Librarian
Elizabeth Castaldo
Studio Coordinator
Kelsey King
Education Coordinator
Allison Carter-Beaulé
Administrative Assistant
Zoe Katz
Outreach Assistant
Matthew Murphy
Volunteer Print Specialist
Mandy Abokhair
Collections Intern
Leila Louhaichy
Education Intern
Fernanda Penfold-Perez
Design Intern
*Marketing for Center for Book Arts programs is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts under Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council Initiative.
Studio Stewards
Biruta Auna
Delphi Basilicato
Elizabeth Castaldo
Keith Graham
Roni Gross
Barbara Henry
MC Hyland
Nancy Loeber
Amber McMillan
Richard O’Russa
Board of Directors
Roberta Brody
Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College
Stephen Bury, Chair
Andrew W. Mellon Chief Librarian, Frick Art Reference Library
Gail Coleman, Treasurer
Managing Director and CFO, J. Fitzgibbons LLC
Maria Fredericks
Sherman Fairchild Head of Conservation
Thaw Conservation Center, The Morgan Library & Museum
Tom L. Freudenheim
Museum Professional and Art Critic
Neal Grenley, Secretary
White & Case LLP
Milan Hughston
Museum Professional, Retired
Paul John
Artist, Educator, and Founder of Endless Editions
Nancy Macomber
Head of Library Technical Services; Associate Professor, CUNY, Retired
Miriam Schaer
Artist and Educator
Asher Schlusselberg, Vice Chair
Associate, The Plymouth Group
Kenneth Soehner
Arthur K. Watson Chief Librarian in the Thomas J. Watson Library
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Szilvia Szmuk-Tanenbaum
Special Collections Librarian and Faculty, St. John’s University, Retired
International Council
Sarah Bodman
Bristol, United Kingdom
David Dibosa
London, United Kingdom
Peter Foolen
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Jack Ginsberg
Johannesburg, South Africa
Cornelia Lauf
Rome, Italy
Angela Lorenz
Bologna, Italy
Susanne Padberg
Vienna, Austria
Priya Pereira
Mumbai, India
Sharmini Pereira
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Melanie Scarciglia
Paris, France
Renée Ting
Singapore
Founder
Press
2021
- Books to See and Feel, Kate Silzer, Hyperallergic, February 27, 2021
- Living Through Transition: Beatrice Coron Lets Curiosity and Creative Intuition Take the Lead, VAWAA, February 13, 2021
- Center for Book Arts to Host Virtual Reception for Three New Exhibitions, Barbara Basbanes Richter, Fine Books Magazine, January 6, 2021
2020
- Americans Looking In at Center for Book Arts, Etty Yaniv, Art Spiel, November 18, 2020
2019
- Walt Whitman’s Words, The Artist’s Book Yearbook
- America Celebrates Walt Whitman, Walt Whitman Initiative
- Every Page of This Book is a Slice of Cheese, Abigail Cain, Atlas Obscura.com Feb 18, 2019
- Redefining Identity Through Artists’ Books, Megan N. Liberty, Hyperallergic.com
- Building Blocks: Toward a Translation of Artists’ Books at the Center for Book Arts, Ikram Lakhdhar, The Chart
2018
- Why Grown-Ups Should Play With Artists’ Books Designed for Kids, Alexis Clements, hyperallergic.com
2017
- The Center for Book Arts is Awarded a NYC Cultural Tourism Grant
2016
- New Learning Times (Columbia Teachers College): Seen in NY: Center for Book Arts
- AI-AP / DART: South Florida Book Arts in New York
- AI-AP / DART: Esther K. Smith: Making Books with Kids
2015
- Brooklyn Magazine: A Guide to the New York Art Book Fair
- Hyperallergic: In Readers’ Hands, Archives Find New Contexts, Megan Liberty, March 30, 2015
- New Rochelle Daily Voice: Book Arts Exhibit Opens At College of New Rochelle In September
- AI-AP / DART: The Center for Book Arts: 40 Years
- AI-AP / DART: The Center for Book Arts: Then & Now
- Art Nexus: Artist Books
- Fine Books & Collections: Summer Exhibitions at the Center for Book Arts
2014
- Fine Books & Collections: The Center for Book Arts Celebrates 40 Years
- Time Out New York: Books: The Center for Book Arts 40th Anniversary Colloquium
- Hyperallergic: Zines-1980s Counterculture, and Its Legacy, in Zines
- Paris Review: The Zines of ABC No Rio, Dan Piepenbring
- Flatiron Hot! News: Center for Book Arts Exhibit Showcases Sublime Symmetry of Books
- Publishing Perspectives: The Book as Art, Art as The Book
- AI-AP / DART: Book Arts Unbound
2013
- Indypendent: The Road to Al-Mutannabi Starts Here
- Art New England: ASHES TO PAPER- The Defiance of Remembering
- DART: small editions
2012
- Frieze Magazine: Canceled – Alternative Manifestations and Productive Failures
- Hyperallergic: Canceled review
2011
- Fine Books and Collections: Collecting at the Center for Book Arts
- New York Magazine: Analog Renaissance
2010
- New York Times: Events Inspired By the Written Word – Poems and Pictures
2009
- University of the West of England Book Arts Newsletter: There Goes My Hero – What Makes a Book Work
- Design Arts Daily: Racism – An American Family Value
2008
- American Craft: The Hand and the Book
- Brooklyn Rail: Show and Tell: Contemporary Practice in Artists’ Books
- American Craft: Not Just for Reading
- The Villager: Artist as Publisher and Fun & Games (And Such…)
- Saveur Magazine: Eat Your Words