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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, 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.

Various images laid out in a scrapbook mapping the Center's first ten years, including a black and white photograph of people working in our bindery, taken by Richard Minsky, and a poster for an open forum in 1984
 Scrapbook items from the Center’s first ten years
Image of bold letters on a metter press marked in red and blank ink to be printed as protest posters reading "BLACK LIVES MATTER"
Letterpress blocks reading “Black Lives Matter” for protest posters made by
Artist-in-Residence Rachel Hillery

Visit*

View Covid 19 Policies

To visit or attend a class at CBA, you will need to show proof of vaccination to a staff member before you enter the space.

In addition, all staff, artists, and guests are required to wear a mask on-site.

Learn More

Center for Book Arts
28 West 27th Street, 3rd Fl
New York, NY 10001

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Admission is FREE

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Hours

  • Mon, 11am–6pm
  • Tue, 11am–6pm
  • Wed, 11am–6pm
  • Thu, 11am–6pm
  • Fri, 11am–4pm
  • Sat, 11am–4pm
  • Sun, CLOSED

CBA is closed to the public on the following dates

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan 18)
  • Memorial Day Weekend (May 29 through May 31)
  • Juneteenth (Jun 21, observed)
  • Fourth of July (Jul 5, observed)
  • Summer Exhibition Break (Jun 28 through Jul 8)
  • Labor Day Weekend (Sep 3 – Sep 5)
  • Fall Exhibition Break (Sep 20 – Sep 30)
  • Thanksgiving Holiday (Nov 24)
  • Winter Exhibition Break (Dec 13 – Dec 23)
  • Winter Hiatus (Dec 24 – Jan 2, 2022)

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

info@centerforbookarts.org

Contact Us

We receive a high level of inquiries, please be patient and allow 3-5 business days to receive a reply from the appropriate staff member.

Staff

Corina Reynolds
Executive Director

Elsbeth Pancrazi
Director of Development

Emily Miranker
Audience Development & Special Projects Manager

Sara Morgan
Marketing & Communications Manager

Elizabeth Castaldo
Studio Coordinator

Kelsey King
Education Coordinator

Allison Carter-Beaulé
Administrative Assistant

Zoe Katz
Outreach Assistant

Matthew Murphy
Volunteer Print Specialist

*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

Sheila Brathwaite
Director of Global Event & Marketing Operations, S&P Global

Roberta Brody
Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, 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

Richard Minsky

Press

Media Contact

Sara Morgan
Communications Manager
sara@centerforbookarts.org
415-845-1138

Press Clips
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
  • The Road to Al-Mutannabi Starts Here, Indypendent
  • ASHES TO PAPER—The Defiance of Remembering, Stephen Vincent Kobasa, Art New England, Jul/Aug 2013
  • Small Editions, Made By Hand, Peggy Roalf, AI-AP | DART, Mar 28, 2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2001

Annual Report

2018 Annual Report
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