#artistbooks

Holding Ground: Artist’s Books for the NMWA /  by Alisa Banks

I am honored to have been one of nine book artists invited to complete a commissioned work to commemorate the grand re-opening of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, DC. My proposed work, History of a People traces African American history and culture through scent.

Each of the six bottles (or chapters) holds a custom blended scent that corresponds to the cultural landscape of selected historical periods: Roots, Journey, Arrival, Harrow, Protest,Visioning. The scents symbolize the complex layering involved in the creation of a new culture.

Holding Ground: Artist’s Books for the NMWA, will be on display until October 2024. The celebration is year-long and the museum is planning several events. 

Paper is People /  by Alisa Banks

Lineage

I’m pleased to announce that my textile work Lineage is on view in Paper Is People: Decolonizing Global Paper Cultures, at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA).

The exhibition “offers a new definition of paper­ within a global and decolonial framework, and will be on view at MCBA until August 12, 2023. A reception will be held Thursday, June 22, 7–9pm.

The exhibition is free and open to the public. Additional information can be found here.

Changing the Conversation /  by Alisa Banks

I am honored to be the featured speaker for Changing the Conversation, and exhibition of “artist books, zines, and broadsides (that seek) to encourage conversations that challenge long held beliefs, ideals, and ideas facing our society. The exhibit will cover multiple topics that will leave each reader with an expanded knowledge of the social justice issues we face in our past, present, and future.”

In my talk Political Bodies: Agency and Intention, I will spotlight my book Wrongful Termination, which is included in the exhibition, the incidents that inspired it, a few other works and some thoughts on changing the conversation.

The talk is scheduled for Thursday, August 25, 2022 at 4pm Pacific Time. The event is free, but registration is required. Click here to register. Hope you see you there!

August at Women's Studio Workshop /  by Alisa Banks

There are still a few spots left in The Book Art Dummy, a week-long workshop that I’ll be facilitating at the Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) in Rosendale, New York, August 22 - 26. 

The workshop will focus on the development of original content to create a dummy for a book arts project. A dummy is a mock-up or model of a book, and is created when a significant portion of the project has been resolved. The dummy functions as a general model for the final project. 

Participants will identify a project through a series of exercises, and create their book dummy during the workshop. We’ll move from ideation and writing, and then to design, budgeting, and building. Attendees can expect to leave the workshop with at least one project identified, a corresponding dummy and budget projection, and a notebook of ideas, writing exercises, and handouts.

Rosendale is located in the Hudson Valley, and I am certainly looking forward to taking a break from our successive days of 100+ degree Texas heat! I hope to see you there.

Learn more about the workshop and WSW here.

Emergence In "Boundless" /  by Alisa Banks

Emergence is one of the works featured in Boundless, an exhibition that “…celebrates the visionary ideals of the artist’s book which often challenge, in the best of ways, our preconceived notions of what a book can be. Boundless explores the vast field of artist’s books, but also the thinking of book artists. Each work reveals the mapping and laying bare of uncomfortable, surprising, or unexplored terrain.”

The exhibition is open from Mar 4 – Jun 22, 2022 at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art in Bainbridge Island, WA. Click here for details.

Enid Mark Lecture Series @ Smith College /  by Alisa Banks

Enid Mark Lecture Series

I am pleased to be featured as the Enid Mark Lecturer at Smith College (Northampton, MA). In Mixed Messages: Fusing Literary and Oral Traditions, I will discuss my latest book, Inheritance, the essay that inspired it, and other works that use unconventional materials. The event will be held in person at the Neilson Library and virtually via Zoom. Attendance is free, but registration is required. For details and registration, please click here.

Summer at Women's Studio Workshop (WSW) /  by Alisa Banks

Images: Rough book dummy for Yeene (left); Yeene, final version (right).

I look forward to spending time in the Hudson Valley this summer to teach The Book Art Dummy, a week-long workshop at WSW’s Summer Art Institute from August 22 – 26. The workshop will focus on the development of original content to create a dummy for a book art project.

The dummy is a mock-up or model of a book and is created when a significant portion of the project has been resolved. The dummy functions as a general model for the final project and can be rough or refined. Participants will identify a project and create their book dummy during the workshop.

Learn more about the workshop and register here.

CBAA Artist of the Month /  by Alisa Banks

Inheritance, open reverse quilt

I am pleased to introduce my latest book Inheritance as the College Book Art Association (CBAA) Artist of the Month. In the article, I discuss thoughts and processes involved in creating Inheritance, a book that features several unusual materials. Read the article here.

Boundless @ Bainbridge Island Museum of Art /  by Alisa Banks

Emergence

Inheritance is one of the works featured in Boundless, an exhibition that “…celebrates the visionary ideals of the artist’s book which often challenge, in the best of ways, our preconceived notions of what a book can be. Boundless explores the vast field of artist’s books, but also the thinking of book artists. Each work reveals the mapping and laying bare of uncomfortable, surprising, or unexplored terrain.”

The exhibition is open from Mar 4 – Jun 22, 2022 at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art in Bainbridge Island, WA. Click here for details.

Guests & Gusto @ Savannah College of Art and Design /  by Alisa Banks

A conversation on book art at SCAD

Join artists Sauda Mitchell, Carletta Carrington Wilson, and me at SCAD for Guests & Gusto, a virtual conversation about books moderated by Joël Díaz, director of the SCAD Museum of Art’s Evans Center for African American Studies, Tuesday, February 15 at 6pm ET. The event is free but reservations are required. Reserve a spot here.

27th Annual New Jersey Book Arts Symposium /  by Alisa Banks

Image: Susan Happersett, From Women of the Resistance, 1460 collages & video, 2017 - 2021

I’m pleased to announce a short online presentation of my work at the New Jersey Book Arts Symposium sponsored by Rutgers University, Friday, November 4 at 2pm ET.

The Words Turned Sideways, the 27th annual New Jersey Book Arts Symposium

An online event: Thursday & Friday, November 4 & 5, 2021

Sessions on both days from: 10 am - noon, 2 pm - 4 pm & 7 pm - 8:30 pm

The Symposium is free, but registration is required. Register at: https://go.rutgers.edu/njbas2021

Rutgers New Brunswick Special Collections and University Archives is delighted to announce that this year’s New Jersey Book Arts Symposium will once again be held in cyberspace. As in years past, it will feature speakers, artists in residence, and a chance to interact with other creators. New this year are opportunities made possible by the virtual format: live streamed and prerecorded presentations, virtual studio tours, videos, a hands on do-at-home workshop and cocktail with curators breakout sessions.

Featured Artists: Alisa Banks, Long-Bin Chen, Carla Rae Johnson, Annie Lopez, Rachel Mulder, Derli Romero, Sonia Yaco /  Workshop Artists: Catherine LeCleire & Suzie Tuchman / Artists in Residence: Susan Happersett, Amanda Thackray / From the Archives: China Marks Presentation from 2018 presented by Judith K. Brodsky & Michael Joseph / All sessions Moderated by Karen Guancione and Sonia Yaco.