News | December 14, 2015

Center for Book Arts Receives Art Works Grant of $15,000 from the NEA

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced Tuesday that the Center for Book Arts is one of 919 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. The Center for Book Arts is recommended for a $15,000 grant to support its 2016 series of exhibitions on contemporary book arts and related media. Featuring a number of guest curators, each exhibition will emphasize diverse artistic practices while examining the curatorial influence that the Center has had in the development of book arts. The exhibitions will include a wide range of book arts formats, from handmade book arts objects to site-specific installations with mixed media components. 

NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, "The arts are part of our everyday lives - no matter who you are or where you live - they have the power to transform individuals, spark economic vibrancy in communities, and transcend the boundaries across diverse sectors of society. Supporting projects like the exhibitions program at the Center for Book Arts offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day." Art Works grants support the creation of art, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The Center's award is one of more than $27.6 million in NEA's first funding round of fiscal year 2016.

"We are deeply gratified by this demonstration of support from the National Endowment for the Arts," said Alexander Campos, Executive Director & Curator of the Center. "These 

exhibitions, coming off our 40th anniversary last year, further an appreciation of book art by displaying some of the best work. We are especially grateful to the NEA because this ongoing series of exhibitions also fosters greater understanding among the general public, and connoisseurship among collectors and curators."

2016 SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITIONS AT THE CENTER FOR BOOK ARTS

Artist talks and public events will be announced throughout each exhibition season.

JANUARY 22 - APRIL 2, 2016:

Revealed Terrain: The Semantics of Landscape

Organized by Cynthia Thompson, Director of the Book Arts/Printmaking and Studio Arts MFA programs, University of the Arts, and David Charles Chioffi, Visiting Associate Professor of Fine Arts, University of Arkansas 

Featured Artist Project: Chris Perry

Featured Artist Project: SWEAT Broadside Collaborative

APRIL 15 - JUNE 25, 2016:

Queering the Bibliobject

Organized by John Chaich, Independent Curator, Designer, and Writer

Featured Artist Project: Rosemarie Chiarlone and Susan Weiner: Obstruction

Featured Artist Project: Aravind Adyanthaya, Joseph Cuillier, Glen Einbinder, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, and Brad Thiele: 2015 Workspace Artists-In-Residence

JULY 13 - SEPTEMBER 24, 2016:

Sheherzade's Gift 

Organized by Jaishri Abichandani, Independent Curator and former director South Asian Women's Creative Collaborative (SAWCC) 

OCTOBER 7 - DECEMBER 17, 2016:

Earmarking the Ephemeral and the Performance of the Printed Word

Organized by Nicolás Dumit Estévez, Performance Curator and Independent Curator

Featured Artist Project: China Marks

Featured Artist Project: Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., 2016 Master Faculty Fellow

Featured Artist Project: Shana Agid, Wayne Kleppe, and Beth Sheehan: 2015-16 Scholars 

Visit our website for up-to-date details on all events and programs: www.centerforbookarts.org

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR BOOK ARTS

The Center for Book Arts is committed to exploring and cultivating contemporary aesthetic interpretations of the book as an art object, while invigorating traditional artistic practices of the art of the book. The Center seeks to facilitate communication between the book arts community and the larger spheres of contemporary art and literature through exhibitions, classes, public programming, literary presentations, opportunities for artists and writers, publications, and collecting. Founded in 1974, the Center for Book Arts was the first organization of its kind in the nation.

Support for the Center's Visual Arts Program is provided, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.