***Intent to Enter has now closed.***
Entries can be begin shipping to arrive between March 1 and March 22, 2021.
Submission forms are due by March 22, 2021.
For any questions , or to request the link to the submission form please contact Exhibitions@guildofbookworkers.org.
Guild members were invited to participate in this juried exhibition that will travel to venues across the country from Summer 2021 to Fall 2022. In a biological sense, wildlife describes the myriad of creatures sharing this planet, interacting and adapting, all connected to each other and their environment. "Wild" also describes an untamable essence that survives despite the constraints of society and culture. As craftspeople, knowledge of materials and keen observation of how they behave (and often how they refuse to comply) is integral to our practice; reminders of how traditional bookbinding materials originate in nature. Members are invited to interpret the theme of “wildlife” in any way they wish, be it literal or abstract, humorous or serious.
Requirements for shipping of Entries:
All entries must arrive between March 1-22, 2021.
To Address:
Northeast Document Conservation Center
ATTN: GBW and Bexx Caswell
100 Brickstone Square
Andover, MA 01810
All entries should be shipped with insurance and tracking. Please ship your entry early enough to counter delays in postal service. All works will be opened, photographed and condition noted starting March 23.
Protective Boxes: All works must be submitted in a custom fitted clamshell box, preferably with double walls. Broadsides must be framed and ready to hang using robust frames (metal preferred) with plexiglass (no glass). Size Limitations Books in their protective enclosures may not be larger than 22” square and 12” thick. Flat or 2D work may not be larger than 24” square, framed and housed in its protective enclosure. Sizes are restricted to fit within the Guild’s professional shipping containers. The GBW Exhibitions Committee may disqualify works too fragile, difficult to display, or too heavy to handle safely. We regret that we cannot accept work that requires electricity. If applicable, installation instructions should be provided with unique or unusual entries.
Insurance: Each exhibition site will be responsible for insuring the works while in its custody. All entrants are asked to carefully consider values assigned and must be prepared to support this value in the event a claim is made. We ask that assigned values do not exceed $2000. Exhibition Duration The show will open in summer 2021 and travel to a variety of book arts centers and libraries. Once a work has been selected, it must remain in the show for the full duration. Participants should inform the Exhibitions Chair of any changes of address or other contact information while the show is in progress.
Publicity: GBW may photograph and use images of all accepted works for promotional purposes related to the Guild and the WILDLIFE exhibition. This includes a fully illustrated print and online catalog. Catalog GBW will produce a full color printed catalog with photographs and descriptions of each accepted work, as well as biographies of the artists. All exhibition participants will receive a complimentary copy of the printed catalog. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the catalog fundraiser.
*A note on social media*
in order to keep the jurying process fair and blind, we kindly ask that entrants refrain from posting their submission, either in progress or finished, on social media platforms until they are informed of the jury’s decision.
Jurying
Artists’ work will be juried virtually by Denise Carbone, Erin Fletcher and Jessica Spring.
Denise Carbone
Denise lives in Stratford New Jersey. She studies, teaches and practices bookbinding and printmaking, and has been doing this for 20+ years. Many wonderful and strange things happen in her shop. Always finding out. Eventually figuring it out.
Erin Fletcher
Erin Fletcher is the owner of Herringbone Bindery, offering unique bespoke bindings and boxes to clients and institutions. She is a 2012 graduate of the North Bennet Street School, where she continues to teach for the Continuing Education Department and for other institutions around the country. Her embroidered design bindings have been exhibited internationally. Her work is collected privately and in institutions such as The Grolier Club, Boston Athenaeum and the University of Virginia (Charlottesville).
Jessica Spring
Jessica Spring began her interest in typesetting and printing as a phototypesetter in the 1980s. She has been a letterpress printer ever since, most recently inventing Daredevil Furniture to help other printers set type in circles, curves and angles. Her work at Springtide Press—artist books, broadsides and ephemera where typography plays a central role—is included in collections around the country and abroad. She has collaborated on the Dead Feminists broadside series since 2008 and co-authored Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color. Spring has an MFA from Columbia College Chicago and teaches letterpress printing and book arts.
Participants will be informed of jury decisions by April 31, 2021. Entries not selected for exhibit will be insured and shipped back to their owners. All items selected for exhibit will be packed for the first exhibit venue the American Book Binding Museum for a June 2021 opening and featured in the WILD/Life exhibition catalog.