CURRENT EVENTS

SPRING 2025


BOOK ARTS BAZAAR 2025

Sunday, April 6, 2025, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. 

Location: McGoldrick Center for Career and Student Success on the Portland Campus
35 Bedford St (2nd Floor), Portland, ME 04101
About: A festival with Book Artists, papermakers, bookbinders, printmakers, educators, writers, and all things related to the book! This event if free and open to the public.

Scholarship applications are open to current USM students and recent USM graduates. Limited scholarships are available to cover tabling fees to exhibit on a half table (3′) at this year’s event. Find the scholarship application HERE. Open until full.

Graphic for the Kate Cheney Chappell Center for Book Arts Annual Book Arts Bazaar.


Vendor applications are now closed. Please use this link to be added to the Vendor Waitlist. Thank you!
Join the Facebook event page!


EXHIBITION: Everyone Has a Story to Tell

(KCCCBA Critique Group Members Exhibition
When:
January 21, 2025 – April 26, 2025
Where: Great Reading Room, 7th Floor, Glickman Library
314 Forest Ave, Portland, ME 04101
Free and open to the public

ARTIST LECTURE & RECEPTION:

When: Thursday, March 27th, 5 –7 p.m.; lecture starts at 5 pm.
Where: University Event Room, 7th Floor, Glickman Library
314 Forest Ave, Portland, ME 04101
About: Lecture presented by the Critique Group Members Gretchen Halpert, Cynthia Marsh, and Angel Simoneau. Free and open to the public. Join the Facebook event page!

Image of Artist book, Chapel by the River, by Heidi Richards.



EXHIBITION: Visual Book Arts Students Exhibition

When: January 21, 2025 – April 19, 2025
Where: Pope Cheney Art Studio at Wishcamper Center
34 Bedford St. Portland, ME 04101 
Free and open to the public

Image of Book Arts Exhibition



WORKSHOP: Print n’ Fold with Anna Low & Angel Simoneau

When: Saturday, March 29th, 2025, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Where: Luther Bonney, Room 424, Portland campus
Capacity: 15
Cost: $80 (Materials included in the price. Please bring a studio apron or wear
something that is okay to be messy. We will be printing!) Join the Facebook event page!

Learn more about the workshop HERE!

Photograph of a brightly-colored, sculptural book by artist Anna Low.
“Nigella” book object by Anna Low.


FALL 2024

EXHIBITION: Journals and Journeys, artist’s books by Sue Rogers

When: September 3 – December 14, 2024
Where: Pope Cheney Art Studio, Wishcamper Center
34 Bedford St. Portland, ME 04101 
Free and open to the public

Two book objects are photographed and expanded in front of a gray background. Each artist book is colorful and sculptural, one is an accordion-folded structure with bright pages.
Two books by artist Sue Rogers


PAST EVENTS

WORKSHOP:  Contemporary Paper Marbling with Claire Reynes

Saturday, October 5, 2024
9:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Luther Bonney, Room 424, Portland
Student Max: 10
Price: $100 (Materials included in the price. Please bring a studio apron or wear something that is okay to be messy.) 

Two photographs of the paper marbling process.

ARTIST LECTURE: Summer Book Arts Workshop Instructor, Stephanie Stigliano

(co-sponsored by Baxter Society
Wednesday, September 18, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
University Event Room, 7th Floor, Glickman Family Library, Portland
Free and Open to the Public

Two Artist's Books by Stephanie Stigliano. L-R: "Places Where Tears" and "Mead and Moonshine", both sides.
Two Artist’s Books by Stephanie Stigliano. L-R: “Places Where Tears” and “Mead and Moonshine”, both sides.

LECTURE RECORDING: Building Books

CLICK HERE for ZOOM Recording of Online Lecture, Building Books
Presenting artists: Cristina Hajosy, Alice Stanne, Chris Perry, and Gail Smuda
From Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 7:00 – 8:00 PM

Building Books presented by members of New England Book Artists and cosponsored by the Baxter Society.

New England Book Artists, NEBA is a professional organization of book artists and bibliophiles. It celebrates, promotes, and supports the book arts and its makers, fosters public education, and nurtures an understanding and enjoyment of the discipline through exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and related activities.

Artist Book, Love Thy Neighbor, Open, by Alice Stanne
Artist’s Book, Open, “Love thy Neighbor” by Alice Stanne

PANEL DISCUSSION RECORDING: What is Book Arts

CLICK HERE for the Video Recording of the Panel Discussion What is Book Arts
From Thursday, September 29, 2022, 5:00 – 6:00PM
Co-sponsored by USM’s Special Collections and Kate Cheney Chappell Center for Book Arts

Panelists: Liz BrownRachel ChurchAnna Low, and Angel Simoneau

The panel discussion will be moderated by Susie R. Bock, Coordinator of Special Collections and Director of the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine.

Headshots L-R: Liz Brown, Rachel Church, Anna Low, & Angel Simoneau

Liz Brown is a book artist, printmaker, quiltmaker and florist who is obsessed with color. She graduated from USM in 2017 with a degree in Art & Entrepreneurship with a concentration in Printmaking and minors in Book Arts and Accounting. She has participated in trips to France, Italy, and Monson, ME, to study book arts with Rebecca Goodale and Lin Lisberger. She is an active member of the KCCCBA Critique Group and works at her studio at Running with Scissor in Portland.

Rachel Church is an intermedial artist, book artist, and printmaker. She is a USM alumna, earning a BA in Art with a concentration in Printmaking and Entrepreneurial Studies in 2009 and a BFA in Studio Art with a minor in Book Arts in 2017, has participated in many USM book arts focused travel courses, and both taken and taught for the Summer Book Arts Workshop. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Maine, as well as teaching at USM and the University of Maine at Machias.

Anna Low runs Purplebean Bindery, a business focused on creating unique, durable and inspiring blank journals. She has taught workshops at the USM Summer Book Arts program and have been a member of the KCCCBA Critique Group for over 10 years. She currently serves as co-leader of the Critique Group with Angel Simoneau.

Angel Simoneau is an art educator and illustrator, heavily inspired by manga (Japanese comics). She is the current co-leader of the KCCCBA Critique Group. She graduated from University of Southern Maine in 2017 with a major in Art Education and a minor in Book Arts and has been making books ever since. 

For more information about KCC ’83 Center for Book Arts, please contact:
Annie Lee-Zimerle, Program Coordinator
(207) 228-8014 or aemin.leezimerle@maine.edu
usm.maine.edu/bookarts
Find us on Facebook and Instagram!