THE HYBRID BOOK

INTERSECTION AND INTEMEDIA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: In 2009, the MFA  Program in Book Arts and Printmaking at The University of the Arts will celebrate its twentieth anniversary by hosting THE HYBRID BOOK, Intersection and Intermedia, an international conference, book art fair, and exhibition series. These events are scheduled to take place on June 4-6, 2009, at various locations at The University of the Arts, located on South Broad Street, Philadelphia’s own Avenue of the Arts. Registration is now open for these events on the Hybrid Book Website: www.hybridbook.org.

This series of events seeks to recognize and the innovation and multidisciplinary aspects of the book art medium. Featuring both established and emerging artists, the Hybrid Book Conference will investigate dynamic and significant aspects of book art today. Panels will explore applications of the book to such themes as collaboration, social justice, education, and its intersection with material, multimedia, and production.

Free and open to the public, the Hybrid Book Fair will be an opportunity to view and purchase works by emerging and established artists. All forms of book art, from those traditionally hand printed and bound, to zines, sculptural books, and more innovative and cross-disciplinary interpretations of the book will be on display and for sale.

Concurrent with the conference and fair will two exhibitions. In Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, located at 333 South Broad Street, will be The Hybrid Book, an exhibition of work by Irma Boone, Gunnar Kaldewey, and Hedi Kyle. Each of these artists/designers has made revolutionary contributions to the art of the book. Across the street, at 320 South Broad Street, in the Hamilton and Arronson Galleries, there will be the exhibition Recent Work by Alumni of the MFA Book Arts and Printmaking Program. This exhibition, juried by Mindell Dubansky of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and independent artist Clarrisa Sligh, will explore recent postgraduate contributions to book arts by alumni of the past twenty years of the program.

For more information on this event, or to see a list of speakers, vendors, and other participants, please visit our website, www.hybridbook.org.