Category: FOBA 2024

The Welcome Reception is held on Tuesday night before workshops begin on Wednesday morning. It is a time to hear more about the events and activities that will take place during the conference. More importantly, it is a chance to get to know some of your fellow conference attendees. Meet new people, catch up with previous conference attendees, welcome first-time attendees, and participate in a fun creative activity.

Come browse from the professionals! This year we’re expanding the trade show to have a cadre of book arts-related suppliers present all five days of the conference. Located in the same building as many of the workshops, you’ll be able to pick up supplies you may have forgotten, discover treasures you didn’t know you needed, find that elusive tool you’ve been looking for, or supplement your stash with something special.

Here’s an opportunity for your moment in the limelight: bring a piece of artwork that you want to share with your peers, and what better group of peers than your fellow participants at a book arts conference? Present a finished work of which you are particularly proud and tell us about it. Talk about recent work in a new mode or medium. Present an incomplete project that has reached an impasse. Tell us how you achieved a recent commission or brought an idea from conception to fruition.

Our featured speaker for the conference is Sarah Maker who describes book art as “when an artist gives you something and says, ‘This is a book,’ and you let that inform the way you interact with it.” She started the #AreYouBookEnough challenge on Instagram to educate the world about the book arts and foster meaningful bonds between book artists.

Hospitality Night is a time to share what you have done in your workshops. In addition, we will be holding the Silent Auction, announcing the Challenge Book winner, BiblioBingo prizes, and holding the Flash Exhibit. Please note that there is no selling at this event.

We will be holding a flash exhibit on Saturday evening during Hospitality Night. Be sure to bring what you’ve created during the conference to share, fill out your entry form, and you’ll immediately be entered into a drawing for one of the evening’s prizes!

The Faculty-Staff Exhibit is a great chance to see some works of art by your FOBA Conference workshop instructors and conference staff. It will be located on the first floor of the Richard Woodcock Education Center, just follow the signs once you enter the lobby. This exhibit will also be open to the public during the course of the conference.

How many times have you gone to a book arts exhibit and wondered, “What’s on the next page?” or “Why did the creator decide to do that?”? Come to the Book-Mingle and satisfy your curiosity. Instructors and staff will be on hand to turn the pages (or let you do it yourself) and answer your questions during this informal gathering at the faculty/staff exhibit.

The Artists’ Fair will be open on Thursday and Friday evenings, and it is an opportunity for book artists to personally sell their fine crafts.