Call for Student Lightning Round Submissions 

CBAA National Conference, June 5-7, 2025

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Madison, Wisconsin

Embracing the Tangible: Fostering Interdisciplinary Connections in Book Art

In a digital age where screens dominate our interactions, the material book stands as a testament to the enduring power of the tangible. This conference theme invites participants to explore the palpable allure of book art and its capacity to bridge diverse disciplines. We invite proposals for papers, pre-formed panels, round table discussions, and demonstrations that examine book art through an interdisciplinary lens highlighting connections and collaborations between book art and disciplines ranging from literature, music, and visual arts to science and technology and beyond. In addition, the conference will include a juried CBAA members exhibition, members showcase, and a vendor fair.

Student Lightning Round: This category of presentation is only open to CBAA student members. Participants will each give a 5- minute slide presentation about their book art-related. Participants in the student lightning round must be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at the time of the conference. Submissions MUST include a 250 word abstract and a 10-slide powerpoint presentation. Slides will run automatically while the presentation is being given. The Submission deadline for the Student Lightning Round is April 1st to give students additional time to create their slide presentations. Please see the submission application for more information. 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Please note that you must be a CBAA member in order to make a submission through the Submittable platform. and that the only way to submit proposals is through this online submission manager. All categories are open to all CBAA members except for the student lightning round which is only open to undergraduate and graduate students.

SUBMISSION NOTES:
  1. Only CBAA members (individual, student, and institutional members) are eligible to make submissions. To become a new member, or to renew your membership, please visit https://www.collegebookart.org/page-363225
  2. In an effort to promote original scholarship in the field of academic book art, abstracts submitted to CBAA should not be concurrently submitted for consideration to another conference.
  3. Please limit abstracts to no more than 250 words; longer abstracts will not be considered.
  4. Bios, synopses and abstracts must be submitted as Word docs.
  5. This is a blind jurying process; please do not include your name or the names of any other potential participants on any of the uploaded files. Instead, use the title of your talk as your file name. You should enter a short bio in the biography section of the submission form.

6. A CBAA member may make more than one submission but only one submission will be accepted per member.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: You will be asked to submit the following information when prompted by the online submission manager for each entry separately:

  Member’s address
  Member’s phone number
  Job title, institution, city and state of institution
  50-word bio (this can include the member’s name and will be included in the printed program if accepted)
  Title of proposal
  50-word synopsis (to be printed in the conference program if accepted)
  250-word abstract (no names)

   10-slide presentation (no names) in Powerpoint

SUBMISSION DEADLINES:
Abstracts MUST be received no later than December 1st, 2024. Submissions received after this date will not be considered for acceptance.

December 1st, 2024: Deadline for submission of proposals

January 15, 2025: Notification of acceptance

CONTACT:

For questions about the submission process in any category please email:

Julie Chen

CBAA Vice President for Programming

programmingvp@collegebookart.org

CBAA Conference Juried Members Exhibition 2025, Call For Work

Embracing the Tangible

 In a digital age where screens dominate our interactions, the material book stands as a testament to the enduring power of the tangible. This conference theme invites participants to explore the palpable allure of book art and its capacity to bridge diverse disciplines. 

We invite CBAA members to submit work for the members exhibition that explores artists' books through an interdisciplinary lens, highlighting connections and collaborations between book art and disciplines ranging from literature, music, and visual arts to science and technology and beyond. In particular, we are looking for:

• Interdisciplinary book works that manifest in surprising or unusual structures 
• Interdisciplinary work that emphasizes tactile materials/materiality and unexpected approaches in the use of materials. 
• Hand-crafted book works (editioned or unique) which have been made within the last 3 years
   

The exhibition will take place at the Art Lofts Gallery at UW-Madison, May 23-June 14th. The opening reception will take place on June 6, 6:00-7:30.

A print-on-demand catalog of the exhibition will be available.

ELIGIBILITY
Submissions by CBAA members are welcomed in any medium, any style. Work submitted must have been made within the past 3 years in order to be considered. Preference will be given to work under 24” height and 18” in width. Wall-hung work must be ready-to-hang. Performance and/or installation art will also be considered. The jury and exhibition committee reserve the right to decline work based on the venue’s ability to host the work due to limitations of space and/or technology. This exhibit is open to book arts related artworks created as either an edition or one-of-a-kind. 

PRIZES & AWARDS

• CBAA Member awards
• Kohler Art Library UW-Madison Institutional purchase prizes

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Please note that the only way to submit artwork is through this online submission manager (Submittable). CBAA membership must be current to submit. In order to become a new member, or to renew your membership link here: https://www.collegebookart.org/page-363225

CBAA Members can submit up to 2 works for consideration. Each entry must be submitted separately so the jurors can select separate pieces. For a second entry, please select the SECOND SUBMISSION, ALL MEMBERS category. This will ensure that you do not have to pay the entry fee twice.

Categories & Fees

REGULAR MEMBERS — $30, includes up to 2 submissions

STUDENT MEMBERS — $10, includes up to 2 submissions

A non-refundable entry fee ($30 Regular Members/$10 Student Members) for up to two works must accompany each submission. When entering online you will pay via PayPal or any major credit card.

This is a blind jurying process. Please do not include your name or press name in the image, image file name, image file description or supplemental information (see IMAGES below for information on how to format your image file). You will be asked to enter your name only in the appropriate sections of the submission form. 

You will be asked to submit the following information when prompted by the online submission manager for each entry separately:
 

• Member’s address
• Member’s phone number
• Member’s institution *if relevant
• Brief Bio (100 word limit)
• Title of work
• Year completed (work must have been completed in the last 3 years)
• Medium/technique
• Dimensions when closed (inches)
• Dimensions when opened (inches)
• Edition size (if applicable) 
• Insurance value (required) 
• Sale Value (this is not a sales event, but this is required for purchase awards)
• Short Description (see SHORT DESCRIPTION below) 
• Indicate if the work maybe be engaged with (handled) during the opening reception

IMAGES

CBAA Members can submit up to 2 works for consideration and up to 5 images per entry. Include at least one full view and at least one detail. Images should be saved as jpg files, at 300 ppi, the smallest dimension should be no less than 1200 pixels, files no larger than 5MB each. Images will be used for jurying, and if piece is selected, images will also be used for the exhibition publications. NOTE: This is a blind jurying process. Please do not include your name or press name in the image, image file name, or image file description. If needed, blur identify information. Un-blurred images will be requested for exhibition publications.

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Include a short description of the work, 250 words or less. NOTE: This text, including its name and contents should NOT include the member’s name or press name. This text may be used in exhibition publications and should address the work conceptually and visually.

SUBMISSION DEADLINES

Entries MUST be received no later than the entry deadline. Entries received after this date will not be considered for acceptance.

12/10/2024: Submissions deadline

01/15/2025: Notification of acceptance or rejection of each entry

05/01/2025: Work must arrive by May 1, 2025, all shipping is the responsibility of the artist

05/23/2025: Exhibition Opens 

06/06/2025: Reception for Member’s Exhibit

06/14/2025: Exhibition closes

06/23/2025: Return of work begins

SHIPPING

All shipping and insurance in-transit, return label, and reusable packaging is the responsibility of the artist. Artists may use FedEx, UPS, USPS. Details for shipping and return shipping will be sent with the acceptance letter. 

CONTACT

For questions about the submission process or content-related questions about entries for the exhibition: Julie Chen, programmingvp@collegebookart.org

Jurors Bios

AB Gorham

AB Gorham is a book artist and writer from Montana and holds MFAs in Book Arts and Poetry from The University of Alabama. She is Assistant Professor of Book Arts and Papermaking at University of Nebraska Omaha. Her poems have been published in Puerto Del Sol, The Call Center, American Letters and Commentary, DIAGRAM, and Gulf Coast, among others. Her artist books are collected nationally in collections, including, Rhode Island School of Design, Stanford University, and Art Institute of Chicago.

Meri A. Page 

Meri A. Page is an artist, designer, and educator based in Upstate New York. Page holds an MFA in Studio Art from Mills College at Northeastern University and is an Assistant Professor of Communications Design at Syracuse University. Page's areas of expertise and research encompass artists' books, typography, archives, and design history. Page has exhibited creative work nationally and internationally, and her artists' books, produced under the imprint Seaweed Press, are held in public and private collections throughout the United States.

SECOND SUBMISSION

CONTACT

For questions about the submission process or content-related questions about entries for the exhibition: Julie Chen, programmingvp@collegebookart.org