Book Arts is a community of member artists exploring books, paper, and printmaking at the Virginia Center for the Book in Charlottesville’s historic Jefferson School City Center. Book Arts programming engages member artists and the public in arts and humanities projects with a community-access approach, providing equipment, training, and resources for individual artists to learn new skills and practice their craft.
In addition to creating original work, our member artists provide a direct educational experience with Book Arts—including printing, binding, and papermaking—offering anyone who is interested the chance to learn about and work with the largest collection of letterpress type and equipment available for public use in the Commonwealth. From professional to hobbyist or aspiring, all artists are welcome to become a member, complete our certification process in order to pursue independent projects at the Center, take a class or workshop, or simply attend events (both in-person and virtual) to learn more about Book Arts and get involved.
The Book Arts Shop
The studio is open for use by all non-keyholding members generally between the hours of 12 Noon & 4:00 PM weekdays and Saturdays.
Participate in Book Arts Programming
You can explore the following opportunities as part of our programming:
- Sign up for Book Arts Classes & Events
- Read our posts exploring the world of Book Arts
- Explore recent Book Arts projects
- View all our past projects at Discovery Virginia
Book Arts Instructors
The instructors who teach Book Arts classes and lead our workshops are experienced in the specific techniques they are selected to share and passionate about sharing these skills with others. Many of our instructors are also Book Arts member artists, and range in background from book artists or master craftspersons to academic professionals. Explore our list of recent and upcoming instructors to learn more.
Book Arts Resources
- Charlottesville: Rare Book School, summer intensives and public lecture series
- Charlottesville: Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia, reference archive
- Richmond: Studio Two Three, studios and public workshops
- Richmond: repository for the Women’s Studio Workshop—largest publisher of hand-printed and hand-bound artists’ books in the U.S.
- Richmond: Visual Arts Center of Richmond, public letterpress studio and classes plus gallery
- Winchester: Cattail Run, hand bookbinding
- Nearby resources: Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, studios and workshops in Hyattsville, Maryland
- Boxcar Press, printers and polymer plates
- Briar Press, a letterpress community
- NA Graphics, letterpress supplies
