Holding Ground: Artists’ Books for the National Museum of Women in the Arts

An artist's book, opened to reveal a pop-up of many colorful flowers in a vase. The pages are dark with black writing.
Oct 21, 2023, to Oct 27, 2024

The book arts have always been at the heart of the collections of the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center (LRC) at NMWA. To inaugurate the museum’s new Learning Commons and its reinvigorated research center, the LRC invited nine book artists, several of whom are based in the Washington, D.C., area, to create works inspired by NMWA’s mission.

Alisa Banks, Adjoa J. Burrowes, Julie Chen, Suzanne Coley, IBé Crawley, Maricarmen Solis Diaz, Colette Fu, Kerry McAleer-Keeler, and María Verónica San Martín reflect on spaces that foster women’s creative expression. Many of the works consider NMWA as a special and evolving place for art by women, now and into the future. Others remind viewers that creativity is expressed and uplifted in unexpected spaces, from small interiors such as Harlem kitchens to vast outdoor geographies such as Chile’s Atacama Desert. Above all, the artists’ books celebrate the spaces where women’s creativity blooms.

Upon the reopening of the museum on October 21, these books will be on view in a gallery adjacent to the library’s reading room. All will become part of the LRC’s renowned collection of artists’ books, as the library’s holdings continue to grow and highlight the rich creative traditions of NMWA and its community.

An artist's book made of colorful green, yellow, brown, orange, and red paper. Several of the pages are curled and folded. Other paper is cut into strips and circles and displayed around the book.

Adjoa Jackson Burrowes, Blossom Again, 2023; Offset printed paper and acrylic on archival Bristol paper, 12 x 36 x 21 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift made possible through the generosity of the artist and a bequest from Marjorie B. Rachlin; © 2023 Adjoa Jackson Burrowes; Photo by John Woo

Exhibition Sponsors

Holding Ground: Artists’ Books for the National Museum of Women in the Arts is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The exhibition is made possible by a generous bequest from Marjorie B. Rachlin.

Exhibition Gallery

A detail of an artist's book, showing a yellow, teal, brown, and pink geometric form covered in drawings of hands. In the center is a yellow and teal box holding glass hands and a beaded ribbon.
Julie Chen, Many Hands (detail), 2023; Letterpress printing from photopolymer plates, pressure printing, and Riso printing, 4 x 18 x 18 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift made possible through the generosity of the artist and a bequest from Marjorie B. Rachlin; © Julie Chen; Photo by Sibila Savage
A photo of an artist's book, open in the middle. The pages are made from newspaper with embroidered white and pink flowers and an image of a woman's face and butterfly printed in black ink.
Suzanne Coley, In Bloom, 2023; Silkscreen printing, cloth, thread, and plastic, 13 x 10 x 6 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift made possible through the generosity of the artist and a bequest from Marjorie B. Rachlin; © Suzanne Coley; Photo by Suzanne Coley
A artist's book made of colorful handmade paper stitched with yellow, orange, blue, green, and black thread.
IBé Bulinda Crawley, A Dwelling for Her Story, 2023; Stitched handmade paper with letterpress and screen printing, 24 x 28 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift made possible through the generosity of the artist and a bequest from Marjorie B. Rachlin; © Ibé Bulinda Crawley; Photo by Alex J. Dimas
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The Artist,

Julie Chen

Book artist and instructor Julie Chen is known for her work's innovative use of non-traditional structures and high level of craftsmanship.
A light-medium-skinned adult woman with medium-length black hair wears a blue floral blouse and glasses. She is in an art studio, behind a green cutting mat, looking down and holding open a flag-style book. Equipment is on the counter behind her.

The Artist,

Colette Fu

Colette Fu creates sculptural pop-up books that illuminate cultures and depict myths and legends.
A light-skinned, adult, Asian woman with black hair dressed in black sits on the floor of her cluttered studio surrounded by elaborate pop-up books. She holds up her mobile phone to take a photo.