The Kalamazoo Book Arts Center (KBAC) is a nonprofit organization of artists and writers located in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

History

KBAC was founded by Jeff Abshear in 2005 to create a community workshop and educational space focused on the arts of book design and printing, fine

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

papermaking Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is made using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a speciali ...

bookbinding Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

, and creative writing. The center is located at the Park Trades Center on Kalamazoo Avenue in downtown Kalamazoo. The organization is supported by grants (including the National Endowment for the Arts), and community support.

Programs

KBAC has regular on-site book arts workshops. KBAC created and hosts the "Poets in Print" reading series. KBAC participates in the ''Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo's'' monthly ''Art Hop!''

References

{{Authority control Visual arts education Artists' books Book arts Bookbinding Papermaking in the United States Printmaking groups and organizations Arts centers in Michigan Arts organizations established in 2005