BOOKMARKS

Deadline: Ongoing

BOOKMARKS
International Project based in UK


Book Marks: Infiltrating the Library System, is an ongoing, annual series of free international distribution of bookmarks made by book artists, to help promote their work and to get the public involved with artists’ books.

Since May 2004, the Bookmarks series has visited 83 venues in Italy, The Netherlands, UK, Germany, Poland, Spain, Canada, Japan, Poland, Brazil, Croatia, South Korea, New Zealand, Cyprus, Australia, and the USA.

249 artists have contributed 24,900 bookmarks to the six projects so far.

Bookmarks VI has seen 45 artists contributing 4500 bookmarks from Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia.

The Bookmarks project series also aims to encourage appreciation of work in the format of the artist's book. Participating book artists each hand-produce an edition of 100 signed and numbered bookmarks to give away.

Contributions are collated into sets, with one full set sent to each of the contributing artists and an archive set kept here for exhibitions. The rest are divided up into distribution boxes, which are sent to participating galleries, bookstores and libraries around the world, for people to help themselves from. Each venue also receives an archive set of bookmarks to share or keep.

Each bookmark is stamped with the Bookmarks project website, which directs the taker of the bookmark to this gallery section of the website.

The bookmarks for Part VI have been made from a variety of media: old library cards, recycled embroidery, papers, photography, digital print, screenprint, laser-cutting, photocopied, folded, cut and sewn. You can view the bookmarks online, read about how and why they were made, and contact the artists who made them via the links from the gallery site.

If you would like to join in future Bookmarks projects, please email Sarah for instructions at Sarah.Bodman@uwe.ac.uk and see below:

Bookmarks VII : Infiltrating the Library System 2009-2010 is already full with the maximum of 50 artists!

Bookmarks VIII : Escaping the Library System 2010-2011 - has a twist - this time, it will be Librarians only. Library staff will be making them rather than distributing them. Quite a few of our previous bookmarks makers have been librarians, so we thought we would ask them to infiltrate some other places with their own bookmarks. If you work in a library and would like to join, then please get in touch.

Bookmarks IX : Infiltrating the Library System 2011-2012 has places available.

The website contains full details: Book Marks: Infiltrating the Library System