A collection of books by Vamp and Tramp (Photo courtesy of Tropic Bound)
Trio of women with artists’ book connection bring Tropic Bound First Biennial Artists’ Book Fair to Miami Design District
Books as art. Books that combine art, craft and literature. They’re called artists’ books and are considered well…art which means traditional art collectors have a vested interest in these niche pieces.
These literary artistic books will be the highlight of the Tropic Bound First Biennial Artists’ Book Fair happening Feb. 16-19 at Paradise Plaza in the Miami Design District. The three-day event will host more than 60 national and international exhibitors during the outdoor fair and also feature a who’s who of Miami’s literary, publishing and curatorial elite during the opening day Symposium. Additionally, there will be Terrace Talks with artists’ book creators and collectors and shuttle tours to various key venues around Miami.
Womens Studio Workshop (Photo courtesy of Tropic Bound)
The event is a culmination of five years of conversations and a deep passion shared by Co-Founders Cristina Favretto, director of the University of Miami’s Special Collections; Sarah Michelle Rupert, director of collections at Girls’ Club Foundation a non-profit private foundation and alternative space and Ingrid Schindall, artist and owner of IS Projects a fine art and printmaking and book arts studio and one of the shuttle tour stops.
“It is a passion project for us, we all bring different skills, and the same interest and love for the field. We were all in the same orbit because of our work so the three of us sketched it out in our minds and applied for the Knight Foundation Grant,” said Favretto. “We were awarded the grant in the winter of 2019 and quickly formed the non-profit Tropic Bound. We started putting the pieces together but there were a few challenges like the pandemic, some of us having children and so it took a few years to see this project come to fruition.”
Arthur Fournier 1393 Genderfailz (Photo courtesy of Tropic Bound)
Rupert comes from a contemporary art background, has been a gallery director for 14 years and through her work became friends with Shindall. Favretto started collecting artist books at Duke University where she says “they have a strong collection and then I went to UCLA and eventually came to Miami, all throughout building this collection which numbers over 2,500 at the University of Miami.”
The project also grew out of a desire to showcase this part of Miami that not a lot of people know about, the one that bridges art and the written word, a niche Favretto and Rupert say is growing and more and more collectors are becoming interested in.
Emily Martin, OutThere. (Photo courtesy of Tropic Bound)
“I love how with artists’ books you can tell a story without words but with the shape of the book and the way it unfolds for the reader,” said Favretto.
The event is also a result of the collective co-founding trio knowing a lot of book artists around the world and as Favretto says, “getting to know people and becoming friends. you become friends. It’s happening because of the trust and support of meeting these artists who say they’re going to give this fledgling fair a try and they too really believe in it. It truly takes a village.”
Servane Briand (Photo courtesy of Tropic Bound)
During the outdoor fair attendees will have the opportunity to touch and engage with the books and speak with the artist creators of the books. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for poets and authors to ask them about the possibility of turning their written works into an artists’ book,” said Favretto.
Rupert goes on to say that part of this first edition fair is education and “getting people really interested in this niche market, leading people to the discovery of art objects that are art themselves.”
At the event, the public can find a book adaption of fantasy fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin which takes the reader through all four seasons incorporating the use of crackly paper and a device invented by Leonardo DaVinci that gives the artworks an almost three-dimensional look. In other instances, there are text blocks carved into a book and another that features poems sealed inside hollowed-out eggs.
Tra Publishing, Banyan (Photo courtesy of Tropic Bound)
“We hope to enlighten people about this relatively inexpensive art form. You can buy a small artist book for $100 and have a collector’s piece. I think once people see this they will be inspired to include this in their collection,” said Favretto.
They are expecting hundreds to attend the Symposium as well come through the Fair where there will be more than 60 exhibitors representing eight countries, the furthest away from Cairo, Egypt.
Tropic Bound First Biennial Artists’ Book Fair at Paradise Plaza, 151 NE 41 St., Miami Design District begins Thursday, Feb. 16 with a welcome day and symposium from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 6 p.m. and Welcome party from 6 to 8 p.m.; Fair Days are Friday, Feb. 17, noon to 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18 ,10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shuttle tours are $50 each, Symposiums are $10, Welcome Party and Outdoor Fair are free but require a ticket. Information: www.tropicboundfair.org
