Entries Call for Book Arts & Zine Exhibition Extended to Sept. 1

Debut Handmade & Bound Festival Seeks Artists' Book, Zines and Comics for Juried Show

(August 4, 2011) Watkins College of Art, Design, & Film is currently accepting submissions of artists’ books, zines, and comics for the juried exhibition to be held in conjunction with the debut Handmade & Bound Nashville book arts festival, September 30–October 1.  The exhibition, titled Encoded Structures: Interpreting the Story, will run in the Brownlee O. Currey, Jr. Gallery on campus from September 30–October 28.

All entries must be postmarked no later than September 1.  For forms, rules and requirements, visit www.handmadeboundnashville.com.

Books and zines act, in as sense, as physical incarnations for a coded language of letters, words, symbols, and materials devised by an author to be interpreted by readers. This exploration of the physicality of the structure speaks to the intimacy of the book form and the book as personal relic. TheEncoded Structures exhibit will focus on the book and zine as art objects that use form, content, and context within every aspect of the structure to convey a message and theme to the reader.

Submitted books, zines, and comics may be printed in any manner, including digital, offset press, hand lettering, etc., and all shapes, sizes, and materials are encouraged. Work will be judged according to quality of craftsmanship, context within the theme of exhibition, and originality. Jurying will be performed by Watkins faculty members and local small-press publishers and artists.

Sponsored by the Watkins Library, Handmade & Bound Nashville will kick off on Friday, September 30, with a reception to celebrate the gallery exhibit, to be followed by a screening of the award-winning, 2004 zine documentary “$100 and a T-shirt.” The film (51 min.), directed by Joe Biel, will be shown in the Watkins Theater at 8:00 p.m.

On Saturday, October 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., creators of artists’ books, publishers and distributors of zines and comics, and book lovers will come together to sell, trade or buy handmade and affordable publications and creations. The day will feature activities for children and adults, such as printmaking, papermaking, book- and zine-making and screenprinting, as well as local bands and a wide variety of food trucks.

All festival activities are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit handmadeboundnashville.com and Handmade Bound Nashville on Facebook, or contact the Watkins Library at (615) 277-7427.

Handmade & Bound Nashville is presented by the librarians and staff of Watkins College of Art, Design & Film, the Watkins Community Education department, and local librarians and book artists.  Watkins is located at 2298 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard in Metro Center; free parking is available in the campus lot.

The festival is an official, registered event of Artober Nashville, a broadly collaborative promotional initiative designed to highlight, inform and inspire the community’s participation in the wide range of arts activities offered in the Nashville area during the month of October (www.NowPlayingNashville.com).