Book arts Round Table
About BAR
The Book Arts Roundtable was founded in 2000 by artist Karen McDermott as a place where artists interested in making books, beginning bookbinders, and anyone who loved books and paper could gather and share their work. Over the past several decades, BAR has exhibited annually with BOOKED – first at The Pierro Gallery at The Baird in South Orange, where BAR also held its meetings and workshops, in 2019, “BAR: Past and Present” at The George Segal Gallery (Montclair State University), and in 2020, BOOKED 16 at The Gaelen Gallery (JCC MetroWest).
In 2019, The Baird began a huge renovation, and BAR lost both its “home” and the use of the Pierro Gallery. Currently, BAR has a new home and partnership with Madison’s Museum of Early Trades & Crafts, and we hope to entice a whole new group of artists and book lovers to the Book Arts Roundtable. The Museum of Early Trades & Crafts has been wonderfully welcoming and offers BAR a new place to flourish.
Membership is open to anyone who can’t resist the feel of paper, the wonder of books and excitement of creativity, runs from September to September. The annual fee is $30. Members are entitled to participate in all exhibitions, projects, workshops, collaboratives, book swaps, and meetings, and will find a generous sharing of ideas, materials, and techniques. The BAR’s Coordinator is Chris Schorr, a longtime Madison resident and lover of the METC. Further information about the Book Arts Roundtable and membership is available at https://www.bookartsroundtable.com.
All of us are looking forward to working closely with the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts, to integrating our skills and interests with the museum’s, and to offering BAR workshops and demonstrations to a wider community
The Museum of Early Trades & Crafts has collaborated with the artists of BAR in 2023 for our Main Gallery Exhibit BOOKED 17: Roots. ““ROOTS” is a multifaceted word used to represent new beginnings, growth, identity, and much more. Each piece in the exhibit was a personal interpretation of the theme using a range of mediums including paper, fabric, and even metal. This exhibit was featured from January through March 2023.
The Museum of Early Trades & Crafts also collaborated with the artists of BAR in 2015 for our Main Gallery Exhibit The Art of Books: Taking the Page Beyond the Press. This exhibit brought back to the building a collection of different kinds of books – ones that do not necessarily use words to convey the message. This exhibit was featured at the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts from July to December 2015.