A Respected & Dedicated Champion of the Field,

Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) is the largest, most comprehensive center of its kind in the world.

Every year we hold 200+ workshops, present 10 gallery exhibitions, and host five artist fellowships in our 12,000+ square foot space. We’re also pretty proud of being the first (and only) center in North America with public access to foreign language type.

A photo of the Shop at MCBA showing a wall display of artist books, zines, and prints. 
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OUR VISION

A world in which creative expression through book arts is accessible to all.

Mission

Our mission is to ignite artistic practice, inspire learning, and foster diverse creative communities through the book arts.

We make book arts more accessible by providing tools, equipment, and knowledge. We support artists from different backgrounds and encourage creative growth. Through exhibitions and educational programs, we bring people together, inspire new ideas, and help shape the future of the book arts.

Values

Our work nourishes the human spirit.

We believe creativity is a basic human impulse and should be encouraged and celebrated in every form. Creative expression is key to living a full and free life. By making art together, we create strong connections with ourselves and others.

MCBA brings together a wide range of artists, learners, and art lovers through programs that highlight different voices and artistic styles.

We make this art form open to everyone by welcoming new ideas, honoring tradition, teaching new artists, inspiring creativity, and celebrating excellence.

From papermaking, letterpress printing, and bookbinding to new ways of creating, MCBA supports the limitless creative development of book arts.

MCBA Staff

MCBA Board of Directors

  • Heidi Bing

    Commercial Property Manager

  • Ronnie Brooks

    Founding Director, Shannon Leadership Institute

  • KC Foley

    Executive Consultant, Navigate Forward

  • Sherri Gebert Fuller, Secretary

    Contractor/Community Volunteer

  • Jennifer Henningsen, Chair

    Director-Financial Planning & Analysis, Midco

  • Lyndel King, Ph.D.

    Director Emeritus, Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota

  • Mary Pat Ladner

    Marketing Strategist

  • Peter M. Lancaster

    Partner, Dorsey & Whitney, LLP

  • Diane Merrifield

    Marketing Communications Executive, retired; North Loop Neighborhood President

  • Virginia Meyers

    Co-founder, FOURTEENJAY Salon, Aveda Business Education Creator Collaborator

  • Abraham Rybeck

    Systems Analyst at Progressive Insurance

  • Catherine Squires

    Professor Emerita, University of Minnesota

  • Hema Viswanathan

    Intellectual Property Counsel, Sherwin Williams

  • Deb Weiss, Treasurer

    Community Volunteer

  • Cory Zanin, Immediate Past Chair

    Former CFO; EVP, Operations
    PRX, Inc.

History

MCBA celebrates a proud history and a bright future.

In 1983, a group of book arts practitioners and enthusiasts in the Twin Cities began plans to create an institution, a true book arts center, where artists could create, students could build skills, fine art could be exhibited, and a generally under-acknowledged artistic discipline could be elevated into the public eye and take its proper place in the Minnesota arts community. Two years later, in October 1985, this dedicated group opened the doors of the brand new Minnesota Center for Book Arts. MCBA’s first public home was in the McKesson Building, on North Third Street in the not-yet-gentrified Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis.

The organization thrived in that space, but after fifteen years, had outgrown its home. In the spring of 2000, after more than two years of research and planning, Minnesota Center for Book Arts joined with the Loft Literary Center and Milkweed Editions to become a founding partner of Open Book, the first comprehensive literary and book arts facility in the nation. The renovated and reinvigorated century-old building was the first cultural landmark of the Minneapolis downtown riverfront, which is now also home to the Guthrie Theatre, Mill City Museum, MacPhail Center for Music, and Gold Medal Park. Open Book is a gathering place, sanctuary, and destination for all who are interested in or inspired by the literary and book arts.

MCBA serves over 40,000 visitors every year, working with groups in our studios as well as in libraries and community centers across the region. MCBA is also home to a vibrant working artist community. Our artistic and community programs include: exhibitions, artist talks, open houses, and other free public programming; artmaking workshops for adults, youth, and families; and fellowships, residencies, and mentorships supporting working artists. MCBA offers people at every age and every walk of life the opportunity to explore their creativity, connect with community, and expand their understanding of the book arts.