Celebrate the newest exhibition of the MCBA/Jerome Foundation Book Arts Residency Series! Since 1985, MCBA has partnered with the Jerome Foundation to help early career artists push the boundaries of contemporary book arts by supporting the creation of new work. The goal of the MCBA/Jerome Book Arts Residency Program is to encourage creation and exhibition of new and compelling artwork, strengthen skills and career development, and deepen relationships in the book arts community. Residents receive an honorarium, 24/7 studio access, critique sessions, and an educational stipend. Experience the exciting new work of our most recent Book Arts Residency recipients Essence Enwere, Genie Hien Tran, and alter hajek.
Visit the exhibition during our open hours, Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–5pm, Thursdays until 7pm, and Sundays, 11am–3pm.
Free and open to the public
WhereMCBA Main Gallery
WhenDecember 11, 2026–February 14, 2024
OPENING RECEPTIONDecember 11, 2026, 6-8pm
Genie Hien Tran (Vietnam, b. 1996) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Minneapolis, MN. She was born in Ho Chi Minh City and grew up there before migrating to the U.S. at 16.
Her work is informed by diasporic memory and the exploration of identity through the use of collage, poetry, design and textiles. In their work, Tran layers elements of contemporary cultures with historical learnings and artifacts, in order to capture the beauty and nuances of home, loss and belonging.
Tran received her MFA in Visual Arts at Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2022 and BFA in Illustration at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2018.
Essence Enwere (b. 2000) is a Black and queer interdisciplinary artist living and working on occupied Očeti Šakówin and Wahpekute land, now known as Minneapolis, MN. Their work fuses design, typography, artist publications, and printmaking to tell stories of Black history, genealogy, and ecology. Rooted in an engagement with land and ancestry, their practice explores how visual language can preserve memory, connect lineage, and honor cultural resilience. Enwere creates work that bridges the poetic and the archival, weaving together design traditions and book arts as forms of storytelling and collective remembrance.
Enwere received their BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Minnesota in 2024. Their work has been exhibited at HGA Gallery, the Creating Change Gallery, and the James Wegner Gallery. They were a 2024 Creating Change Fellow, awarded a Public Functionary Residency in 2025, and will be apart of the 2026 Cellar Press Residency. Their practice has been featured in Artdose Magazine, The Minnesota Star Tribune, MPLSArt, KARE 11, and MSPMAG. Many of their works are housed in national collections, including the National Gallery of Art Library, Minnesota Historical Society, University of Minnesota, and Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.
alter hajek writes about devotion and surgical inter-dimensional transsexual embodiment in several mediums, including cast metal, sound, textile, installation, coding, projection, letterpress,
analog photography, sculpture, translation, and text.
About the Jerome Foundation
Since 1985, the Jerome Foundation has helped emerging artists push the boundaries of contemporary book arts by supporting the creation of new work. Through these fellowship and mentorship opportunities, Minnesota artists of diverse disciplines have created book arts projects that challenge and redefine conventional notions of book form and content.
Upcoming Exhibitions