NMWA Virtual Educator Summer Camp Series: July 22, 2024 Puzzle Books with Priya Pereira

NMWA’s virtual Educator Summer Camp is designed for all educators: teachers, home school instructors, scout leaders, etc. The standalone sessions, inspired by the Art, Books, and Creativity (ABC) Institute, are hands-on, participatory, and fun. The Educator Summer Camp explores the museum’s collection and resources, introduces historical and contemporary artists, and engages participants in experimental art-making and close-looking exercises.

Learn from Priya Pereira, India’s premiere book artist, about a distinctive format Pereira calls a “puzzle book.” You will learn the steps to create your very own version with tips and tricks from the artist.

Julian Rota on Animal Wild

During our firm of booksellers’ centenary last year, I sent out monthly reminiscences and reflections on my time in the trade. The March issue was about Private Presses, where I wrote this:

For many years we operated, for two American universities, Brigham Young (under the leadership of Scott Duvall) and Wisconsin-Madison (Yvonne Schofer), a ‘blanket order program’, which enabled us to support, to some extent, some of the extant presses as their books were published.  We were empowered, up to a certain price limit, to supply whichever books we felt they should have.  Thus we were in a position to buy two copies of each book from a given press knowing that we would sell them, and as often as not we would buy a third to offer elsewhere or in the hope that a private customer would pick it up. 

The Indian artist Priya Pereira came to visit me in the shop some years ago with a selection of her outstanding, highly unusual and perfectly made books (sometimes stretching the definition of the word ‘book’).  The blanket programs were still running but I couldn’t help very much as the books were created outside the UK, which was outside the remit.  I liked them so much though that I bought a few for myself.  She asked if I had any advice and what I said was that they were much, much too cheap – they would be taken more seriously if prices were higher.  She followed that advice, her business grew, we became friends, she worked for the bookshop for a while, and she continues to send gifts (for our children when they were smaller, and now for me) at Christmas every year. 

Of the books I purchased for myself, my favourite is probably the extraordinarily delicate and complex Ode to an Onion.

We are delighted and very honoured to be included now in Priya’s L Book.

Festival of Libraries: Aug 5th & 6th 2023

As a part of the second phase of India's Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Libraries Division of the Ministry of Culture hosted a two-day Festival of Libraries at New Delhi in consonance with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision for development of libraries and for encouraging a culture of reading in India. 

Invited to display some books I felt, for the first time on the government level, artists' books are reaching some awareness.

The ‘L Book’ featuring the libraries that carry our work was specially made and displayed during the festival.

April 18, 2023 Exhibition at the Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge.

The Solar Year Calendar Perpetual was exhibited along with 15th Century books about calendars with rotating volvelles.

Also, alongside newly acquired artists’ books by the Wren was a table of Pixie Bks.