Our Mission
Booklyn’s mission is to promote artists’ books as art and research material and to assist artists and organizations in documenting, exhibiting, and distributing their artwork and archives within the academic market. We specifically assist artists and organizations committed to environmental and social justice. We work towards our mission by documenting, exhibiting, promoting, and distributing their work within educational institutions worldwide. We envision a world in which art and bookmaking are tools for education, personal agency, community engagement, and advocacy.
Our History
Since 1999, Booklyn has fostered both artistic expression and community growth, using book arts as a powerful vehicle for education, connection, and social engagement. Founded by a collective of artist-activists—many of whom studied or taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison—Booklyn emerged from a shared dedication to the book arts and a deep commitment to social justice.
At a time when the art market was undergoing significant change, artists’ books were largely underrepresented in the mainstream art world. There was a growing need for a space that could not only advocate for these artists and provide a home for their work but also engage educators and librarians in recognizing the value of artists’ books as both creative expression and critical educational tools. Booklyn rose to meet that need—connecting communities, redefining the role of book arts, and championing its place in classrooms, libraries, and archives alike. By building connections with libraries and other educational institutions, these innovative artists created a place to promote their work and the work of artists like them in a sustainable way.
Booklyn is still an artist-run, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Originally located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, we are now headquartered at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park. Our Education Program office is located within Interference Archive in Park Slope.
Our Programs
Booklyn supports book arts through our two core programs: our Education Program and our Collection Development Program.
Education Program – We present free and low-cost book-, print-, and zine-making workshops hosted onsite or at like-minded partner sites, and we create and distribute free printmaking and bookmaking resources online. We offer the only program in NYC for kids that focuses entirely on zine-making: Zine Camp. Our community workshops often take place in libraries, public parks, and community spaces. We often work with schools to bring bookmaking workshops into the classroom to support Project-Based Learning. Our podcast, Booklyn Calling, amplifies diverse voices within the artists’ book field and explores artmaking as a tool for community engagement, education, and social justice work.
Collection Development Program – Through presentations and education for librarians and curators, we work with institutions to identify the research and curricular value of artists’ books in our collection and beyond. We connect artists with collecting institutions who may not otherwise have the opportunity to do so. We work with artists and social justice groups to create archival box set collections that document work that addresses urgent cultural issues of our day.
We occasionally publish artists’ books and trade book editions, which allows us to extend the cultural reach of our programs beyond the local community and institutions and into the hands of readers of all identities and locations.
In the past, our Exhibition Program engaged our local community through exhibitions that focused on handmade and print-based works on paper that addressed socially relevant topics.
Our Location
Booklyn is located on the un-ceded land of the Munsee Lenape peoples. We ask you to join us in acknowledging the Lenape community, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations.