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FOR THE LOVE OF BOOKS, ART, AND COMMUNITY AUTHOR AUDREY NIFFENEGGER SPEARHEADS PLANS FOR COLLABORATIVE ARTISTS BOOK HOUSE BY MONICA KASS ROGERS THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
Audrey Niffenegger has a porcupine near her pantry, two snow white doves behind the settee, and a rabbit on one of many bookshelves. Upstairs in her studio, the pages of The Other Husband, the sequel she is writing to her best-selling novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife, are neatly spread on a desk. Nearby, flat files pull out to reveal the artwork she created for her many handmade books, some featuring the very crow that looks down, sentrylike, right now. It’s clear that in addition to a penchant for diorama-worthy taxidermy, Niffenegger loves books: writing them, reading them, making them. So much so, that she is leading the charge to establish a new arts center called the Artists Book House (ABH). The organization is hosting a fundraising party from 1 to 4 p.m.February 9, at the Evanston Art Center, to kick things off. ABH’s stated mission is to be a place of diversity “where artists, writers, readers, and other thoughtful people gather to learn and create,” promoting literary art and bookmaking crafts, and connecting community through education, exhibitions, and publications. The timing is deliberate. Niffenegger cofounded the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College, which thrived for 25 years. Last year, the school shut down its Interdisciplinary Book and Paper degree program, essentially gutting the Center. ABH seeks to fill that void, maintaining Chicago’s robust role in the book arts world, but as an independent facility, that’s available to the public. Current hopes are to house ABH in the Harley Clarke mansion, former home of the Evanston Arts Center. “We’d love to make the Clarke House our home,” says Niffenegger. “It has a long history with the community, and is easily accessible to all of Chicago.” Adjacent to Evanston’s Lighthouse Beach on Sheridan Road, Clarke House has ample room for community-friendly features.
Author and artist Audrey Niffenegger PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA KASS ROGERS
Patterned after the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, ABH will include space for artists to work, teach, and host forums, plus a library, bookshop, and café. Efforts are already underway to raise the $5 to 10 million in funding needed for the project. The proposal deadline for organizations vying to occupy the Clarke House is February 28th. If ABH wins approval, the project will be built out following plans drawn up by architect John Eifler. If not, ABH will find physical space elsewhere, using the funding to make a different building its home. For those unfamiliar with artist books, the medium is one of creating one-of-a-kind books and limited editions of artist-designed books that
may include handmade papers, creative typography, and original artwork, printed and bound by the artist into three-dimensional works. The art form also includes books that break boundaries—experimental expressions free of text, paper, or binding. Artist’s books may also be printed in larger editions, as political statements, or social commentary. All put art in the hand, taking the reader on a tactile journey experienced page-by-page, coverto-cover. Niffenegger’s first experience of art books came when she was a young girl growing up in Evanston. “In the ’60s, the Evanston Public Library used to have boxes of artists’ books that had been Continued on PG 10
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