HMCT and Archetype Press were represented by Joshue Molina (Studio Manager of Archetype Press and ArtCenter Adjunct Professor) at the recent College Book Art Association (CBAA) Annual National Conference.

CBAA 2025 National Conference Recap
Embracing the Tangible: Fostering Interdisciplinary Connections in Book Art
University of Wisconsin, Madison

I had the great pleasure of attending this year’s College Book Art Association (CBAA) National Conference. While I’ve been a member of CBAA since before the pandemic, I only became actively involved within the past year. For any students reading this: CBAA offers free membership, and I strongly encourage you to join and take advantage of this welcoming and vibrant community.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going in. I’ve been to design-focused conferences before, but CBAA is something else—more intimate, deeply rooted in process, and grounded in the intersections of scholarship, community, and craft. From the outset, I was warmly welcomed and quickly reconnected with letterpress friends, colleagues, and educators I’d previously met on Zoom or at past events. That immediate sense of community helped me feel at home.

With so many concurrent sessions on the schedule, it was tough to choose, but I managed to attend nine presentations. Here are brief overviews of four that stood out:

Growing Book Artists
Presented by Annika Schneider

Schneider, Director of Exhibitions and Artist Programs at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA), shared insights into their Jerome Mentorship Program—a year-long residency for early-career book artists from diverse backgrounds. The program is organized around five thoughtful phases: Immersion, Dreaming, Planning, Exhibiting, and Beyond.

Immersion: Mentees take foundational workshops (intro to letterpress, bookbinding, and papermaking), gain certification on studio equipment, and receive 24/7 access.

Dreaming: Includes studio visits and project brainstorming.

Planning: Participants present a mid-program talk and complete a project-planning course while staying engaged with the broader book arts community.

Exhibiting: Each cohort exhibits their work in one of MCBA’s three gallery spaces.

Beyond: Alumni often continue as teaching artists or remain actively involved with MCBA.

Now in its ninth cohort, the program is accepting applications through July 31, 2025. Applicants must reside in Minnesota. More info here.

Interdisciplinary, Participatory Book Projects as Temporary Communities
Presented by Corinne Teed

Teed explored how participatory book projects function as powerful, if temporary, forms of community-building. Their presentation highlighted three collaborative works:

Gender Liberators by Sky Syzygy is a remarkable anthology of writing, poetry, photos, and ephemera by trans*, two-spirit, nonbinary, and trans-adjacent creators from 20th-century Turtle Island/North America—based on hundreds of interviews with elders, archivists, and cultural workers. Strange Mutualism features work by 38 artists and writers exploring “improper alliances”—mutualisms that are messy, vulnerable, and transformative across difference. The project challenges binary thinking around collaboration.

Other Cities emerged from Teed’s “Zines, Comics, and Books” course at the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with Abbey Mei Otis’s “Speculative Fiction” class at the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. Incarcerated students wrote short speculative fiction about imagined cities, which UMN students then illustrated and printed via risograph.

In the Shape of a Rounded Square
Presented by Siobhan McKissic

As the Design & Materials Research Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, McKissic found herself confronting the rapid introduction of AI tools in her role—especially in contrast to her focus on physical materials. That tension led her to create an artist’s book, In the Shape of a Rounded Square, as a case study in how AI might be integrated meaningfully into book art design. The work raises timely questions about authorship, tactility, and technology in the field.

Maker Machines: Using Analog and Digital Processes in Book Art
Presented by Rachel Simmons

Rachel Simmons shared her exploratory approach to blending risograph, inkjet, letterpress, and laser cutting. One idea that especially resonated with me was: “When you make without a goal, sometimes it leads to a project.” That spirit of playful experimentation was central to her presentation.

Simmons emphasized that while play is critical, it also takes deep technical mastery to fully exploit the possibilities of a tool. Once you’ve built that relationship with the machine, it begins to guide your creativity in unexpected ways—a concept that beautifully reflects the ethos of interdisciplinary making.

I highly encourage you to check out the work of Annika Schneider, Corinne Teed, Siobhan McKissic, and Rachel Simmons—each one bringing fresh, thoughtful approaches to the evolving field of book art.

On a Personal Note

I’m honored to share that I received the CBAA 2025 Emerging Educator Award. This award is given to an individual making important contributions to the pedagogical development of the field, demonstrated through innovative teaching practices, high-quality student work, conference presentations, and/or other significant efforts in book arts education.

Here’s a brief version of the statement shared by CBAA at the awards ceremony:

Joshue Molina is a letterpress educator, studio manager, and book arts advocate. As the Studio Manager of Archetype Press at ArtCenter College of Design and an Adjunct Professor of Graphic Design, Joshue’s teaching blends traditional and experimental print methodologies, exploring the intersection of typography, storytelling, and contemporary design. Beyond academia, Joshue engages in community-driven print projects through organizations like Partners in Print (PiP), working to expand access to book arts and letterpress.

This recognition means a great deal to me. I’d like to express heartfelt thanks to those who have supported the development of my practice: Gloria Kondrup, the person who first introduced me to letterpress, Susan Malmstrom, Janet Kupchick, Leslie Ross-Robertson, Rebecca Chamlee, Seth Drenner, and Jenny Wilkson for their mentorship and encouragement, Partners in Print (PiP) for building platforms for community and access, HMCT/Archetype Press Residents for their generosity in sharing knowledge.

And most importantly, my students—without whom this award would not be possible. You inspire me every day.

–Joshue Molina

Image at top: Wrong, Joshue Molina, 2016, ink on paper