In an era when digital media increasingly overshadows print books, the Austin Book Arts Center keeps the tradition of bookmaking and printing alive. Inside the center, paper is pressed and dried, ink is rolled across sheets and books are carefully bound and designed.
The non-profit Austin Book Arts Center will host its 10th anniversary celebration on Oct. 2 at the Baker Center in Hyde Park, marking a decade of continuous bookmaking education and preservation of the craft of book and letterpress arts. The free celebration includes hands-on letterpress demonstrations and book-themed temporary tattoos. Kevin Auer, an ABAC board member and UT lecturer, said the center offers people a creative medium within the fast pace of life.
“We just are an outlet for a lot of people who don’t have an opportunity to do much with their hands right during the day,” Auer said. “A lot of people get up in the morning, go to work, sit in front of a screen and don’t get a chance to make and do things.”
Since its start in 2015, ABAC has continued to grow and add new classes and equipment. ABAC board member Tiffo Carmichael said they look forward to some new additions at the center.
“We’ve got four or five very large letterpress machines that range from the 1960s (to the) 1800s,” Carmichael said. “(For the) class we’re teaching this fall, we’re also going to talk about the history of people who used that … like underground flyers or punk bands.”
Contrary to the common belief that digital media is phasing out and replacing book arts, Auer said the pandemic brought a rise in interest in the craft.
“COVID was this moment where people had a chance to kind of slow down and ask themselves what was important for them,” Auer said. “A lot of people had an opportunity to try things and do things that they hadn’t in the past.”
Looking ahead to ABAC’s next 10 years of operation, Auer said he would like to see more young people become interested in book arts.
“I would love to see more and more younger people come,” Auer said.
Jim Kuhn, an associate director at the Harry Ransom Center and member of the ABAC board, encouraged people to become a member, take some workshops or make a donation to the non-profit.
“We really do look forward to watching it grow as new folks get involved with the work that we encourage,” Kuhn said.
Kuhn also said books offer one of the oldest communication technologies for people to record thoughts and artistic creations.
“The books that we make (are) reflective of the community,” Auer said. “So that’s why I think that (preserving them) is important — because they are remnants or reminders of this community that we all share.”