A Week for Peace
September 19 through 28, 2009

Peace Prologue
Saturday, September 19; 2pm
Open Book Target Performance Hall
Join writers, poets and others at this free reading, kicking off A Week for Peace programming at MCBA. The afternoon will include readings by:

Patricia Weaver Francisco is the author of three books, most recently Telling: A Memoir of Rape and Recovery (HarperCollins). She teaches writing in the Graduate Liberal Studies at Hamline University.

Deborah Keenan has eight collections of poetry, and has been reading in, and present at, peace readings and anti-war readings since the late sixties. Deborah has four children, two grandchildren, and teaches at Hamline University.

Jim Moore's most recent book is Lightning At Dinner (Graywolf, 2005).

Michael Kiesow Moore is an award-winning writer of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction; a Loft instructor and facilitator of the Loft’s Peace and Social Justice Writers group; and curator of the new Birchbark Books Reading Series at Birchbark Books, the Minneapolis bookstore owned by Louise Erdrich.

Jude Nutter's third book of poetry, I Wish I Had a Heart Like Yours, Walt Whitman (University of Notre Dame Press), explores her own responses to war and conflict.

"After working for 30 years with veterans who struggled with the physical and emotional scarring from past wars, I want to do every small thing I can to help move us in another direction." Tom Sullivan, LICSW

Bryan Thao Worra is a Lao American poet and a fellow of the National Endowment of the Arts whose work is taught internationally.

Peace Prologue was organized by Alison Morse. Alison’s poetry and prose has been published in Water~Stone, Rhino, The Potomac and a bunch of other places, and she is currently spit-polishing a novel. For twenty years she animated everything from cigarettes and glass shards to Barbie in 3D computer models and taught at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota. Now she runs TalkingImageConnection, an organization that brings together writers, contemporary visual artists and new audiences.

Veterans Writing and Book Workshop
Saturday and Sunday, September 19-20; 10am-5pm each day
in MCBA’s Studios
Military veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict areas are invited to participate in this free workshop to share experiences from combat and a make a book of photos and words. Local artist Monica Haller will facilitate the workshop. To register and learn more details, download the invitation (B&W print version / color on-screen version) or email Monica at monicahaller@yahoo.com. Space is limited.

The Combat Paper Project in Residence at MCBA
September 21-28, 2009
MCBA and Susan Hensel Gallery are proud to host The Combat Paper Project for a week-long residency in MCBA’s studios. This unique project, based out of Green Door Studio in Burlington, Vermont, is made possible by a multifaceted collaboration between artists, art collectors, non-profit centers and military combat veterans. Through papermaking workshops, local veterans are given the opportunity to use uniforms worn in combat to create cathartic works of art. The uniforms are cut up, beaten into fiber and formed into sheets of paper. Later, text and imagery created by veterans are printed on the sheets. The goal is to use art to help individuals reconcile their personal experiences and challenge traditional narratives surrounding service, honor and military culture. For more information about the project, visit www.combatpaper.org.

The public is welcome to visit MCBA’s studios and view the project in progress through the duration of the residency. Special events are scheduled to encourage interaction with the veteran artists, but visitors are welcome anytime during MCBA’s open hours.

Book Arts Roundtable: The Artists of Combat Paper
Tuesday, September 22; 7pm
at MCBA’s studios
We are proud to welcome The Combat Paper Project to MCBA for a weeklong residency during our multidisciplinary Week for Peace. At this Roundtable, join the artists as they discuss the origins of the project and the efficacy of art in shaping critical dialogue. Add your voice to the mix by helping Combat Paper raise community awareness and stimulate conversations regarding our responsibilities to returned veterans and the dehumanizing effects of warfare.

Papermaking Workshop with the Combat Paper Project
Thursday and Friday, September 24-25; 10-4pm each day
in MCBA’s studios
Artists from the Combat Paper Project will teach traditional handmade paper techniques utilizing military uniforms and rags to create sheets of paper. Participants will deconstruct uniforms, "break rag", pulp fiber using a hollander beater and pull sheets of paper for use in books. The history and various processes associated with hand papermaking will also be discussed. Participants are encouraged to bring old military uniforms for use in the workshop.
This workshop is free. Space is limited to 10 participants; preference will be given to veterans. MCBA will call participants to confirm their spot.

Celebrating A Week for Peace
Friday, September 25; 7pm
Open Book Target Performance Hall
Join the artists of Combat Paper, the Warrior Writers Project and others for an evening celebrating A Week for Peace through a unique program of poetry, shared personal experiences and visual imagery.

Binding and Writing Workshop with Combat Paper and the Warrior Writers Project
Saturday, September 26; 10am-4pm
in MCBA’s studios
Using paper created in the papermaking workshop, Artists from the Combat Paper Project will teach participants non-adhesive bookbinding techniques that may be used to create journals. In the afternoon, a creative writing workshop will be facilitated by artists associated with the Warrior Writers Project. Participants will be provided with bookbinding and reading materials for both components of the workshop.
This workshop is free. Space is limited to 10 participants; preference will be given to veterans. MCBA will call participants to confirm their spot.

Other Associated Events:

During their residency, the windows of the Susan Hensel Gallery (3441 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407) will feature work by the Combat Paper Project. For more information, visit www.susanhenselgallery.com.

Work completed during Combat Paper’s MCBA residency will be featured in the exhibition War Work: Artists Engage Iraq and Other Wars at the Carleton College Art Gallery, October 22 - November 18, 2009, and The Art Museum at the College of Wooster, January 12 - February 28, 2010.  Visit www.carleton.edu/campus/gallery for more information on War Work, featuring book, paper and print artists Sandow Birk, Daniel Heyman, John Risseeuw, Ehren Till, Megan Vossler, the Combat Paper Project and more.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts is open to the public:
Tuesdays: 10 am to 9 pm
Wednesdays - Saturdays: 10 am to 5 pm
Sundays: 12 to 4 pm
Mondays: closed

Minnesota Center for Book Arts is located in
the Open Book Building in downtown Minneapolis
1011 Washington Ave S, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: 612.215.2520
Fax: 612.215.2545
Email: mcba@mnbookarts.org

© Minnesota Center for Book Arts