Registration is closed.

Deadline to register for the conference was September 1.

Conference Highlight

We are delighted to announce that our 2025 Anita Lynn Forgach Keynote Lecture will be delivered by the extraordinary educator and artist, Mary Hark. Mary was elected a Papermaking Champion at the 2024 conference in Denver. To find out more about Mary and her work, visit her website.

The Elaine Korestsky Momorial Keynote will be delivered by Ulrike Tschirner, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering at the University of Minnesota.

Conference Schedule

Pre-conference

Thursday, September 11th

Tours of MCBA Galleries and Studios with Laura Brown

+ Printmaking demo with Molly Poganski

Tours start @ 1pm and 2pm

MCAD Workshop

"Watermarks, Embossing and Stencil Resists" with Bridget O'Malley

Session 1: 8:30am-11am

Session 2: 12pm-2:30pm

Sign Up HERE

For any questions, please email printmakingstudio@mcad.edu

***NEW*** MCBA workshop Paper Thread with Aimee Lee

Thursday, September 11th

12:00 - 4:00 Registration @ MCBA

Pre-Conference Opportunities

• MCAD: Workshop w/ Bridget O’Malley (see above for details)

• MCAD: Opening Reception for group show, Paper Trails

  • Details: 10:00am-12:00pm, The Suitcase Gallery (MCAD Main Building, fourth floor), 2501 Stevens Avenue, 4th Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55404

  • For more information, including parking options, click HERE

  • Additional times to see the show are 9am-7pm Monday through Friday and 10am-4pm on Saturday

• MCBA: Tour & Printmaking Demo @ 1:00pm & 2:00pm (see above for details)

• MCBA: Workshop Paper Thread with Aimee Lee (9:30am-3:30pm)

3:15 - 3:30 Welcome

3:30 - 4:15 Session 1:

• Janna Willoughby-Lohr “Building Community Connections & Reducing Waste Through Papermaking”

4:15 - 4:30 Break

4:30 - 5:45 Session 2:

• Savannah Bustillo & Sophie Rogers “Performing Text: Using Paper to Hold Words”

• Danqi Cai & Yangbin Park “Between Sheets and Scripts: Translation Through Print and Paper”

6:00 - 8:00 Receptions in gallery of OPEN Book (Light refreshments provided)

7:00 - 9:00 Reception for group show Common Bonds (Light refreshments provided)

Location: The Legacy Condominiums, 1240 S 2nd St, Minneapolis, MN 55415

Participating artists include Amanda Degener (curatorial consult), Mary Hark, Erica Spitzer Rasmussen, Therese Zemlin, Bridget O'Malley, and Reghan Sage.

The intergenerational exhibition Common Bonds brings together the paper-based artwork of six Minnesota-based artists who draw upon the medium’s intrinsic qualities of strength and variability to explore the interconnectedness of our bodies with certain places and time, with the natural world, and with family history. 

These are our common bonds.

9:00 - 10:00 Mixer at the Radisson Red Downtown bar and restaurant, 609 S 3rd St, Minneapolis, MN 55415

Friday, September 12th

8:00 - 12:00 Registration @ MCBA

9:00 - 10:15 Elaine Koretsky Keynote Address: Ulrike Tschirner, “Pulp Friction: Understanding Papermaking Fibers and Methods of Preparation From a Scientific Perspective”

Dr. Tschirner is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering at the University of Minnesota.

10:15 - 10:30 Break

10:30 - 11:45 Session 3

• Aimee Lee “As Good As Our Tools”

11:45 - 1:30 Lunch Break

12:00 - 1:30 Paper Plains Mobile Paper Studio Demonstration (Open to the Public) with a short presentation from 12:45-1:15

1:30 - 2:45 Demo 1

• Noa Rickey “Pulp Pouring and the Transformation of Paper into Soft Fabric”

  • Location: Wet Studio and Classroom (Main Level)

• Veronica Pham “Spinning Dó, Hemp, and Milkweed for Weaving”

  • Location: Bindery

• J. Leigh Garcia “Cricut® Cut Stencils”

  • Location: Wet Studio and Classroom (Lower Level)

2:45 - 3:15 Demo clean up & Coffee Break

3:15 - 4:30 Session 4

• Panel: Lee McDonald, David Reina, Brian Queen, and others, who will share their experiences. “Paper Tools, a Perspective”

4:30 - 4:45 Break

4:45 - 6 Session 5

• Connections in Dialogue

  In this roundtable discussion, participants will share their ideas on topics relevant to the papermaking community. We'll have conversations 1:1 and in small groups to foster participation from all members, new and experienced. By the end of the session, we hope you've formed new connections and new ideas for your practice.

6:30 - 9:00 Member Showcase @ Concordia College, 1301 Marshall Ave. St Paul, MN 55104

Saturday, September 13th

9:00 - 10:15 Anita Lynn Forgach Keynote: Mary Hark "In and Out of the Studio: Nurturing Community Through a Commitment to Fine Craft"

10:15- 10:30 Break

10:30 - 11:45 Session 6

• Hannah O’Hare Bennett “Pursuing Cabuya: Sisal in Equador”

• Isabella Myers “Sacred Substrate: Reviving Cambodian Papermaking to Bridge Communities and Preserve Cultural Heritage”

11:45 - 1:30 Lunch Break & Keepsake Assembly

12:00 - 2:00 Vendor Fair (Open to Public)

2:15 - 3:30 Demo 2

• Mia Brown-Seguin “Breaking the Mold! Topics in Sculptural Handmade Paper”

  • Location TBA

• Amanda Degener & Bridget O’Malley “Surface Treatment to Flax Paper”

  • Location: Wet Studio and Classroom (Main Level)

• Lee McDonald “Paper, Water, and Vacuum Systems”

  • Location TBA

3:30 - 4:00 Annual Business Meeting (Coffee and tea provided)

4:15 - 5:30 Session 7

• Panel: Steph Rue, Jerushia Graham, Aidan Anne Frierson, Cat Liu, & e. ainsley “Beneath The Visible: Community Dialogue”

5:30 - 6:00 Keepsakes pick up

6:00 - 9:00 Reception & Silent Auction @ Radisson RED Downtown

Sunday, September 14th

Post-conference

MCBA workshop Paper Thread with Aimee Lee

***This workshop is filled, but a second session has been added to Thursday 9/11***