As the largest and most comprehensive center of its kind in the nation, Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) celebrates the book as a vibrant contemporary art form that takes many shapes. From the traditional crafts of papermaking, letterpress printing and bookbinding to experimental artmaking and self-publishing techniques, MCBA supports the limitless creative evolution of book arts. In 1983, a group of book arts practitioners and enthusiasts in the Twin Cities began plans to create an institution, a true book arts center, where artists could create, students could build skills, fine art could be exhibited, and a generally under-acknowledged artistic discipline could be elevated into the public eye and take its proper place in the Minnesota arts community. Two years later, in 1985, this dedicated group opened the doors of the brand new Minnesota Center for Book Arts. MCBA's first public home was in the McKesson Building, on North Third Street in the not-yet-gentrified Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis.
