Tenth Annual RISD UNBOUND Fair Draws Crowds of Book Lovers

The Fleet Library at RISD was bustling with book lovers and other print enthusiasts in early April for the 10th annual RISD UNBOUND book fair. The community event celebrates artists’ books, zines, and experimental printed matter created by makers from across the region.

“It was another great year, with new and returning exhibitors selected by the planning committee, which is led by librarian Angela DiVeglia and includes RISD students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the larger Rhode Island creative community,” says Library Director Aliza Leventhal.

This year’s affair began with a virtual gathering of publishers and bookmakers and a panel discussion about collecting and artist collectives featuring Graphic Design faculty member Doug Scott, RISD alum Elizabeth Goodspeed 16 GD, and Brown University PhD candidate Gee Wesley. Panelists discussed the creative practice of bookmaking and the joy of working collaboratively. 

At the main event on Saturday, that joy was palpable, as 50-odd exhibitors shared their creative output with the larger community. Returning exhibitor and RISD faculty member Dan Wood 94 PR of DWRI Letterpress showed an array of printed matter but focused this year on 30 Strange Spoons, a new artists’ book created in collaboration with acclaimed Turkish writer Ece Temelkuran. “I’ve seen a lot of old friends at this event, and it’s beautiful to see so many students here working with their professors,” Wood said.

Nearby, Bryant University Assistant Professor of Studio Art Valerie Carrigan and her student Vivienne Benoit-Smith, an Arts and Creative Industries major, showed drawings, artist books, and prints with a focus on monotypes and letterpress. “I bring my book art students to RISD’s Special Collections library every year,” Carrigan said.

RISD students were well represented and shared a mix of student publications, from The Indy, a Brown-RISD collaboration focused on leftist political writing, to the southeast Asian-focused desi-gned to Scale Journal, a new publication focused on the built environment, to the longstanding v.1. “v.1 is not just for grad students anymore,” noted Brown|RISD dual degree student Selim Kutlu BRDD 29 PR. “It represents a wide range of perspectives through poetry, creative writing, and nonfiction.”

Students from UMass Dartmouth’s Illustration department showed off their wares and were delighted to visit RISD for the first time. “We make funnies for the school paper, The Torch, and I want to be a comic book artist after I graduate,” said junior Olive Huntington.

RISD faculty member Meredith Stern represented book artists from further afield. Just Seeds, the 40-member artist cooperative she co-founded 20 years ago, is made up of artists from the US, Canada, and Mexico with a shared commitment to social, environmental, and political engagement. “We focus on printmaking,” says Stern, “from screen to relief to risograph.”

And for first-time exhibitors and sisters Naia Day-Tenerowicz and Hanna Day-Tenerowicz, RISD UNBOUND was a family affair. “We’re both artists, and we’re here to honor our grandmother and our great-grandmother, who were also artists,” they explained. “We’re fans of everything RISD does and really grateful to be included.”

Simone Solondz
April 23, 2026