Artists are invited to submit works for a new Book Art exhibition to be held in Liverpool in 2026, entitled ‘Where Artists and Texts Meet’. The exhibition will run from February 6th to March 29th. An associated book art insight day will take place in mid-February, with talks, workshops and demonstrations, to which artists are invited to contribute.

This exhibition marks a new collaboration between Liverpool Book Art (LBA) and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU).

The exhibition will be held in LJMU’s Mount Pleasant Campus Library, which provides specialist subject support to courses within the Faculty of Society and Culture.

Deadline for submissions is 4th January 2026, but submissions will be considered as they come in, with early decisions made as far as possible.

The title of the Exhibition is "Where Artists and Texts Meet", prompted by the library setting and LJMU's annual Library Fest, which takes place each Spring and celebrates all things related to books, reading and libraries.

Examples of the range of artists' books we wish to exhibit include:

• Those inspired by existing texts of literature or poetry. These would include works such as those exhibited in previous LBA exhibitions such as 'Shakespeare Now' and 'Frankenstein 2018'.
• Artists books which include full texts or extracts from literature or poetry (including texts by artists themselves)
• Collaborations between artists and writers
• New bindings or settings of texts

The timetable to establish and design this exhibition is tight, so we expect submissions to be largely pre-existing works, while not excluding new creations.

Works previously exhibited by LBA which fit the theme and criteria will be considered (though must be resubmitted for consideration in this exhibition)

Liverpool Book Art has been curating exhibitions, and organising selling fairs, of artists books for over 10 years.

Liverpool John Moores University is a distinctive institution, rooted in the Liverpool City Region but with a global presence.

As part of this project, LJMU Library will work with students and staff from various disciplines, including Graphic Design and Creative Writing.

This engagement will include contributing to the design of the exhibition and associated publicity materials.

LJMU and LBA are also organising a complementary 'Insights Day' about Book Art, which will take place in the week beginning 16th February, for students, staff and the general public.

This will be an informal, non-academic day including individual talks by LBA, LJMU and artists, as well as workshops and demonstrations.

Artists are invited to submit proposals for inclusion in this day. Fees will be paid to participating artists.

Addional Submission Requirements

For each work submitted, please provide:

a) An explanation of the work's connection to the theme, of no more than 150 words. This will be displayed adjacent to the work if selected, and reproduced in the exhibition booklet.

b) A video of the work being handled. This should be 30-60 seconds long.

We will make these available to audiences via QR codes.

LJMU will be hosting a Book Art Insight Day during the week beginning 16th February.

We expect this to be held mid-week; probably c. 11.00-16.00; exact day and times to follow.

This will be an informal, non-academic day including individual talks by LBA, LJMU and artists, as well as workshops and demonstrations to explain and inspire.

Visitors will be encouraged to drop in for items of particular interest, rather than to commit to the whole day.

Please include sufficient detail for LJMU and LBA to assess, including how it would fit with the day.

Talks could focus on an individual work submitted for the exhibition, or be a wider talk about an artist’s practice Workshops and demonstrations should be clear if they are participatory, maximum number of participants, whether they are tailored to a specific age range etc.

Will materials be provided? If not, please specify what would be required. They should not include wet work.

Fees will be paid to the participant artist, including travel expenses. 

Individual talks, workshops & demonstrations will be listed on Eventbrite to manage numbers, but all will be free to the public.

Venue: LJMU Mount Pleasant Campus Library, Aquinas Building, Maryland Street, Liverpool L1 9DE

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