Boneyard Arts Festival at the FabLab

The Champaign-Urbana Community FabLab will be open for the Boneyard Arts Festival on Friday, April 1, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 2, from 12:00-5:00 p.m. The FabLab will be showcasing the work of the Teen Art Council; a diverse, motivated, group of teens interested in growing the teen art scene in CU; and the work of two Fab Lab staff that also serve as the sponsors of the Teen Art Council; Sara Hoag and Emilie Butt.
 
In addition, the FabLab's new books arts and letterpress lab, directed by Prof. Ryan Cordell, will be open for visitors. If you noticed that the printing press disappeared from the iSchool's hallway earlier this semester, that's where it went! We are still updating the space and refurbishing a few of its machines, including the iSchool's hallway press, in anticipation of a formal grand opening event in early fall 2022. Before then, Boneyard will give you a chance to get a sneak peek at the community-oriented book arts makerspace we are working to build. We want to create a community where newcomers to the craft can learn and where experienced practitioners can work. So if you have an idea, from printing a chapbook of poetry to 3D-printing plates of code for letterpress, or anything in between, come by and start planning with us.
 
During the FabLab's Boneyard hours, we will have some quick activities set up, we will offer very brief demos of the type and presses, and visitors will be able to pull 1-2 impressions of a souvenir print.  If you're curious about letterpress printing, the workshops and classes we expect to teach, or the kinds of community projects we hope to sponsor—or if you just want to try out some cool historical printing technologies—come visit!