In 2018 the Frank Riccio Artist-in-Residency was established by Virginia Humanities to support the work and public programming of a visiting book artist to our studio and community in Charlottesville. Virginia Book Arts is proud to announce the 2026-27 Frank Riccio Artist-in-Resident, IBé Crawley, the fourth artist to be awarded this residency.
IBé Crawley is a nationally recognized artist working in the field of book art, sculpture and textiles. At the core, Crawley is a storyteller whose process-based and material-driven work draws from her extensive archival research.
“The work I create focuses on colored women, girls and their communities. The fragility of freedom as a state of being and the humanity that I represent in my one-of-a kind books and book editions include letterpress, handmade paper, sculptures, and printmaking. The archival research adds to the narrative and structure of the books. As a professional storyteller, my book-work looks at past and current events. My process, my projects, and finished pieces evolve slowly and thoughtfully.”
Crawley has made books with Women Studio Workshop, been commissioned by the National Museum for Women in the Arts, invited into collaborations with the Library of Congress, and was the 2024 Charles W. Mann Jr Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work can be found in collections and museums across the US. In 2021, she founded the IBé Arts Institute in Hopewell, VA, to “highlight stories long left untold, offering a site where art, history, and reclamation converge—inviting reflection, dialogue, and a deeper understanding of place.”
As our resident, IBé will be working on a multi-part book art work titled The 1840’s Watchmen Record: A Book Project, focusing on the stories of twelve Black Virginia runaway girls and women. Production processes are projected to include letterpress printing from polymer and lead type, linoleum-cut printing, hand stitching and book binding. There will be opportunities to interact with IBé in the shop, at her Institute, and several public programs this and next year are in the works. Stay tuned! And: Welcome IBé!
For more, visit: https://ibearts.org/