About

History

Doverodde Book Arts Center & Festival was founded in 2009 at the Limfjordscentret Doverodde Købmandsgård, Hurup, Thy – a restored merchant’s warehouse (originating from 1854) by the waters of the Limfjord in Northern Jutland, Denmark.
The Limfjordscentret itself was founded in June 1999 as a commercial foundation; run as a museum, gallery and nature activity centre. In April 2014 the Limfjordscentret merged with Grejbank Nordvest, resulting in a name change to Nordvest Safari Thy-Mors Doverodde Købmandsgård. It continues to run as an art museum/gallery and nature activity centre.

Australian-born Kathleen Elizabeth (Liz) Hempel-Jørgensen initiated the project of Doverodde Book Arts Center & Festival from 2009-2011, and acted as Project Coordinator during this period. Her inspiration to set up Doverodde Book Arts Center & Festival came both from a visit to the London Artists’ Book Fair in 2007 (LAB’07) at the ICA in London and also how Hay-on-Wye, 'the town of books' – a small market town on the borders of Wales – came to generate a festival linked to the book.

In 2008 – along with Centre Director Karin Nikolaus – Liz began applying for funding to realise this ambitious project in this relatively remote region of Denmark. In May 2009 they subsequently hosted the first Doverodde Book Arts Festival with the support of Region Nordjylland (North Denmark Region) and LAG Thy-Mors.

When Hempel-Jørgensen retired as Project Coordinator in 2012 the designer and book artist Mette-Sofie D. Ambeck – a local to Thy who had already aided links between the Centre and the international book arts community – assumed the role of Festival Organiser. She also continued work on the online platforms she had originally initiated during 2011, and later including this blog from February 2012. In August 2014, as the active part of Doverodde Book Arts Center & Festival was put on hold, Ambeck concluded her involvement.

Limfjordscentret by Anton Borg, 2010. 


Objective

The purpose of the Doverodde Book Arts Center & Festival is to disseminate knowledge of the creative genre known as artists’ books – an art form which may combine many different creative processes & intentions in one piece (painting, illustration, photography, printmaking, sculpture, typography, design, bookbinding…).



Aim

The aim is to meet this objective by acting as a facilitator between the artistic profession and the general public (of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds), thereby creating a welcoming setting for international artists working in the field of artists’ books; to inspire and to be inspired through talks and workshops, exhibitions and ad hoc projects. The intention is to encourage a dialogue between the public and the artist – and also between the artists themselves – creating new networks across regional and country borders.



What, where and when

Annually – or biennially – to host a Festival with exhibitions, talks, workshops, stands and projects on an ad hoc basis. The Festivals will take place in the buildings of the Limfjordscentret in the Danish holiday period of Ascension Thursday. The Doverodde Book Arts Center will establish a handling collection of artists’ books for artists and visitors at the Limfjordscentret derived from the events, which will be retained as a resource available throughout the year.



Target group
• Professional artists working with artists’ books.
• Professional artists aspiring to work within the genre of artists’ books.
• General public
• Professional and amateur connoisseurs of art.

Economy
The Doverodde Book Arts Center & Festival will be partly financed by the commercial foundation Limfjordscentret, and partly by application for external funds through grants and foundations. It will also charge fees from artists and visitors.

News value
Internationally there exist many artists’ book fairs – though they often lack a permanent base.
In Denmark artists’ books – as an art form – still lack profile. Some practitioners have worked in this field over several years, though mainly in closed communities, while others have worked individually within the genre following their own personal creative agendas. All of these people have not necessarily been aware of the larger international communities of similar practice.
By creating the Doverodde Book Arts Center & Festival in the permanent grounds of the Limfjordscentret we hope to establish a meeting point in Denmark for artists’ books, spreading interest to other parts of Scandinavia and further afield, into Europe and the world.
By hosting Festivals – rather than book fairs – the aim is to disseminate knowledge of the art form and create dialogue between artists and the public through the widest possible range of exciting and enjoyable activities including lectures, walks, workshops, exhibitions social activities and critical debate.