Announcements

Working the Remanent Talk at BIMA /  by Alisa Banks

I am giving an artist talk, Working the Remanent, at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, which will take place Saturday, May 2, 2026, from 4-6 pm PT in the Frank Buxton Auditorium.

In the talk, I will discuss how following emanations of events, stories, and traditions - a process I call “root reading" - leads to discovery and investigation of material, historical, and emotional remnants. These remnants, which have survived displacement and erasure, are used as pathways back to identity, lineage, and place leading to the creation of sculptural artist’s books.

The talk, followed by Q&A and a reception, will be moderated by Erin Zona, the new curator of the Cynthia Sears Artists’ Books Collection. The event is presented in partnership with Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN) as part of Handwork 2026.

The event is free, but registration is required. Please click the link to reserve your spot: https://www.biartmuseum.org/event/working-the-remanent-an-artist-talk-with-alisa-banks/

Boston Athenaeum: Who is America at 250? /  by Alisa Banks

History of a People is on view in Who is America at 250? Artists' Books on the State of Democracy at the Boston Athenaeum Monday, March 30 through Saturday May 16.

An opening event is scheduled Monday, April 6 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM ET. The event is free, but is ticketed. Tickets can be reserved here.

Regularly, the exhibition is free to Athenaeum members, and will be open to the public, with paid first-floor admission, from  during regular Athenaeum hours, Monday-Thursday 9 am – 8 pm, and Friday and Saturday 9 am – 5 pm.

Who Is America at 250?—a traveling exhibition organized by the San Francisco Center for the Book—showcases the imaginative ways in which contemporary artists’ books employ the physical forms of the handmade book to foster thoughtful engagement with questions evoked by this moment in America’s history as a country.

Texas Tech University: What is an ARt Quilt /  by Alisa Banks

You are invited to my artist talk, What is an Art Quilt? at the Museum at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Thursday, April 9, 2026, from 6 to 8 pm CT. The talk is in conjunction with StitchPunk, a traveling exhibition, organized by the Studio Quilt Art Association (SAQA) and sponsored in part by the Caprock Art Quilters.

Featured in the exhibition are quilts inspired by various speculative future subgenres, including biopunk, steampunk, and atompunk. The exhibition is on view in Lubbock, Texas, until May 3, 2026. There will be a Q&A session and refreshments after the talk.

The event is free, but space is limited, so please RSVP to (806)742-2443 by April 1st to reserve your seat. 

Handwork Week 2026 Workshop /  by Alisa Banks

Workshop at the Bainbridge BARN

I'm honored to join the instructor roster for Handwork Week 2026 at BARN (Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network), part of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a nationwide initiative led by Craft in America. 

From April 26 to May 1, I'll be leading Speak Your Piece: Artist’s Books with Meaning, an intensive workshop in artist’s bookmaking, sharing techniques developed over years of practice. This week-long gathering brings together master craftspeople from across disciplines to celebrate and preserve American craft traditions while fostering innovation. 

Handwork 2026 is part of a nationwide initiative led by Craft in America to celebrate the handmade during America's Semiquincentennial. Over 250 organizations across all 50 states are participating in this historic celebration.

BARN's state-of-the-art facility on Bainbridge Island (35-minute ferry from Seattle) provides the perfect setting for intensive learning. The island offers charming accommodations, restaurants, and natural beauty to enhance your workshop experience.

Click here to learn more about me and the workshop.

Registration and details: http://bainbridgebarn.org/handwork2026

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Ether: Aromatic Mythologies /  by Alisa Banks

The unique version of History of a People will be on view in Ether: Aromatic Mythologies at Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles. The exhibition will also present an interactive installation of the scents used for the book.

Ether examines the confluence of storytelling, identity, and scent by delving into ancient, modern, personal, or entirely invented mythologies. Thirteen olfactory artworks on show seek to explain our most fundamental understanding of ourselves, and how scent can impact systems of meaning in relation to the inexplicable, the historical, or the unknown.  

Ether is the first in a series of exhibitions on view in 2025 presented by Craft Contemporary that interpret the varied interactions between craft and the natural elements: air, water, earth, and fire. Ether coincides with Scent Week Los Angeles. Events include scent related exhibitions, workshops, open houses, panel discussions, and experiences. 

A free Exhibition Preview & Artist Meet and Greet is scheduled for Saturday, May 31 from 6 - 8 pm. Ether is on view May 30, 2025 — September 7, 2025

Exhibition: Unerased /  by Alisa Banks

Detail, L-R: Ancestors’ Hope and Dreams, Half, Lost

I am pleased to announce Unerased, a multimedia exhibition on view at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center at Colorado College. The exhibition explores what it means to excavate histories by digging into one’s ancestral past through memory, culture and archive.

An Artist’s Talk will be held on Thursday, February 20 at 4pm. The exhibition is on view from February 7, 2025 through September 6, 2025.

Sadikichi Award Finalist /  by Alisa Banks

I am thrilled to announce having been named a finalist for the Sadikichi Award for Experimental Scent for my project History of a People for the 2024 Art and Olfaction Awards given by the Institute for Art and Olfaction. The winners of each category will be announced at the Art and Olfaction Award ceremony in Lisbon, June 7.

Holding Ground: Artist’s Books for the NMWA /  by Alisa Banks

I am honored to have been one of nine book artists invited to complete a commissioned work to commemorate the grand re-opening of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, DC. My proposed work, History of a People traces African American history and culture through scent.

Each of the six bottles (or chapters) holds a custom blended scent that corresponds to the cultural landscape of selected historical periods: Roots, Journey, Arrival, Harrow, Protest,Visioning. The scents symbolize the complex layering involved in the creation of a new culture.

Holding Ground: Artist’s Books for the NMWA, will be on display until October 2024. The celebration is year-long and the museum is planning several events.