The Collaboratory

Join our 13-week creative accelerator that pairs literary and visual artists to create one-of-a-kind artist's books and text objects.

REGISTRATION FOR THE COLLABORATORY IS NOW CLOSED.
Please add your name to our waiting list to be the first to hear about enrollment for our next Collaboratory cohort.

Brought to you by:

The Collaboratory is a creative accelerator brought to you by Container and the Binding Agency that pairs literary and visual artists to collaborate on an artist's book or text object.

Over the course of 13 weeks (August 13-November 11), Collaboratory members participate in a guided series of activities to get to know their assigned partner, collectively generate a pool of project ideas, prototype the object's design and text, and deliver and showcase their work virtually. Select Collaboratory members will be invited to sell their completed objects through Container's online marketplace.

For this pilot cohort, we are limiting participation to a total of 20 participants: 10 visual artists and 10 literary artists.

Interested in learning more? You can:


 


Each Collaboratory cohort will create artist's books and text objects inspired by an established theme. The theme for our pilot cohort is breaches.

A breach as defined by Merriam-Webster, can include:

1. an infraction or violation of a law, obligation, tie, or standard (breach of trust / sued them for breach of contract)

2. a broken, ruptured, or torn condition or area (a breach of the skin / the leak was a major security breach)

3. a gap (as in a wall) made by battering (fixing a breach in the fence / once more unto the breach, dear friends, … or close the wall up with our English dead —Shakespeare)

4. a break in accustomed friendly relations (caused a breach between the two countries)

5. a temporary gap in continuity : hiatus (a breach of routine)

6. a leap especially of a whale out of water

Collaboratory participants are invited to interpret these theme as concretely or abstractly as they see fit in the written and visual composition of their artist's books.


PRE-LAUNCH

BY JULY 31
COMPLETE YOUR INTAKE QUESTIONNAIRE
After registering for the Collaboratory, you'll be prompted to complete an intake questionnaire where you tell us more about you and your work. We'll use this information to match you with your collaborator.

AUGUST 6-12
MEET YOUR MATCH
One week before we kick off the Collaboratory, you'll receive an email from Jenni and Doug letting you know you who've been matched with and any contact information they've opted to share. While there's nothing officially required this week, feel free to send your collaborator a quick email to say hi!

PLANNING PHASE: WEEKS 1-5


WEEK ONE (AUGUST 13-19)
GET TO KNOW YOUR COLLABORATOR & COHORT MEMBERS
We’ll kick things off with a structured activity designed to help you get to know your collaborator (which can be done via email, phone call or video chat—your choice!). We'll also ask you to introduce yourself to the other literary and visual artists participating in your cohort by posting a comment on the course discussion board.

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WEEK TWO (AUGUST 20-26)
BOOK ARTS 101
In week two, you'll get a crash course in book arts, with readings and discussions around what we talk about when we talk about artist's books and text objects, the motivations and impulses driving this form, and examples of book artists and objects from the field,

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WEEK THREE (AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2)
WRITE YOUR RULES OF COLLABORATION
During week three, you'll focus on collectively writing your rules of collaboration, the principles and norms you'll use to guide your work together in the remaining ten weeks. You’ll begin by choosing from a starter list of norms we provide, then add your own to arrive at single set of principles to govern your work together. Once complete, you'll share your list of norms with the cohort via the group discussion board.

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WEEK FOUR (SEPTEMBER 3-9)
GENERATE PROJECT IDEAS
In week four, you'll begin brainstorming ideas for your project. We'll provide you with a series of divergent brainstorming prompts throughout the week, designed to generate ideas for the visual and literary composition of your project. This week is all about quantity over quality: the more ideas you generate by the week's end, the better.

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WEEK FIVE (SEPTEMBER 10-16)
DETERMINE PROJECT DIRECTION
This week, it's time to narrow down your big list of ideas and align on the direction you'll take moving forward. You'll work through a prioritization exercise to collectively surface the strongest ideas and make a decision about the idea you'll carry forward into the execution phase. By the end of the week, you'll complete a project brief that outlines your idea, timeline for completion, and roles and responsibilities.

EXECUTION PHASE: WEEKS 6-11


WEEK SIX (SEPTEMBER 17-23)
GET DOWN TO WORK!
Week six kicks off the execution phase of your collaboration, where you’ll start getting your hands dirty on the project you’re working on, while maintaining communication with your collaborator. We'll post a weekly question on the discussion board and ask you to check in with the cohort on how things are going.

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WEEK SEVEN (SEPTEMBER 24-30)
WORK WEEK
This week, you’ll continue working on your project with your collaborator as you work towards your goal of having a prototype / dummy ready to share in Week 7. We'll post a weekly question on the discussion board and ask you to check in with the cohort on how things are going.

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WEEK EIGHT (OCTOBER 1-7)
SHARE YOUR PROTOTYPES / DUMMIES
This week, you’ll share a prototype (also know as a dummy) of your text object, which can include a mock-up of its physical form, draft language and more. You'll share a description and photos with the cohort on the group discussion board, along with any questions you could use some larger group feedback on as you prepare to move forward.

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WEEKS NINE, TEN & ELEVEN (OCTOBER 8-28)
WORK WEEKS
In weeks nine, ten and eleven, you’ll continue working on your project with your collaborator as you work towards your goal of having your object finalized by Week 11. We'll post a weekly question on the discussion board and ask you to check in with the cohort on how things are going.

PROMOTIONAL PHASE: WEEKS 12-13


WEEK ELEVEN (OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 4)
TALK ABOUT YOUR TEXT OBJECTS (INTERNALLY)
With your text objects complete, you'll collaborate on writing an artists' statement about your work, craft a description of your process, and align on a price point (if you think you want to sell your work after the Collaboratory is over). You'll post this information on the course discussion board and respond to others' text objects.

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WEEK TWELVE (NOVEMBER 5-11)
TALK ABOUT YOUR TEXT OBJECTS (WITH THE WORLD!)
It's showcase week! Leading up to this week, you'll choose from one of two showcase options to highlight your work: a written interview with Collaboratory facilitators posted on the Container or Binding Agency websites OR a virtual webcast where you'll invite people to attend and talk about your work in real time.

Frequently Asked Questions


If I know I'm going to be unavailable one week, can I still participate?
There are specific weeks at the beginning and conclusion of the Collaboratory that we consider "no-miss" weeks, including Weeks 1-5 (August 13-September 16) and Weeks 12-13 (October 29-November 11). If you're going to be out more than a few days during any of these weeks, we recommend sitting this one out and waiting until the next Collaboratory cohort opportunity to sign up.
How will I be matched with a collaborator?
After registering for the Collaboratory, you'll be prompted to complete an online form to let us know more about you and your work, as well as whether you want to be matched with someone similar or different to you. We've written a matching algorithm designed to evaluate the information you share and recommend who in the cohort makes a good match. One week before the cohort starts, we'll send you an email with the name and contact information of your collaborator.
How much time per week should I plan to spend on the Collaboratory?
The Collaboratory is run asynchronously, meaning there's not a single time you need to log on each week. We expect that most participants will spend 3-5 hours per week on Collaboratory activities, including reviewing email content, completing assignments and communicating with your collaborator. In the open work weeks (where each pair gets down to work creating their text and visual object), your schedule will vary based on the complexity of the object you're creating and the project timeline you've worked out with your collaborator.
What happens if my assigned collaborator drops out?
While we hope every participant will remain engaged through the entire 12 weeks of the Collaboratory, we acknowledge there's a possibility your collaborator may need to drop out due to a personal emergency or simply ghost you. If this happens, we'll ask you to tell us how much of a refund you'd like, factoring in where we are in the Collaboratory schedule and how much value you've gotten out of your experience to date. You can also choose to convert your course fee into a donation.
What if I want to participate, but can't afford the fee?
We simultaneously believe that facilitating arts opportunities has value AND that we as facilitators need to do more to decrease the financial barriers that prevent many from accessing and participating in the arts. While we are unable to offer any financial support for the pilot cohort (due to its limited size and already discounted price), we 're committed to offering at least two fee waivers in each future cohort for individuals who are interested in participating, but lack the ability to pay.

Facilitators


Jenni B. Baker & Doug Luman
Jenni B. Baker & Doug Luman

Jenni B. Baker is the co-founder and projects director for Container, and the founder of the Binding Agency. She brings a 10-year career in nonprofit digital communications and design to her work with the Collaboratory, as well as a history designing and managing five National Poetry Month collaborative projects with The Found Poetry Review. She is the recipient of a 2017 Individual Artist Award in Poetry from the Maryland State Arts Council. More at jennibbaker.com.

Douglas Luman is co-founder and production director of Container, art director at Stillhouse Press, head researcher at appliedpoetics.org, a book designer, educator, and digital human. His experience integrates corporate and academic education, including positions at George Mason University and George Washington University. His first book, The F Text, was released in Fall 2017 on Inside the Castle.