Earlier this month, BIMA travelled to Oakland, CA to take part in the CODEX Book Art Fair & Symposium! We joined artists, collectors, publishers, and book arts enthusiasts from around the world for one of the biggest gatherings dedicated exclusively to artist’s books and fine press work. As proud sponsors of the event, we were honored to support and celebrate a community that shares our deep commitment to book arts.

In the days leading up to the four-day event, we hosted a series of special events that set the tone for connection and collaboration. We welcomed artists and colleagues to a luncheon at Kala Art Institute, where guests enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of Kala’s renowned print residency spaces and the opportunity to connect with more than 50 artists. That evening, the celebration continued with a soirée at the San Francisco Center for the Book, bringing together artists, collectors, and friends in one of the Bay Area’s most beloved hubs for book arts.

During the fair itself, BIMA and the Cynthia Sears Artists’ Book Collection hosted a table that became a lively gathering point throughout the event. While BIMA staff welcomed visitors and shared information about the museum and collection, Curator Erin Zona, Registrar Myrna Ougland, and collection founder Cynthia Sears made the rounds, engaging directly with artists and presses and selecting dozens of new titles to add to the collection.

Across the fair and symposium, we connected with hundreds of artists, collectors, scholars, and fellow institutions, exchanging ideas about process, materiality, and the evolving possibilities of artists’ books today and in the future. We were also delighted to see our dear friend Yuka Petz, host of BIMA’s video series Artists’ Books Unshelved, moderate a session at the Symposium too!

Participating in CODEX was both energizing and affirming. It underscored the importance of artist’s books as a living art form and reinforced BIMA’s role as a steward, advocate, and connector within this vibrant field. We return inspired, grateful, and excited to share the many new works and relationships forged at CODEX with our community in the months ahead.

Learn about BIMA’s Artists’ Books Collection here.

Guest blog by Carol Sauvion

In the fall of 2021, during a conversation with Harriett Green at a virtual American Craft Council Board meeting, we had a moment to discuss the crafts and how to increase awareness of the history and the work being done in the present day. Harriett Green, an ACC Trustee, asked the group if anyone had heard of Year of American Craft, a national celebration that took place in 1993, when President and Mrs. Clinton took up President Bush’s Proclamation and became involved in the events for craft, beginning with the White House Collection of American Craft, an exhibition that opened at the White House in December of 1993 and traveled for several years. I replied to Harriett that I was familiar with Year of American Craft because we at Craft in America had done an archival segment on the topic for our Democracy episode. Harriett replied that we should have another Year of American Craft. I agreed!

After Harriett and I discussed a way forward, we decided to form a Planning Committee for a second Year of American Craft, which we thought would be a great initiative to celebrate our Semiquincentennial in 2026. We each invited three people to join the Planning Committee; Harriett chose three of the American Craft Council board; Lynn Pollard, Jean McLaughlin and a third person who had to leave the committee because of personal obligations. I chose three members of the Craft in America board: Lois Jecklin, Ann Pifer, and Consuelo Jimenez Underwood. Together, we organized an Announcement which contained the projects we hoped to put in place for the initiative.

More than four years have passed since that early beginning and many Handwork’s projects have become a reality! 

The latest Announcement for Handwork 2026 which lists over 270 Participants from throughout the US and Puerto Rico! “Handwork: Contemporary Craft from the Renwick Collection” installation will open at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in November 2026. It will include the 10 acquisitions that Handwork 2026 has secured for the Renwick. The Handwork 2026 website is up and filled with information from our Participants. Exhibitions are open or set to open this year. The Handwork book, Handwork: Handcrafted Objects that Made America, is set to be released in June of 2026. The education component has turned into a robust combination of education guides for K-12 students and an artist residency program in 10 colleges and universities. There is still much to complete and accomplish, but we are thrilled with our progress!

Looking for what else to do between World Cup matches this summer in Seattle? While you recover from shouting GOOAAL at the world’s biggest football games, there’s endless possibilities to relax, explore, and learn right here in the Emerald City. 

1. Ferry for a day trip to BI and BIMA
   Take the scenic Seattle-Bainbridge Island ferry to see different one-of-a-kind views of the skyline and Puget Sound, and spend a day exploring Bainbridge, including the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art where admission is always free! See what else to do on Bainbridge here. Learn more about visiting BIMA here! (Español | Português Brasileiro | Deutsch)
2. Meet the Fremont Troll
   Enjoy Seattle’s quirky Fremont neighborhood and snap a photo with the famous Fremont Troll.
3. Visit Pike Place Market
   Watch the fish throwers, sample local foods, and browse artisan stalls at one of the liveliest Seattle spots.
4. Float alongside whales with a whale-watching tour
   Spot orcas and humpbacks from on a guided tour across Puget Sound, leaving right from the Seattle waterfront.
5. Take in the view from the Space Needle
   Ride to the top of Seattle’s most iconic symbol, the Space Needle, for 360 degree views of Seattle, Elliott Bay, and the mountains.
6. See a performance at Pacific Northwest Ballet or Seattle Symphony
   Attend a world-class show at Pacific Northwest Ballet or enjoy live music from the Seattle Symphony.
7. Be inspired at the Olympic Sculpture Park
   Stroll Seattle’s waterfront and explore a collection of monumental sculptures.
8. Learn at the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture
   Expand your knowledge of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum.
9. Brewery hop in Ballard
   Taste your way through Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, famous for their brewery district, with more than a dozen taprooms.
10. Fly high on the Seattle Great Wheel on the waterfront
    Get sky-high panoramic waterfront views from the Seattle Great Wheel on Pier 57.
11. See marine life at the Seattle Aquarium
    Right on the waterfront at Pier 59, dive into the marine life of the surrounding region and beyond with otters, octopuses, touch-tanks and more.
12. Play at Gas Works Park
    Have a picnic, fly a kite, or explore this one-of-a-kind park that was converted from the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant.
13. Be blown away at the Chihuly Garden and Glass
    Explore the work of one of the world’s foremost glass artists, Dale Chihuly, at this museum near the Space Needle.
14. Ride the Burke-Gilman Trail
    Rent a bike and cruise along Seattle’s top scenic bike route, the Burke-Gilman Trail.
15. Seattle Public Library Central Library
    Tour the architecturally stunning, 11-story landmark that is the Central Library.
16. Stroll through Washington Park Arboretum
    Find peaceful gardens, wetlands, and seasonable blooms at the lush Arboretum.
17. Relax at Smith Tower Observation Deck
    Head to the Observation Deck for Prohibition-style cocktails and skyline views from Seattle’s first skyscraper.
18. Alki beach
    Get a view of the sunset against the Seattle skyline while walking, biking, or beachcombing at Alki Beach in West Seattle.
19. Kayak or paddleboard on Lake Union
    Get up close and personal with the waters of Seattle by renting a kayak or paddleboard.
20. Kerry Park
    Get the best picture-perfect views of downtown Seattle and the Space Needle at this park nestled in the Queen Anne neighborhood
21. Go deep with an Underground Tour
    Explore Seattle’s hidden history on the Underground Tour in Pioneer Square.
22. Wander Discovery Park
    Immerse yourself in nature at the 600-acre Discovery Park–don’t forget to visit the Lighthouse!
23. Discover historic Pioneer Square
    Seattle’s oldest neighborhood is full of historic architecture, boutiques, and galleries.
24. Take a selfie at the Gum Wall
    Visit Seattle’s colorful Gum Wall in Post Alley and take a selfie… and leave your own chewed piece at the collection!
25. Ride a Hot Tub Boat on Lake Union
    Kick back with a view at one of Seattle’s most unique adventures, a Hot Tub Boat!
26. Spark curiosity at the Pacific Science Center
    Perfect for kids and adults alike, enjoy an immersive learning experience at this museum right in the heart of downtown Seattle.

We are thrilled to have you here in Seattle for the 2026 World Cup! If your travels bring you here to BIMA, don’t forget to snap a photo and tag us @bimuseum.of.art on Instagram. Explore art, local culture, and the best of Seattle and Bainbridge Island while you’re here!

Soccer | Belgium | Egypt | USA | Australia | Qatar | Iran | Free things to do Seattle | Seattle attractions | Seattle travel tips | Football | Fútbol

As you may have heard by now, BIMA is taking part in the national initiative, Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026! This celebration of craft in honor of the Semiquincentennial of the United States is led by Craft in America and features over 250 participating organizations. 

The decision to join Handwork 2026 was an easy and exciting one for us at BIMA. The handmade spans countless methods, each with deep roots that we will explore throughout the year. Not only will we be honoring the storied legacy of handwork in America, but we will be uplifting craft today and artists who are bringing the handmade into its next evolution. For the first time at BIMA, we are linking the majority of our 2026 exhibitions together under one theme: Connected By Craft. 

We chose this theme because the handmade has the ability to not only connect individuals to one another, but to connect communities, generations, and histories unlike any other art form. Handmade traditions lie at the heart of many cultures, whether it’s brought to the U.S. from elsewhere to honor one’s home or organically grown from the cross-cultural influences that abound in America. It’s this diversity and power of craft that we are thrilled to celebrate and share with you next year. 

Learn more about Handwork 2026 at BIMA here and learn about the national initiative, including other participating organizations, on the Handwork 2026 website. 

We are excited to share this guest blog by Alice Mendoza, who was a driving force behind BIMA’s now annual Día de los Muertos celebrations! 

It was 1992. I had just joined the Wilkes Elementary 3rd grade teaching team, where the Social Studies focus was on Pacific Rim countries. 

I was thrilled to discover that very little curriculum was available, leaving it up to me to create my own, based on the District standards/framework provided. 

I had moved to Bainbridge Island with my then 6th and 9th grade sons in 1990, after having taught for 6 years at UCLA’S Laboratory Elementary School (UES), where hands-on, integrated learning was the bedrock of our philosophy. I welcomed the opportunity to create meaningful learning opportunities for my students that would also open their eyes to the bigger world around them.

As a member of the BISD Multicultural Lead Teachers Committee, I sought ways to introduce my students to other cultures, so this was very exciting for me!

During our annual Fall parent conferences, Mario’s mother, Magali Duarte, who also happened to be my son Tom’s 9th grade Spanish teacher, offered to lend me a video that she showed her students each year about an authentic Día de los Muertos (DDLM) celebration in Oaxaca. I was in the process of creating a study of Mexico, so I was intrigued. 

However, her students were 9th graders, mine were 8/9 year olds. Would they be engaged?

The time had come. I had told my students very little about Día de los Muertos, only that we would be traveling to a rural village in Oaxaca to learn about a very important cultural celebration.

The video started.

25 minutes later it concluded. No one said a word. 

A hand went up.

“Yes, Adam?” I asked.

“Ms. Mendoza, I think we should have our own DDLM celebration,” he responded.

(I get goose bumps typing this)

What?!

The classroom erupted with enthusiastic support.

Not only that, they also insisted on watching it again, so they could take notes on what they would need for our ceremony!

This had not been in my lesson plan, which was perfect–they were learning by doing!

So every year, until I retired in 2014, I showed my 3rd graders this historic video and every year they recommitted to carrying on the tradition.

Cynthia Sears, the founder of BIMA, became and remains one of my dearest friends after showing up in the Wilkes Elementary hallway to congratulate me for being chosen as one of two Island Treasures that year (2007). She often attended our classroom DDLM celebrations.

When I retired in 2014, the year BIMA opened, Cynthia took me out to lunch and asked me to bring the DDLM celebration she had experienced over the years in my 3rd grade classroom to the museum for the wider community to experience.

What?!

I looked into her eyes and told her, “Yes! Let’s make this happen!” 

But I had a brainstorm as Araceli Cruz immediately came to mind. I had had her daughter, Trinity, in my 3rd grade class at Ordway Elementary, just a year before. Araceli, being of Mexican American ancestry and a brilliantly talented artist, basically lived in my classroom during our annual preparation for DDLM. She enriched our study in such a natural and authentic way that she just had to be on my team to bring DDLM to our greater community.

So there we were. Cynthia, Araceli, and I, embarking on this wonderful journey to enable our community to experience the cycle of life through another cultural lens, welcoming the spirit of loved ones home for a visit, on the wings of butterflies. 

Notes:

Magali Duarte who lent me the film that started it all has been our fabulous Catrina (the elegant skeleton figure that is a symbol of DDLM) during BIMA’s DDLM processional since the beginning of the celebrations.

Adam Folley, the student who raised his hand in third grade, was our realtor last year when we sold our Bainbridge home and moved to Poulsbo.

My son, Tom Neal, teaches Spanish at Hyla High School, encouraging his students’ involvement in BIMA’s DDLM each year. 

There’s a magic to the BRAVA Awards that goes beyond recognition. It’s about pausing to witness the brilliance of artists who illuminate the world, even when it can feel heavy or uncertain. This year’s ceremony was a celebration of that light, a reminder of why BIMA exists to support creativity and give artists room to thrive.

We honored four remarkable artists: Sarah Bryant, winner of the Artists’ Books Artist Award (United States); Dan Friday, recipient of the Native American & First Nations Artist Award (Salish Sea Region); Yolanda Galery, winner of the Emerging Artist Award (Puget Sound Region); and Nikki McClure, recipient of the 2025 Special Choice Category: Children’s Book Illustrator Award (Puget Sound Region). Each brought a unique perspective to their work—Sarah with her thoughtful book arts; Dan, weaving ancestral imagery into glass; Yolanda, celebrating identity and expression through vibrant paintings; and Nikki, whose delicate paper-cut illustrations connect children to wonder and the natural world.

Throughout the evening, we reflected on the state of the art world and the challenges artists face. BIMA Executive Director, Sheila Hughes, reminded us of the importance of cultivating hope: “Artists see and interpret this complicated world for us. They cultivate our hope. And in the struggle against apathy and cynicism…things that shut down our world and make it smaller, they open the world back up for us with ideas, perspectives and expressions. They call us into inquiry. But at BIMA, we understand that we are downstream on this cultural river, and that further upstream, the artists themselves are experiencing their livelihoods being threatened, disrespected, disrupted…I know this all sounds quite dark, but there are lights in this world, from candles and flashlights, to bioluminescence and exploding stars, and this program and this museum are among them. BIMA and BRAVA Awards can’t replace the IMLS, and they can’t set the Kennedy Center back on their track, but we can be a light on the path for artists who are interested in cultivating hope. And in this case, four artists, who each have something very important and very beautiful to share with us. We can add our light to the sum of light.”

The evening also featured BRAVA Award films by Tony Hannawacker, centered on each winner and offering an intimate look into their inspirations, processes, and stories. Watching these films reminded everyone present why art matters—it connects, challenges, and uplifts us. See below to watch these amazing films!

The celebration concluded with Nikki McClure, the last award winner to be honored, sharing her encouragement: “Keep making, believe that you can make, know that you can make, and know that you will make. And we are here today to celebrate, and we’re going to support this creative work. These people working towards illuminating joy… working towards showing people wonder, and creating unity, creating community. So tomorrow, what are we going to do tomorrow? I say we just keep doing this. Let’s find somebody to lift up, let’s find someone to encourage, let’s find someone to support…you have a whole community behind you, and they are all saying: ‘More, more, please, we need you!’…”

And with that, Nikki shouted: BRAVA!!

Congratulations to the 2025 BRAVA Award winners, and thank you for continuing to be a beacon of light in this world. We are honored to stand beside you and champion your work.

BIMA was beaming on Sunday, September 21, 2025, as The Book Club of Washington honored our founder, Cynthia Sears, with the 2025 Emory Award for her outstanding work championing artists’ books and the literary arts.

Cynthia’s vision and leadership have shaped BIMA into a vibrant hub for artistic exploration, fostering community engagement, and celebrating creativity throughout the Pacific Northwest. From The Book Club of Washington, “Cynthia Sears is a tireless advocate for the book arts and a national figure whose impact continues to shape the field. Her vision, generosity, and leadership have elevated the cultural landscape of Washington State.”

June 6, 2025

Dear BIMA Community, Family, and Friends,

Last week, I made the painstaking but ultimately hurtful decision to cancel a rental production of “One Family in Gaza” in BIMA’s auditorium. That decision has created a deep rift in our community and serves as a sobering challenge to us as an organization that works to exist of, by, and for community.

The Board of Directors and leadership team join me in a unanimous acknowledgement of the damage that can be done when the care with which the values we are entrusted to nurture falls short, however unintentionally. For this, I offer a deep and unreserved apology.

For 12 years, BIMA has served as a space where voices and stories, especially those that are complex or difficult, are amplified through the work, diversity, and breadth of artists. In canceling the production with so little time for the play presenters to respond, BIMA fell short of our goals as an organization and of our agreements with cultural partners, fracturing the trust that we have worked so hard to earn. While my intention in that moment was to prevent potential harm, I recognize that the decision had an immediate and deeply adverse effect on KPSC and every member of the community. This experience presents a humbling opportunity for us to revisit our responsibilities – from basic policies and communication to the very values upon which the museum was built.

We have reached out to Kitsap Palestine Solidarity Coalition, who have already been thoughtful and generous in their dialogue with us, to begin a process of deep listening and healing through facilitated discussion. The grace with which they, and so many others, have chosen to navigate this is deeply appreciated. The responses from across the Island and beyond have been received, and each letter will be considered with respect in our decision-making as we move forward, paying special attention to suggestions that better advance mutual understanding and increase our cultural sensitivity.

BIMA will be reviewing our policies and processes, and we hope to better uphold our values and commitments so that the heartbreaking and divisive impact of this instance is never repeated. BIMA accepts the responsibility to learn from this moment of deficiency and disappointment, to rise to the high bar we have always attempted to set, and to repair trust where broken, one relationship at a time.

Thank you to all those who have held us accountable and challenged us to be the museum that truly works in service of our whole community. We are committed to restoration, redemption, and healing, standing shoulder to shoulder with the artists who give life to our mission and with each of you

In solemnity,

Sheila Hughes, Executive Director

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art Board of Directors

BIMA’s Annual Report to the Community is our way of uplifting the work we do–which is made possible by community members like you! Explore the magic of BIMA the 2024 Annual Report by clicking the cover below.

A special end of year message from Bainbridge Island Museum of Art Executive Director Sheila Hughes. 2024 was an incredible year at BIMA, and we could not have done it without the support of our wonderful community. Thank you all, and happy holidays!