The Bookplate Art Project is a participatory art project designed to strengthen connections between artists, public libraries and the community.
Sam Harrison, The Gold Finch bookplate, 2024
Marian Drew, Weathering bookplate, 2024
A selection of commissioned artists along with the wider creative community are invited to create mini-bookplate artworks. These mini-artworks are loosely placed in books to be discovered by readers at public libraries. Readers have the option to keep or pass on the book plate artwork.
These discovered artworks create a special experience for readers. We share some of these postcard-size artworks on our social media too.
The Project is a different take on the traditional bookplate, which as you may know was originally intended to signify ownership of a book. For this project we are asking artists to create mini-artworks (no larger than an A6 postcard size or 4 x 6 photograph) that respond to the particular project theme for readers to find.
If you are a lucky reader who discovers a bookplate remember to share your discoveries on social media using the #bookplateartproject hashtag.
2025 Bookplate Art Project
The Bookplate Art Project is coming to Redlands City Council Libraries.
This project is supported by a RADF grant. The Regional Arts Development Fund is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Redlands City Council to support local arts and culture in Regional Queensland.
Register your interest to participate as a volunteer artist for free and we’ll send you details on how to take part.
2024 Bookplate Art Project – Brisbane
In 2024 twelve artists with a connection to Brisbane were commissioned by the Project to create book plate artworks for Brisbane Libraries. 1000 bookplates were made by commissioned and volunteer artists for readers to discover.
The commissioned artists included five First Nations artists Jody Rallah, Sam Harrison, David Jones and Chelsea Carkeet and Miss Gertrude and non-Indigenous artists including photographer Marian Drew, artist Nick Olsen and others.
The Bookplate Art Project was supported by a Creative Sparks Grant. The Creative Sparks Grant Program is an initiative of Brisbane City Council in partnership with the Queensland Government.
Two awards for volunteer artists were proudly supported by the Lisette Schults-Rand Team with Ray White Sherwood | Graceville, supporting local artists and the Corinda Library community.
Arts critic Louise Martin-Chew wrote a piece about the Project in 2024 where she observed that
“the genius of the Bookplate Art Project is predicated on its accidental discovery and reception, the potential of postcard sized artworks to transform the way we might know art and its connection to writing.”
Keep in touch
Watch this space for our all of our upcoming events and art exhibitions. You can also follow us on Facebook @hometurfart and Instagram @hometurf.art.