Public Art Installation at the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco Celebrates First Amendment Rights

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / April 18, 2025 /The American Bookbinders Museum debuts the installation of a new public artwork on April 23 that celebrates First Amendment rights: freedom of speech and the press. The piece - The Banned Books Jail - adorns the exterior of the museum building and is visible to passersby 24/7 at the museum 's Folsom Street entrance.

The Banned Books Jailby neverbeforedesign is a large metal gate resembling prison bars, jailing books that have been banned in the United States. Included books have been banned for many reasons, including race, feminism, witchcraft and religion, LGBTQIA+, and "un-American" content. Despite the "jail", books are escaping their imprisonment.

Inspiration for the piece is thoughtfully summed up in a quote by Virginia Woolf: "Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt you can set upon the freedom of my mind."

The Banned Books JailArtist and Designer Robert Bernstein further posits that "Banning books to close minds is the tool of despots. Fear of ideas is a necessary condition for citizens to accept infringements on their liberties. Books, banned now or previously in the history of our Nation, are breaking free."The Banned Books Jail reflects a cross-section of books historically and recently banned.

To celebrate the completion of this work, the museum will host an installation event on World Book Day, Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 at 12:30 pm with the artist and other notable guests and speakers.

About the American Bookbinders Museum

The American Bookbinders Museum is the only museum of its kind in North America, sharing the history and tools of bookbinding from the colonial era to the early 20th-century. We tell the story of the book, presenting the art of Western bookbinding as a hand process through early mechanization, promoting a deeper understanding of the impact of book production on the American experience. We maintain a special archive of bookbinding books, periodicals and ephemera that is unique and free to use. The American Bookbinders Museum is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. To learn more visit us at https://bookbindersmuseum.org/, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

About neverbeforedesign

The intention of neverbeforedesign is to invent, with elegance and beauty. From art installations to furniture to interiors to architecture, the goal is inspired and unique design - within any budget limitations. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, with projects on four continents and throughout the United States and Canada. neverbeforedesign.com 646-415-1570.

American Bookbinders Museum
355 Clementina Street

Contact Information

Anita Engles
media@bookbindersmuseum.org
415-824-9754

SOURCE: American Bookbinders Museum

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