The Foundation

The CODEX Foundation was conceived as a nonprofit organization in 2005 by Peter Rutledge Koch, fine press printer, and Susan Filter, paper conservator. Its purpose was to create an environment for promoting the book as a work of art. They accomplished this by bringing together the Best of the Best book artists and fine press printers from around the world to share their work, explore new and old concepts, and to start an on-going conversation about the fate and future of the book as an essential art form. The foundation organized exhibitions, publications, symposia, lectures, and other activities to support working artists, scholars, curators, and collectors in the production and preservation of meaningful scholarly and artistic contributions to the book arts canon. This includes the international Book Art Fair & Symposium, the first of which took place in February, 2007 in Berkeley, California, with 120 exhibitors showing their work at the Fair to approximately 750 visitors. Held biennially, the Book Fair has grown from three days to four, with over 200 exhibitors and 3000 plus visitors. It is ranked as one of the top book art fairs in the world. The Symposium, which features keynote speakers and book artists, is now the hottest ticket around for printers, bookbinders, papermakers, calligraphers, designers, artists, scholars, curators, collectors, students, librarians, and book lovers of all kinds