Garage Annex School for Book Arts became a nonprofit in Massachusetts in 2006, and received its 501(c)(3) status in 2008. We made this change in order to expand our programs and to be able to collaborate with other non-profit educational organizations.

In conversation with many members of the larger book arts community GAS has developed a clear ambition to offer a range of programs some of which have fixed curriculums (e.g., workshops and the Summer Institute) and others which have customized curriculums. Here is a run-down of our programs.

While continuing our workshop series with a dozen or more one- to six-day workshops each year, GAS is expanding formal opportunities for longer-term study:

Summer Institute: As the next step in our expansion, we are developing a Summer Institute that we hope to launch as soon as there is sufficient interest. We will offer a six-week, full-time, curriculum of study crafted to complement college book arts programs (but not limited to students from college book arts programs). The subject of the GAS Summer Institute is leather bookbinding, including design techniques such as leather onlay and gold tooling. Students will produce full leather bindings as well as a series of models at various stages of completion.

This is a tuition-based program, and we hope that college book arts programs who encourage their students to come will help them find sponsors to donate financial support.

Learn more by going to our Summer Institute page.

College Independent Study Program: We offer area students the chance to work in our studio one half day per week on projects of their own devising, with individualized instruction from Daniel Kelm and others. This is a tuition-based program; we hope to secure grants to help make it affordable to the students.

Internship Program (formerly known as our Apprenticeship program): We provide longer-term study programs for beginning to advanced students who require formal instruction. We customize the curriculum according to their needs and experience. This is a tuition-based program; we hope to find donors who are interested in providing scholarship support for talented students who cannot afford the full cost of study.

Learn more by going to our Private Study page.

Fellowships: We hope to provide studio space and ongoing consultation for more experienced practitioners (e.g., college book arts instructors and professional artists) to work on advanced projects of their own design.

Western Massachusetts Book Arts Collective (WMBAC): We are in the early stages of dramatically expanding our scope beyond that which is offered within the walls of our school. Acting as a nonprofit umbrella, we are bringing together a diverse group of world class book artists who are active teaching in their own studios. Through this affiliation of professionals we will be able to create custom curriculums, not just in bookbinding but in many other specialties related to the book arts, such as printmaking, letterpress printing, photogravure, platinum and palladium printing, paper making, and calligraphy.

If you are interested in any facet of our programs—e.g., either as a student or as a donor—please contact Daniel Kelm.

If you would like expert help on your book project, you may arrange consultations with Daniel Kelm. The Wide-Awake Garage is Daniel Kelm’s commercial bindery. (The Garage Annex School shares Kelm’s studio space.) Artists and publishers often come to the Garage for a negotiated period of time in order to gain the support of our personnel and access to our facilities. A popular arrangement is to have two or three hours of consultation and instruction in the morning, then use the Garage facilities for the remainder of the day to work on production of your project. You may wish to do the entire production yourself, or if your time is limited you may want the help of our crew.