Stop by UMD’s Farmers’ Market at Tawes Plaza and print a postcard with a socially relevant message on a traditional wooden printing press with hand set metal type—courtesy of the Department of English’s BookLab.

BookLab is the UMD Department of English’s makerspace, studio, library and community letterpress. BookLab's resources include three hand-presses for letterpress printing (a "Book Beetle" modelled on the historic Gutenberg screw press, an authentic 19th-century Victorian parlor press and a Line-O-Scribe sign press for poster and broadside work); a cabinet full of lead type and ornaments in various sizes and styles as well as wood type; a 3D printer; tools and hardware for bookbinding and paper-making, sensors, circuitry and paper computing materials (like conductive thread and thermochromic ink); two iPads; and a collection of several hundred artists' books, experimental books, chapbooks, zines, historical artifacts and books about books. BookLab hosts classes, runs workshops, organizes talks and symposia and maintains regular open hours.

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About NextNOW Fest

Started in 2014, The Clarice’s annual NextNOW Fest is an inspiring arts experience that celebrates imagination, creativity and community. By amplifying the voices of intriguing, inventive artists from around campus and our community, NextNOW Fest creates a forward-looking microcosm where art transforms our future and connects us all.

NextNOW Fest is a signature event in University of Maryland's Arts for All initiative, which leverages the combined power of the arts, technology and social justice to address the grand challenges of our time.

Funding

NextNOW Fest is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council and The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Additional support is provided by Terps After Dark and the University of Maryland's Arts for All initiative. NextNOW Fest's Silent Disc-Glo event is supported by UMD's Student Entertainment Events; and the Vital Signs Mini-Grants Showcase is supported by the Venable Foundation and Pepsi.