Inspired by May

For BEA's 2007 exhibition we invited bookbinders and artists to create a binding or a book that was inspired by the work of May Gibbs, Australian author and illustrator who lived from 1877 to 1969 and was best known for her children's books.

Inspired by May was open to contemporary bindings of May's published books and Artists' Books inspired by her life or work. The exhibition ran from mid November 2007 to May 2008 at North Sydney Heritge Centre.

Even though May Gibbs was best known as an author and illustrator of children's books, notably "Snugglepot and Cuddlepie", one of her first jobs was as a cartoonist for a suffragette magazine in England and her cartoons were published in Sydney newspapers for several decades. A little research clearly indicated that there was a lot about May Gibbs life that was inspirational.

BEA

Left: The Feathered Serpent Full kangaroo binding, sculptured design, hand tooled and painted. Margaret Scott, Australia — exhibited in BEA @ Kinokuniya, 2004.

Bookbinding Exhibitions Australia Inc was a national organisation dedicated to promoting bookbinding as an art form. Between 2003 and 2008 BEA organised eleven exhibitions of contemporary binding, artists books and significant historical bindings.