Making the Book, Past and Present
Jan
17
to Jun 28
Exhibition

Making the Book, Past and Present

  • University of Iowa Libraries (map)
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For those of you near the University of Iowa Libraries, my piece Lunar Volvelle is featured in this incredible exhibition exploring the art of the book.

Making the Book, Past and Present explores the intersections of history, art, and practicality. What can we learn by placing books, materials, and makers from the Middle Ages through today in conversation with one another? Many techniques and materials common centuries ago still inspire contemporary book artists and bookbinders.  

Curated by Eric Ensley and Emily Martin, this exhibition features a global selection of rare historic books and modern book art. From medieval manuscripts and early modern works to recent book sculptures, pop-ups, and books that move, these Special Collections & Archives materials shown together make a visual feast representing the strong connection between books and makers past and present.

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Nocturne: Insomnia and Other Poems
May
31
to Jun 15
Exhibition

Nocturne: Insomnia and Other Poems

ARTWRKD invites you to explore Nocturne, a series of Monica Ong’s poetic meditations on the things that keep one up at night. In the heart of the gallery, an ambient listening lounge features Ong’s Insomnia Poems read in the style of sleep tapes, where poetry is an oasis of both rest and resistance. In search of cures for sleeplessness, this visual poet leads us through an apothecary of cultural remedies, constellation maps, to her ancestors stargazing back at us through literary art objects and handheld poems. Whether in dreams of memory or by moonlight, these visual poems ask us to slow down for a close reading as they reveal stories long hidden in the dark.

Nocturne: Insomnia and Other Poems
May 31–June 15, 2024

Opening Reception
Fri, May 31 ⟡ 6-9 pm

Poetry Reading & Dialogue
Sat, June 1 ⟡ 1 pm


ArtWRKD Gallery
126 South State Street
Newtown, PA 18940

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De-Canon: Book Launch & Exhibition
Jun
6
to Jul 28
Exhibition, Book Launch

De-Canon: Book Launch & Exhibition

In celebration of “A Mouth Holds Many Things: A De-Canon Hybrid-Literary Collection” published by Fonograf Editions, Stelo will be presenting an exhibition of selected artworks by contributors in the collection, curated by Jyothi Natarajan and Dao Strom in collaboration with Stelo Arts.

The exhibition shares a curatorial vision with the book in its aim to showcase works by BIPOC women & nonbinary writers, poets, and artists who use multimodal approaches to writing, including visual, embodied, sonic, asemic, and tactile innovations, to contemplate—and complicate—our relationships to language and reading & writing.

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AWP | Sight Singing: Poetry and the Visual
Feb
10
1:45 PM13:45
Panel Discussion

AWP | Sight Singing: Poetry and the Visual

I’m delighted to join poets Chris Santiago, Doug Kearney, Keith Wilson, and Mag Gabbert for this panel on visual poetry. Hope to see you at AWP in Kansas City this year!

Sight Singing: Poetry and the Visual

This panel explores the intersections between language and visual art through the lens of visual poetry. Our panelists will engage with questions about the role of design, typography, poetic images, so-called white- or negative space, and how visual elements can expand our understanding of poetic meaning. We will examine a range of visual poetry forms, including concrete poetry, collages, and multimedia works, to showcase the playfully diverse ways poets blend text and image to create meaning.

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Connecticut Literary Festival
Oct
23
12:00 PM12:00
Panel Discussion

Connecticut Literary Festival

Panel Gallery: (En)Visioning Violence
Monica joins a panel of writers to discuss making art in this political moment. With Quan Tran and Nay Saysourinho, moderated by Na-Rae Kim.

Many say that the pandemic made visible anti-Asian violence. But what does anti-Asian violence look like in the past and present? How have writers engaged various forms of violence? And what are some of the violences that the writers face for how they are seen or what they create?

Three Asian American writers discuss how they see violence and art, and how they see writing in a time of violence. What does it mean that they are seen as Asian American writers in our time? How do you write, and not write, as an Asian American, especially at this moment?

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Planetaria: In Conversation
Aug
24
5:30 PM17:30

Planetaria: In Conversation

Join visual poet Monica Ong in friendly conversation about the inspiring women scientists, family histories, and Chinese constellations that illuminate by her exhibition Planetaria, currently on view at the Institute Library through September 8, 2021. This artist-led tour of the gallery welcomes you to share in the wonder of astronomy-inspired visual poetry off the page.

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The Clock Tells the Hour
Mar
31
7:00 PM19:00
Reading

The Clock Tells the Hour

How do we tell time? How does time tell us? Time passes in the smallest parts of the universe—in the decay of atoms—and marks immense human movements on the earth (railways bringing standard time and empire; the doomsday clock telling how close we stand to nuclear war). We walk, move, have being, know one another, and use language in time; in the time of pandemic, we have made our own clocks.

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Poetic Soul Arts: Reading in Honor of Miguel Algarín
Dec
20
6:00 PM18:00
Reading

Poetic Soul Arts: Reading in Honor of Miguel Algarín

Art by Shanna T. Melton

Art by Shanna T. Melton

Hosted by Shanna T. Melton, I’m excited to be reading alongside acclaimed poets including Mahogany L. Browne, Elisabeth Velasquez, Ngoma Hill, Osunyoyin Alake Ifarike, Abyss, Ras Osagyefo, Chance, JaSun, and Caroline Rothstein. This evening is a tribute to the legacy of Miguel Algarín of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

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ConTEXT III Exhibition
May
8
to Jun 19
Exhibition

ConTEXT III Exhibition

Visit this online exhibition to check out my visual poetry as part of the group exhibition ConTEXT III. The Foundry Art Centre presents an all media exhibition focusing on the written word's role in the visual arts. Contemporary society is saturated with media and this exhibition showcases how intertwined the literary and visual arts are.

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Reading for Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement
Sep
24
7:00 PM19:00
Reading

Reading for Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement

Come by the launch of Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement, edited by Shelly Oria. Poets Sonya Huber and I will be reading excerpts with Shelly to honor this anthology along with original works. I’ll be debuting a new work that I recently produced in collaboration with Boxcar Press.

McSweeney's Publishing
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New School: Poetry Off the Page Talk
Feb
1
12:00 PM12:00

New School: Poetry Off the Page Talk

In her GIDEST seminar, Monica Ong will explore the driving questions that inform her process as a visual poet who makes work for the page, gallery, and beyond. Learn how design thinking and welcoming the hybridity of an interdisciplinary career has shaped her approach to bringing poetry to a broader public and establishing professional sustainability that supports experimental practice.

Hosted by the New School Graduate Institute for Design, Ethnography & Social Thought

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