Nadia Sophie Seiler Visiting Book Artist: Shawn Sheehy

The University of Iowa Center for the Book, in partnership with the UI Libraries, proudly presents an artist talk with Nadia Sophie Seiler Visiting Book Artist Shawn Sheehy. This free event will take place in Shambaugh Auditorium in the UI Main Library and is open to the campus community and the public.

“Paper Engineering: Book Arts in Four Dimensions” Pop-up books capture a reader's attention not only with sculptural form but also with movement through space and time. Join paper engineer Shawn Sheehy as he demonstrates both how he works in four dimensions and the stories he tells while he does so.

About the artist: Shawn Sheehy has been teaching book arts courses and workshops for 25 years. His broadsides and artist book editions have been collected by such institutions as Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, University of Chicago, Library of Congress, UCLA, and Harvard. Sheehy’s trade pop-up books Welcome to the Neighborwood and Beyond the Sixth Extinction (both mass-market versions of previous artist books) were published by Candlewick and have won numerous awards. Sheehy served as director of The Movable Book Society from 2018 to 2023. He holds an MFA in Book Arts from Columbia College Chicago.

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Sheehy’s work is featured in the fall 2025 Main Library Gallery exhibition, Paper Engineering in Art, Science, and Education. The gallery is open late until 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and is located next door to Shambaugh Auditorium. Attendees are welcome to stop in before or after the talk to see the exhibition.

This visit is sponsored by the Nadia Sophie Seiler Memorial Fund, the UI Center for the Book, and the UI Libraries.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Giselle Simon in advance at 319-335-5033 or [email protected]