Support the Joan Lyons Artists’ Book Archive at VSW

Three people stand together at a printing press.

Janet Zweig, Joan Lyons and David Chappe working on the press at Visual Studies Workshop, ca. 1978

Campaign Goal: $25,000 by the Summer 2026! We have raised $8500 through the generosity of alumni, board members and friends of VSW. Thank you!

The VSW community is deeply grateful to Joan Lyons for her visionary leadership and for the collection of over 6000 artists’ books that she helped build at VSW. To commemorate the renaming of this important collection in honor of Joan Lyons, we are launching a fundraising campaign to support the ongoing cataloging, accessibility and preservation of the archive. When all funds are raised, $1000 will go to support two research fellowships in the archive in 2026.

A critical touchstone of artists’ book publishing nationally and internationally, Visual Studies Workshop Press has helped shape and sustain VSW for over five decades. Joan Lyons was Founding Director of Visual Studies Workshop Press, which she led from 1972–2004. She was responsible for the production and publication of over 450 titles, as well as over 30 of her own artist books. She is the editor of the influential Artists’ Books: A Critical Anthology and Sourcebook (1986, 1988, 1991, 1993), and Artists’ Books: Visual Studies Workshop Press 1972–2008 (2009).

Donate below to support this campaign

Several books on a table top