About Us

Mission

The CODEX Foundation exists to preserve and promote the contemporary handmade book as a work of art in the broadest possible context and to bring to public recognition the artists, the fine craft, and the rich history of the civilization of the book.

The CODEX Foundation Logan Book Arts Center aims to be a vital part of the arts and culture community in Berkeley and beyond, focusing on the book as a work of art—a dynamic crossroads between the visual and literary arts.

The Foundation supports working artists, craftspeople, writers, scholars, curators, and collectors in the production and preservation of meaningful literary and artistic contributions to the book arts field. We do this through publications, exhibitions, symposia, lectures, readings, a reference library, an artist book and fine press library, letterpress workshops, and other community activities in our CODEX Foundation Logan Book Arts Center.

History of the Foundation

The CODEX Foundation was conceived as a nonprofit organization in 2005 by Peter Rutledge Koch, fine press printer, and Susan Filter, paper conservator. Its purpose was to create an environment for promoting the book as a work of art. They accomplished this by bringing together book artists and fine press printers from around the world to share their work, explore new and old concepts, and to start an ongoing conversation about the fate and future of the book as an essential art form. 

The programming began with the international Book Art Fair & Symposium, the first of which took place in February, 2007 in Berkeley, California, with 120 exhibitors showing their work at the Fair to approximately 750 visitors. Held biennially, the event has grown from three days to four, now with over 200 exhibitors and 3000+ visitors each year. It is ranked as one of the top book art fairs in the world. The organization added publishing to the heart of its programming, and continues to flourish and grow.