Mission
Mission Statement
The American Academy of Bookbinding, a flagship program of Ah Haa School for the Arts is committed to cultivating possibility through the craft of expression.
Core Values
- Generosity: Fostering Inclusion, Access, and Opportunity for All
- Connection: Creating Community and a Sense of Belonging
- Expression: Embracing Craft, Creativity, Curiosity and Learning as a Path to Joy and Inspiration
Core Commitments
- Honoring diverse voices in a safe and supportive environment
- Developing authentic collaborations with organizations committed to equity, inclusion, and belonging
- Removing financial and cultural barriers to participation
- Encouraging discovery and exploration through interactive and participatory experiences
- Celebrating the art and craft of the Book and Bookbinding
Core Commitments
- Advisory Support: Provide quarterly insights and recommendations to enhance the bookbinding program’s educational offerings and ensure a well-rounded curriculum
- Feedback: Actively review and evaluate the success of past programs, incorporating participant feedback to shape future planning
- Future Opportunities: Explore new ways to expand the bookbinding program, from emerging trends in the field to unique partnership opportunities, ensuring continued growth and relevance
- Inclusive Growth: Promote an inclusive atmosphere that welcomes bookbinders of all levels and backgrounds to participate, learn, and contribute
American Academy of Bookbinding Founders
Daniel Tucker, is a visionary and artist who apprenticed under master bookbinders Fritz and Trudi Eberhard in Philadelphia in the 1980’s. He happened upon Telluride, Colorado while mountaineering some 20 years prior and made it his mission to open the Ah Haa School for the Book and Story Arts in 1991. Immediately, Tucker eagerly sought out the top binder in the field, Tini Miura. Regarded internationally as “one of our time’s great artists,” (Los Angeles Times, 1983), she agreed to teach a bookbinding course to six students in 1992.
Daniel, Tini and her husband Einen Miura, a master of paper marbling, shared a vision to build and nurture a creative hub in North America of exceptional learning in the craft of fine leather binding so that bookbinding would continue to remain vital and accessible to novices and masters alike. Students would complete a rigorous course of studies mentored by the best binders in the field and reviewed by professionals unaffiliated with the academy upon completion of coursework.
The following summer of 1993, the American Academy of Bookbinding was officially founded as a flagship program of the Ah Haa School for the Arts (renamed the same year) and is today recognized nationally and internationally as one of the foremost centers for teaching, learning, creating and sustaining the craft of fine leather bookbinding.
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