The Hidden Library

The Hidden LibraryCourse Code: 26MPV003V This four week, virtual workshop takes place online on Tuesdays June 2nd June 23rd from 10AM to 12PM ET. Tuesday, June 2nd, from 10AM to 12PM ET Tuesday, June 9th, from 10AM to 12PM ET Tuesday, June 16th, from 10AM to 12PM ET Tuesday, June 23rd, from 10AM to 12PM ET Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on May 19th at 11: 59 pm. About the Workshop: In this virtual workshop, open to participants of all experience

Course Code: 26MPV003V

This four week, virtual workshop takes place online on Tuesdays June 2nd - June 23rd from 10AM to 12PM ET.

• Tuesday, June 2nd, from 10AM to 12PM ET
• Tuesday, June 9th, from 10AM to 12PM ET
• Tuesday, June 16th, from 10AM to 12PM ET
• Tuesday, June 23rd, from 10AM to 12PM ET

Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on May 19th at 11:59 pm.

About the Workshop:

In this virtual workshop, open to participants of all experience levels, Shirin Salehi explores the poetics of the hidden in the creation of artists’ books. A hidden library can be imagined as a space of refuge and protection, holding memory-based practices that require care and attention when shared with others. The workshop examines subtle linguistic registers—imperceptible, invisible, absent, or silent—and invites participants to engage in a gentle and reflective approach.

Through discussion-based sessions and a selection of case studies, participants develop sensitive connections to the delicate interplay between what is present and what remains unarticulated, ineffable, implicit, or latent. These qualities remain active and resonant, guiding creative practices such as layering, shading, or rendering texts illegible, where what remains in tension shapes the work as much as what is revealed. 

The course is open to artists, poets, thinkers, and all creatives interested in engaging in critique and theoretical discussions related to book arts, with a particular emphasis on the concept of bookness in artworks.

Required Materials:

There are no required materials. Students are encouraged to use materials they have readily available around them. No materials are needed for the first session.

About the Instructor

Shirin Salehi (she/her) is an Iranian visual artist, educator, writer, and translator based in Madrid. Working across printmaking, drawing, sculpture, and artist’s books, she explores the poetic subtleties of language—especially illegible writing, erasure, and hiddenness. Trained in printmaking, her practice reflects a deep engagement with time, imprint, and the material traces of language.

She has held residencies at Est-Nor-Est in Quebec (2025), the Academy of Spain in Rome (2021), the Academy of France in Madrid (2014), and Fondazione Il Bisonte in Florence (2016). In 2022, she was nominated for the Queen Sonja Print Award in Norway. Since 2020, she has also worked as an interpreter and mediator for Persian-speaking asylum seekers and refugees.

All images courtesy of the instructor unless otherwise noted.