RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press records

RIT's Cary Graphic Arts Press began in 2001 under the leadership of David Pankow, curator of the Cary Graphic Arts Collection. He felt RIT had the perfect combination of resources - the Cary Collection, the faculty expertise, state-of-the-art equipment and the institutional commitment to operate a university press. The Press initially focused on publishing titles documenting graphic communication processes, printing history, and bookmaking. Gradually the Press broadened its reach to include content supporting all academic disciplines offered at RIT. These include business, computer science, applied science and technology, engineering, graphic arts, deaf studies, and liberal arts.

The Press’s current office space, the Alexander S. Lawson Publishing Center, opened in 2007. The facility’s striking design is based on the golden section, a schema that figured in historical book design. Glass walls enclose a conference room, offices, sales area and gallery. Hermann Zapf designed the typography for some 30 stimulating quotations that adorn the glass. The Lawson Center is located on the second floor of The Wallace Center at RIT and is adjacent to the Melbert B. Cary, Jr. Graphic Arts Collection.

Today, RIT Press is dedicated to the innovative use of new publishing technology while upholding high standards in content quality, publication design, and print/digital production. The Press offers specialized titles for niche academic audiences, trade editions for mass-market audiences, books on subjects of regional interest, occasional limited editions with unique aesthetic standards, as well as gift items.

The Photo History/Photo Futures Conference is a three day event, intended to be hosted every other year, sponsored and organized by RIT Press in Rochester, NY. The first conference was held on April 20-22, 2018 with huge success as over 300 people from around the world attended. The conference featured many renowned scholars and organizations, tours of RIT’s various collections and facilities, and ended with a “photography-focused antique show and sale.”

The theme of the 2018 conference was on the past and future of photography. On the first two days of the event, there was a Continental Breakfast sponsored by RIT Libraries followed by a variety of key speakers lasting from 7am to 8pm. The topics ranged from the history of photography, the implications of cameras, photography at RIT, student theses, and many more. Collections from “RIT Archives, RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection, University Gallery, the William Harris Gallery, and RIT’s Image Permanence Institute (IPI)” were all highlighted on the first two days.

The last day of the event featured an Antiquarian Photography Show & Sale that began at 9am and ended at 3pm. Many items such as vintage photography, equipment, materials, and related objects were for sale.

Sources:

https://www.rit.edu/twc/photohistoryconference/program

https://www.rit.edu/twc/photohistoryconference/

https://www.rit.edu/news/international-researchers-gather-photo-conference