Past Events
Since our first official Holding History Keynote Event in the summer of 2015, over 1,000 community members have participated in our programs - from turning the page of Colonial Era newspapers from the North American Collection at a Hamilton-themed Keynote Event at Wisconsin Historical Society to pulling a sheet of paper under the HH tent in Library Mall on a bright fall day.
Each semester we host a hands-on maker event where UW students and community members learn about the history of media through papermaking, letterpress printing, or typewriters.
We also work with campus partners to welcome campus and community members to archival collections through our Keynote Events at UW Special Collections in Memorial Library, Reading Room in Wisconsin Historical Society, and more.
Typewriters on Tap
Oct 2018
This free drop-in, event gives inquiring minds a chance to play with typewriters and handmade paper while creating a one-of-a-kind letters you can send to someone you like. The paper was made by UW-Madison students during our Papermaking on Library Mall event and beautifully handprinted with a unique design by Sooper Dooper Letterpress.
Papermaking in Library Mall
Sept 2018, Sept 2019, Oct 2022, Oct 2023
Each fall we host a FREE, drop-in any time, hands-on papermaking session on Library Mall with master teacher Robert Possehl and Holding History students. Try your hand at pulling a sheet of paper and gain a greater appreciation for the work that went into creating the paper for many of the books and documents in Special Collections and other archives on campus. Look for the bright green tent set up near the Chazen Art Museum. No RSVP required.
Keynote Events
July 2015, Oct 2015, April 2016, July 2016, Oct 2016, April 2017, July 2017, April 2019, Oct 2019, Nov 2023
Students, university partners, and community members are invited to join us each semester for a Holding History Keynote Event. This program invites participants to team up with student curators and rare book experts for a hands-on exploration of works in Special Collections archives across campus. Past events include "The Nature of The Book," "Shakespeare Reimagined," "The World of Alexander Hamilton, and, most recently, "Literary Materials."
