Step Into My Story 

February 24 - June 27, 2025

The Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking is happy to partner with Dr. Abigale Stangl, a design researcher at Georgia Tech specializing in the development of systems that promote inclusive design practices and enhance the accessibility of products and information. Dr. Stangl introduced the museum to the amazing work of Ann Cunningham. Step Into My Story is a solo exhibition designed by Ms. Cunningham that shares her process for creating picture books for children with impaired sight or blindness. In addition to guiding visitors through a step-by-step process of designing and creating these sensory books, the show encourages visitors to think more deeply about inclusive design for tactile and embodied learning. Experience the exhibit though your fingertips and step into Ann Cunningham's stories. 

Paper is People: Decolonizing Global Paper Cultures 

May 5 - August 15, 2025

Paper is People: Decolonizing Global Paper Cultures, co-curated by Tia Blassingame and Stephanie Sauer, offers a new definition of paper within a global and decolonial framework. Featuring works by local, national, and international artists, this exhibition explores the vital role substrates play in human communities and how meaning is made from what we might call paper and papermaking. 

Viewed together, the works on display seek to open a conversation around what paper is across cultures today: a vessel for collective memory, a body, a site of meaning, a living ancestor, and a form of cultural survival and resistance. To appreciate global paper cultures in a decolonial context, it is important to consider definitions of paper that move beyond those created and sanctioned by imperial powers. In the Indigenous and oral cultures represented here, baskets, tapestries, and other handmade substrates act as vessels and embodiments of culture and memory. Some even hold status as animate members of their community. Among peoples subjugated under slavery and denied access to literacy and the requisite tools for creating paper and books, maintaining and building upon their threatened cultural knowledge required creativity like those exhibited in African American quilts. Paper is People presents each cultural substrate as a new definition within contextualized multimedia displays that invite thoughtful participation and engagement of the senses. 

Legacies in Paper: Nancy Cohen, Sara Garden Armstrong, & Helen Hiebert 

September 8, 2025 - January 30, 2026

What does it mean for an artist to spend years exploring a material? How deep an understanding and visual vocabulary can be created with time and an extensive investigation. The three artists featured in the inaugural triennial series Legacies in Paper have spent a lifetime exploring the boundless qualities of handmade paper. The Paper Museum celebrates the endless vast possibilities of hand papermaking and the dedication to the creation of meaningful excellent art by Nancy Cohen, Sara Garden Armstrong, & Helen Hiebert.

Paper & Architecture

March 2 - July 10, 2026

Paper is an underappreciated resource. It touches every aspect of our lives, even architecture. We see the influence of paper in construction materials, architecture models, and as design inspiration. This exhibition focuses on paper as it shapes the spaces we live and work in. 

The Craft of Paper: Contemporary Takes on Tradition

August 3, 2026 - January 15, 2027

Curated by paper artist Michael Velliquette, The Craft of Paper: Contemporary Takes on Tradition, is a survey of the established families of techniques for manipulating paper. It is also a celebration of the evolution of the techniques. Contemporary artists have pushed beyond previous understanding of the medium and forging forward with fresh expressions of the medium.