Drew Cameron, director of the Combat Paper Project, will be in residence at the University of Iowa Feb. 2-6. His visit is tied to the Kronos Quartet performance presented by Hancher on Feb. 7; he is a collaborator on the quartet’s Beyond Zero project.

Beyond Zero is a new multimedia work for Kronos, composed by Aleksandra Vrebalov with a film by Bill Morrison, commemorating the centennial of the outbreak of World War I (see related story).

A native of Iowa City, Cameron is a hand papermaker, printer, and book artist based in San Francisco. He has a degree in forestry from the University of Vermont and served in the U.S. Army from 2000-06. His current and ongoing work with Combat Paper is practicing and teaching the art and craft of hand papermaking and encouraging others to do the same.

The Combat Paper Project was started as a way to help veterans and communities heal after war. The project is best known for holding workshops for veterans to take their uniforms and turn them into paper. This process often helps veterans reclaim and transform their uniforms into works of art; these workshops are a healing experience for many veterans, families, and communities. Through these papermaking workshops, the Combat Paper Project hopes to create conversations between veterans and civilians, allowing people to share their understanding of war and its impact. Papermaking is a vehicle to tell stories of military experiences, both current and past.

During his time in Iowa City, Cameron will work with students in arts management, book arts, English, and printmaking. He will also spend time at the Oakdale campus with the Center for the Book and hold a papermaking workshop for Scattergood students.

Cameron will give a free talk titled “Combat Paper in a Time of War: Finding handmade paper amongst this generation's veteran artist movement” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, at the Iowa City Public Library. The discussion is co-sponsored by University of Iowa Center for the Book and Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature. Timothy Barrett, director of the Center for the Book, will give an introduction.

The residency with Drew Cameron and performance by the Kronos Quartet are supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the Hancher Box Office in advance at 319-335-1158.