Twu has been selected as the Imagine Fund 2025-27 Arts, Design, and Humanities (ADH) Chair awardee, an award which provides $100,000 over a two-year term to create a collaborative program of activities for the University community and the community at large. Recipients are selected for their exceptional ideas, innovation, collaboration, interdisciplinary exchange, and public engagement.
According to the project summary; “Made entirely by hand, “Book of the North” will bring medieval book arts to life through immersive programming exploring the relationship between the cultures of Minnesota and the ecology of the region. It will feature paper crafted from native milkweed, cultivated flax, and invasive nettles; ink brewed from oak, walnut, and buckthorn. Participants will provide historical texts and scientific analysis. The resulting book will embody the fragility and the resilience of the Northland.”
The “Book of the North” project will involve collaboration across multiple University of Minnesota campuses statewide, as well as with two Minnesota communities.
“My work with medieval manuscripts and their modern counterparts (like the Saint John's Bible, a modern manuscript masterpiece) inspired the ‘Book of the North,’” Twu said. “The experiential and experimental use of medieval bookmaking techniques will help us understand the material, cultural, and ecological conditions of medieval books, while also challenging our understanding of the relative durability versus frailty of different modes of textual dissemination. The “Book of the North” will also document and celebrate the wide array of linguistic and cultural diversity in the state of Minnesota.”
Now that funding has been secured, the “Book of the North” project can now proceed.
“We have procured the flax seed and will plant this spring for a late summer or early fall harvest,” Twu said. “We'll be gathering milkweed, nettles, and botanicals for ink in the early fall too, which will lead into activities and workshops on fiber processing and ink making. Also, we will announce a way for any member of our University of Minnesota system on any campus to propose a language text for inclusion in the “Book of the North.” We will select one example from each language.”
Keep an eye out for future updates and event announcements regarding the “Book of the North.”