FREE Bookmaking Workshop: Stories of Family [Binding Histories]

Step into Binding Histories, a hands-on bookmaking experience led by artists Nicole Combeau and Sean Sullivan. This multipart creative series features four distinct themes: My Story, Family, Miami, and Coconut Grove.

✨ This workshop is FREE and open to all ages. Space is limited and advance registration is required. Attend one workshop or join them all—it’s up to you!

In these weekly gatherings, you’ll explore different bookbinding structures while building deeper connections with Vizcaya and fellow participants. Blending individual creativity with collective reflection, the program culminates in a powerful animated installation on July 26, 2025—a vibrant celebration of Miami’s diverse cultural narratives.

SESSION DETAILS | What to Expect: Exploring Personal Histories

Saturday, June 28 & Sunday, June 29 | Plant-Based Prints & Bookbinding

Over this two-day session, explore how art and memory intertwine through a plant-based photo printing process known as anthotyping. Working with natural light and botanical materials, you'll create unique prints on oversized paper. Once dry, the pages will be hand-cut and bound into a Japanese-style stab-bound book—a tactile archive of family and place.

You're invited to bring small personal items—such as fabric swatches, handwritten notes or mementos—that connect to your family’s story. These optional materials can help deepen the personal meaning behind your final piece.

ADDITIONAL SESSIONS

Curious about the rest of the series? Explore themes of family, Miami and Coconut Grove. Click the links below to learn more and register for FREE:

• My Story | June 14-15
• Stories of Miami | June 21-22
• Ode to Coconut Grove | July 12-13
• Vizcaya Late: Studio Vizcaya Finale | July 26

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS | FREE

📍 Vizcaya Village Garage
📅 Saturday, June 28 & Sunday, June 29 | 11AM–2PM
🎟️ FREE | Materials Included

IMPORTANT: Confirm Your Spot

To help keep Vizcaya’s free workshops accessible to those who truly plan to attend, all registrants will be asked to confirm via email the week of the event. If we don’t hear from you, your ticket may be released to someone on the waitlist.

ABOUT BINDING HISTORIES & STUDIO VIZCAYA

Binding Histories is a series of bookmaking workshops led by artists Nicole Combeau and Sean Sullivan. Through weekly gatherings, participants learn a variety of bookbinding structures and build deeper connections with Vizcaya, one another and our beloved city. The program concludes with a powerful animated installation on July 26, 2025—a vibrant celebration of Miami’s diverse cultural narratives.

Studio Vizcaya is an annual summer program that commissions and challenges local artists to guide community members in co-creating original works inspired by Vizcaya and its history. The program continues the legacy of art patronage begun by James Deering—Vizcaya’s creator—more than 100 years ago.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Nicole Combeau is a Miami-based artist and educator whose work centers storytelling, memory, and community building. Her interdisciplinary practice weaves together photography, book arts, and collaborative installations to explore identity, heritage, and belonging. As a first-generation American, Combeau reflects on matrilineal and migration histories, using art as a tool for cultural preservation and connection. Her projects often invite participants to become co-authors, creating space for communities to share, preserve, and celebrate their own stories.

She is an artist-in-residence at the Bakehouse Art Complex, a recipient of two Oolite Arts Ellies Creator Awards (2023 and 2025), and currently works in the Education Department at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, where she organizes the Creative Aging program, a free arts program for adults ages 55+. Combeau earned her BFA in Photography and Video from the School of Visual Arts.

Sean Sullivan, known as Sean Was Here, is a creative technology artist who merges motion graphics and coding to craft mesmerizing 3D projection mapping installations. Inspired by a lifelong fascination with art and technology, Sean creates illusions that transform physical spaces—projecting digital art onto real-world landscapes without the need for screens or headsets. His work has transformed venues like The Ringling Museum of Art, The Bass Museum, Mana Contemporary, Miami Beach Botanical Garden, Live Arts Miami, and Burning Man. Sean values how his art enables viewers to experience digital art as a tangible, shared phenomenon. His installations blend innovation and illusion to connect communities with art’s magic in everyday spaces.

About Studio Vizcaya | Summer Art Sessions: Studio Vizcaya is a commission program that provides artists with the creative challenge to develop original, site-specific work in response to a historic site situated in the public realm. Studio Vizcaya was inspired by the dynamic, creative spirit that characterized Vizcaya’s inception one hundred years ago, and it preserves Vizcaya owner James Deering’s tradition as a patron of the arts. Additionally, Studio Vizcaya embeds Vizcaya’s commitment to shared community experiences through a process of co-creation.

This year, artists Nicole Combeau and Sean Sullivan will guide the community in bookmaking and storytelling. The final pieces will be displayed at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens the evening of Saturday, July 26, 2025!