As part of a nation-wide art activism project, faculty members from the College of Humanities and Fine Arts have opened the pages of a giant, collaborative book to the Murray State community to share their stories, thoughts and creativity.

Disappearing Act(s) is a collaborative art and writing project given to Murray State University as part of the Unbannable Library. The Unbannable Library is a collective art installation started by Paul Collins, a faculty member at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, to protest censorship in education and libraries across the United States. The Unbannable Library website features 26 pieces, most of which are 40 by 60-inch books of canvas pages with writings, paintings, collages and other visual art mediums affixed to them. 

Gwendolyn Paradice (he/she/they), a creative writing professor, attended the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville where many of the Unbannable Library’s books are temporarily collected in a single installation. Paradice said they were inspired to make one at Murray State, and when they asked Collins for advice, he offered a blank book of his own.

“The Unbannable Library is trying to put more books into the hands of writers and artists,” they said. “Paul Collins really liked the idea of opening a book to an entire community to contribute.”

In coordination with fellow CHFA faculty members Carrie Jerrell and April Webb, Paradice started brainstorming what an unbannable book made by Murray State would be and how it would fit into the larger Unbannable Library. They said they wanted a broad theme that would honor the series’ roots while still feeling inclusive for a wider community.

“We like Disappearing Act(s) because it’s a title that calls into being things that have disappeared, things that have been censored, lost and forgotten,” Paradice said, “because for something to disappear, you have to acknowledge it was there in the first place. I think that this book is really considering … what people want to memorialize, make visible, bring back and put in the forefront.”

Disappearing Act(s) debuted with two public work days on Oct. 6 and 7 at the Waterfield Library Breezeway. Collins provided two other books from the Unbannable Library, “No Book Should Be Invisible” and “The House of the Poet’s Daughter,” for examples of what could be added to Murray State’s own unbannable book. Paradice said they consider making a space for inclusive perspectives a part of their job as a public university educator.

“Regardless of where people fall on the political spectrum, our country is one that prioritizes the right to be heard,” they said. “This book project is one that says, ‘we want to hear you speak.’ (We are) not just listening to people, but telling them we want to hear your voice.”

April Webb, a painting and drawing instructor, said she was familiar with the Unbannable Library through her former colleague Chalet Comellas, one of the illustrators of “The House of the Poet’s Daughter,” before Paradice introduced her to the project. She said she wanted to be involved in the project as a way to refuse a widespread self-censorship she sees in art and education. 

“I think the nature of opening it up to a diverse student body means what’s going to be in the book should be as diverse as the population,” Webb said. “I’m just hoping it is full to the brim. … I want people to have to sew pages into it because that means we’ve got people excited about the conversation.”

The finished project of Disappearing Act(s) will stay on display at Murray State as a local art exhibit, but it will also travel to the 2026 Southern Festival of Books. It will remain open to work and contribution through the academic year, with three more public work days scheduled this semester: 

• 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Monster Mash art sale
• 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, in the Old Fine Arts lobby
• 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1, in the Waterfield Library Gallery

To contribute to Disappearing Act(s) outside of public work days, you can email Paradice at [email protected] to organize a private work session or workshop on an idea for the book. Paradise said that while many people may be intimidated by the project and scared to “screw it up or create something that doesn’t fit,” they encourage anyone to give it a try.

“This project is designed to be flexible,” they said. “When people think of what a book is, they focus a lot on text as an identifying feature, but this book is gonna get pretty wild in terms of the things that are in it. If you have a wild idea, get in touch with us.”