Welcome! Thanks for coming here.
I am an artist and educator whose work explores fairy tales, graphic and narrative medicine, as well as collective storytelling practices through mechanical books that combine animation and paper craft. My interests are in combining technology, traditional book arts, and sequential storytelling to create new forms.
My artwork has appeared internationally in festivals and exhibitions, been featured in publications such as Hyperallergic, Make, and Wired, and broadcast on IFC and PBS. My movable books can be found in museum, library, and university collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Library of Congress, British Library, Children’s Literature Library of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Boston Public Library, Cooper-Hewitt Museum Library, Harvard Medical School Countway Library, Savannah College of Art & Design, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Scripps College, the Struwwelpeter Museum, Swarthmore College, the University of Pennsylvania, University of Miami Special Collections, The Wellcome Collection, as well as many private collections.
I am an Arts Professor at New York University’s Interactive Media Arts (IMA) and Interactive Telecommunications (ITP) programs located within the Tisch School of the Arts. I was a co-founder of the Interactive Media Arts Program at NYU Shanghai as well as the NYU Ability Project. I currently serve as an Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Network Academic Planning for the University and received the University Distinguished Teaching Award in 2016.
This site is dedicated to my book and paper arts, animation, web, interactive work, and more.
From 2007 to 2012, I co-directed an arts organization, Greylock Arts, in Adams, MA, with Matthew Belanger. Greylock Arts presented exhibitions and talks, and developed educational programs to facilitate a deeper public appreciation for emerging art practice. (You can download all our catalogs here.)
For years, I both served on the board and volunteered extensively with one of my favorite organizations, The Adaptive Design Association. ADA makes custom adaptive equipment from readily available materials (such as cardboard) for children with disabilities. I currently serve on the Board of the Movable Book Society.
I live in Amenia, NY, with my husband, Michael Lawson.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariannerpetit/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mariannerpetit.bsky.social
Marianne R. Petit 