Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Connecting from afar and going through it together with mail art

Curated by Autumn Wetli and Rachel Hoster

Introduction

Mail art has been defined as "works produced by artists, often in postcard format, specifically intended to be mailed to other artists or be displayed in an exhibition" (Getty Research Institute, 2004). 

Inspired by the mail art project created through the non-profit Printed Matter, the University of Michigan Library partnered with the Ann Arbor District Library in 2020 to solicit a call for mail art. Librarians at U-M and AADL saw this call as a way for their communities to connect from afar during the early and difficult days of the COVID-19 pandemic.