The Springfield Museums presents Book of Wonder, Cover to Cover: A Hands-on Journey with Donna Castellanos, an immersive exhibition that invites visitors to step inside artist Donna Castellanos’s imaginative world, where once-cherished books are transformed into vibrant works of art and interactive experiences celebrating creativity and storytelling. The exhibition will be on view March 28-September 6 at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts.

“We are thrilled to showcase Donna Castellanos’ visually captivating and engaging work to our guests,” says Curator of Art Kris Ludwig. “Visitors will be amazed by the creativity behind each piece, but perhaps even more impressive is the artist’s talent for inspiring viewers while also providing moments that encourage them to discover their own creative voices.”

Designed as an unfolding journey through Castellanos’s Book of Wonder, the exhibition invites visitors to explore a series of imaginative environments that encourage deep looking, playful discovery, and creative participation. In the Book of Nature, visitors encounter paper poppies assembled from book covers, schools of paper fish, and an immersive schoolhouse environment. In Read the Room, a cozy living room installation features bookbinding chair rails and a life-size dog constructed from recycled materials.

A celebrated mixed-media artist, curator, and educator, Donna Castellanos (American, born 1966) works across sculpture, jewelry, and textiles, often giving overlooked materials new life. Using salvaged books, found objects, and personal keepsakes, Castellanos creates witty and imaginative works that explore people, animals, and abstract forms while inviting audiences to see everyday materials in new ways. Her work has been exhibited nationally, and she frequently leads community-based art projects and workshops that emphasize collaboration and creative expression. Her sculpture Bertha, I’d like to know where you got the notion received the People’s Choice Award in THE OUTWIN 2022: American Portraiture Today at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, and was featured in the exhibition when it traveled to the Springfield Museums in 2024.

Describing the inspiration behind her book-based artworks, Castellanos says, “I want others to be able to see and experience what I see when I flip through an old book that has had its own journey, that has been touched, held, and read by many different people. Not just the written words inside the book, but its history, its previous owner, the beauty of the bindings, the embossing, and the wonderful illustrations.”

In Book of Wonder visitors are not only observers but collaborators. Throughout the exhibition, guests are invited to take part in a variety of hands-on installations that encourage creativity through drawing, writing, storytelling, and collage.

• Playbook – Magnetic picture frames invite visitors to create surreal collages using encyclopedia illustrations.
• Check Book – A playable checkers game constructed from repurposed books in the Read the Room installation.
• Tell Me About It – Guests choose a whimsical “Silly Sculp” sculpture that reminds them of someone in their lives and add their reflections to a corresponding book in the gallery library.
• Homework – Visitors create personal collage books using pages from dictionaries to describe their feelings, accomplishments, or dreams before placing their finished books on the gallery shelves.
• I Can’t Even Draw a Stick Figure – Guests complete the bodies of historical portraits clipped from encyclopedias, contributing their drawings to a growing “Springfield volume.”
• Scavenger Hunt – A search for hidden elements within artworks that are not made from paper or books.

Reinforcing her belief in the importance of participation, Castellanos explains, “I want people to feel they have been invited and welcomed to freely express themselves, be part of the conversation, and share their thoughts and experiences in a creative way.”

Building on the exhibition’s emphasis on creativity and engagement, the Springfield Museums will host several special programs with Castellanos that invite audiences to learn more about her artistic process and connect with the themes of the exhibition.

Book of Wonder: Artist Talk with Donna Castellanos
Thursday, April 2, 12:15 pm
Part of the ongoing lecture series Museums à la Carte, Castellanos leads the audience through her creative process and provides insight into the exhibition. Attend in person or on Zoom. Members free, nonmembers $4.

Play by the Books: A Novel Night of Creative Crafting
Thursday, May 7, 5–7:30 pm
Meet the artist, go on a gallery tour, and get creative at the art-making stations where book pages become the materials for costume collages, crafty bookmarks, and origami creatures. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cash bar. Reservations suggested. Members $15, nonmembers $20.

Book of Wonder, Cover to Cover is sponsored by PeoplesBank and supported by the Springfield Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. MassMutual is the season sponsor of the Springfield Museums.