CV


CONVENTION SPECIAL GUEST

Special Guest, OrigamiUSA Convention, New York City, NY, June 24-27, 2022.

Special Guest, 26th Tanteidan Convention, Online/Japan, November 26-28, 2021.

Featured Guest, OrigamiUSA UnCon Convention, Online/USA, June 26–27, 2020.

Special Guest, JOAS Convention, Nagoya, Japan, November 8-9, 2019

Special Guest, JOAS Convention, Kansai, Japan, March 16-17, 2019

Special Guest, 36th CDO Convention. November 1-4, 2018, Pisa, Italy. 

Special Guest, Origami Bogota 2018, Bogota, Columbia, June 8-10, 2018 

Special Guest, JOAS Convention, Kyushu, Japan, May 25-27, 2018 

Special Guest, AEP XXI International Convention, Madrid, Spain, April 28 - May 1, 2018

Special Guest, VIII International Convention of Cusco 2018, Cusco, Peru, April 11-14, 2018 

Special Guest, Tanteidan Convention, Tokyo, Japan, August 11 -13, 2017

Special Guest, Korean Jongie Jupgi Cultural Convention, Seoul, Korea, Nov. 6-7, 2016.

Special Guest, International Origami Deutschland Convention, Berlin, Germany, May 13-15, 2016

Special Guest, JOAS Convention, Shizuoka, Japan, Nov. 22 – 23, 2014

Special Guest, Ultimate Origami, Cali, Lyon, France, Oct. 31–Nov. 2, 2014, 

Special Guest, Pacific Coast Origami Convention, Albuquerque, NM, USA, Oct. 3-7, 2013.

Special Guest, British Origami Society Convention, Edinburgh, Scotland, Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2013.

Special Guest, Centerfold Origami Convention, Columbus, OH, USA, Aug.15-18, 2013.

SELECTED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Invited Speaker, Intermitten: Exploring Creativity’s Role in Innovation, Ann Arbor, MI, Aug. 5, 2016, “The Origami Effect: Creativity through Constraints.”

Invited Speaker, Nerd Night, Ann Arbor, MI, Jan. 2013, “Beyond Flapping Cranes: Contemporary Origami Art and Design.”

SELECTED SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS

Figuring, Solo Show, Escuela Museo Origami Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. September, 2022.

Math Unfolded: The Mathematical Art of Origami, Group Show, National Museum of Mathematics, New York City, NY. July 27, 2019 - January 3, 2020

hive/mind ii, Group Show, 22 North Gallery, Ypsilanti, MI. September 6 - 28, 2019. 

Leafing Through History: Plants That Make Paper, Group Show, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO. June 14-October 27, 2019.

Lotusland in Origami, Group Show, Ganna Walska Lotusland, Santa Barbara, CA. March 1 - May 18, 2019

Into the Fold - The Art and Science of  Origami, Group Show, Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma, OK. February 2018 - February 2019. 

PaperWorks Refolded, Group Show, Brea Art Gallery, Brea, California. July 14 - September 14, 2018.

Mujeres de Papeles, Group Show, Escuela Museo Origami Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. Dec. 2016 - Mar 2017

Origami Universe, Group Show, Chi Mei Museum, Tainan City, Taiwan. Oct. 4, 2016 - Winter, 2017

Paper Creatures, Group Show, Jaffa Museum, Tel-Aviv, Israel. Sept. 9-Oct. 29, 2016

Origami: Living World, Group Show, National Museum of History in Taipei, Taiwan. Feb. 5 - Apr 17, 2016

Into the Fold, Group Show, Sandusky Cultural Center, Sandusky, OH, USA. Sept. 8 – Oct. 13, 2015

FAVA Folding Festival, Group Show, Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, Oberlin, OH. June-July 2015

Surface to Structure: Folded Forms, Juried Show, Cooper Union, New York, NY. June 19 - July 4, 2014

Crease: New Trends in Origami, Group Show, Sandusky Cultural Center, Sandusky, OH. Sept. 8 – Oct. 13, 2013

Extreme Origami, Origami Heaven, Group Show, Stony Brook University Wang Center, Stony Brook, NY, USA. July 27-August 5, 2013

International Origami Exhibition, Group Show, Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasilia, Brazil. Sept. 20 – Oct. 19, 2013

Origami as Fine Art, Group Show, Kinokuniya Book Store, New York CIty, NY. June 21-July 12, 2012. 

From Paper to Pixels, Group Show, Vernon Community Arts Center, Vernon, CT. April 7 – May 12, 2012

Original Origami Designs by Beth Johnson, Solo Show, University of Michigan Hospital Gift of Arts Gallery,, Ann Arbor, MI. April 16-June 11, 2012

Origami Tessellations and Fractals, Group Show (Curator and Exhibitor), University of Michigan Hospital , Ann Arbor, MI. Oct. 15 – Dec. 15, 2012

Art at the Library, Brighton Art Guild, Solo Show, Brighton Michigan Library, Brighton, MI. Nov. 11 – Dec. 19, 2012

Crease and Fold II, Group Show, Paper Circle, Nelsonville, OH. Fall 2011

Month of Japanese Culture in Brazil, Group Show, Livraria Cultura, Brasilia, Brazil. September, 2011

Into the Fold, Group Show, McConnell Arts Center, Worthington, OH. Spring, 2011.

BOOKS / MAGAZINES

Published Diagram, Origami Sea Life. Book, forthcoming. Makato Yamaguchi. 

Author, The Origami Diagram Book. Book, 2020. Beth Johnson and Ilan Garibi, France, Nicolas Terry. 

Published Diagrams, The Elegance of Origami. Book, 2020. Makato Yamaguchi, Tokyo, Natsume. 

Featured Artist, Amtrak’s National Route System As Interpreted by Beth Johnson, Magazine feature and short film, Amtrak the National, 2019. 

Featured Artist, New Expressions in Origami Art: Masterworks from 25 Leading Paper Artists. Book, 2017. Meher McCarthur, Tokyo, Tuttle Publishing.

Published Diagram, Origami by the Great American Masters. Book, 2015. Marc Kirschenbaum, France, Nuinui.  

FILMS

Featured Artist, Origami in the Garden, A Film by Barbara Bentree. 2022

Featured Artist, The Art of Origami | Beth Johnson, Paper Tigers/Kin Community. 2017. 

AWARDS

Florence Temko Award, OrigamiUSA, 2011. This award honors a “lone folder” who has contributed to origami in a meaningful way.

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

Origami House,Tokyo Japan

Korean Paper Culture Museum, Seoul, Korea. 

Escuela Museo de Origami Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain 

RELEVANT COMMUNITY SERVICE

Prison Creative Arts Project Community Zoom Workshops, University of Michigan, Statewide Online. Developed, organized and facilitated online workshops for formerly incarcerated individuals in Michigan after in-person workshops were suspended due to the pandemic. 2020-present.

Prison Creative Arts Project, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Helped facilitate workshops for formerly incarcerated individuals in Ann Arbor, MI. Developed and distributed origami projects that were sent into Michigan prisons after in-person workshops were suspended due to the pandemic. 2020-present. 

ArtBreak, Delonis Homeless Shelter, Ann Arbor, MI. Lead origami workshops and assist with other art workshops at the shelter. Developed and distributed origami projects that were distributed at the shelter after in-person workshops were suspended due to the pandemic. 2019-present.

Zoom Origami Workshops, Worldwide Online.  Provide free presentations and online origami workshops to community groups and organizations around the world after all in-person workshops were cancelled due to the pandemic. 2020 - present. 

EDUCATION

M.S. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2001, Human Dimensions in Natural Resources

B.A. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 1996, Anthropology                                                   
Summa Cum Laude, with Honors in the Liberal Arts and Honors Research Distinction in Anthropology          

SeaGrant Knaus Fellowship, NOAA and the Great Lakes Commission, 2001. 

Spanish Language Immersion Courses in Mexico (1993), Ecuador (1996) and Costa Rica (2015).

OTHER RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE

Program Specialist, Great Lakes Commission, Ann Arbor, MI, June 2001-January 2010

Worked on numerous projects related to environmental protection and restoration of land and water resources in the Great Lakes region.

Member Support Staff, Maker Works, Ann Arbor, MI, May 2014 - 2018.

Provided training, support and program development services for a vibrant local maker space and for the broader Ann Arbor community, focusing on crafters, makers, and artists of all ages.

CLIENTS AND COLLABORATIONS

Collaborations, Commissions and Design work for:

New York Times, Dove, Lexus, Tiffany & Co., Amtrak, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Century 21, Ulle Johnson, Ohio National and Origami in the Garden with Kevin Box.