Colette Fu

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Artworks shown are selected from works submitted by the artist in their grant or residency application. All works are copyright of the artist or artist’s estate.

About Colette Fu

Colette Fu received her MFA in Fine Art Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2003, and soon after began devising complex compositions that incorporate photography and pop-up paper engineering. Fu’s pop-up books are included in the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and many private and rare archive collections. In 2017, Fu created the world's largest pop-up book at the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, measuring 21x14 feet, where people were invited to enter the book. Fu's numerous awards include a 2018 Meggendorfer Prize for best paper-engineered artist book; a Fulbright Research Fellowship to China; and grants from the Independence Foundation, Leeway Foundation, En Foco, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Puffin Foundation, and Society for Photographic Education. She has attended many fully-funded artist residencies and exhibits widely. Colette is a passionate educator and teaches pop-up and community workshops internationally.

Program Participation

Painters & Sculptors Grant, 2020

Website / Social Links

I create oversized pop-up books that combine my photography with pop-up paper engineering. Constructing pop-ups allows me to combine intuitive design and engineering acuity with my commitment to share stories and promote diversity. With my books, I overlap boundaries between people, the book, installation, photography, craft, and sculpture.”