Recto / Verso: Art Publishing in Practice

Each week of Recto / Verso centers on a pertinent topic within the field of art publishing, beginning with an in-depth look at how art books circulate in creative communities, then shifting focus to activism and zine publishing, artists’ books and artist-run presses, and concluding with digital, institutional, and non-profit publishing. Events – which take place at both Artbook @ MoMa PS1 in Long Island City and the Hauser & Wirth Publishers Bookshop in Chelsea – include panel discussions with notable publishers and artists as well as three hands-on workshops that give participants the opportunity to learn a variety of bookmaking and binding techniques.

The series will culminate in a publication produced by Hauser & Wirth Publishers that will act both as a record of the series – featuring contributions from each week’s presenters – as well as a reference guide mapping publishing resources in New York. The publication will be launched at the New York Art Book Fair in late September 2018.

All events are free and open to the public. Follow the links below to register.

The Life of Art Books: Circulation, Distribution, Exchange MoMA PS1 Book Space 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City NY Sun 5 Aug, 1 pm 

Join us for a panel discussion led by the Brooklyn Rail’s Art Books Editor, Megan N. Liberty, focusing on the circulation of art books and their unique ability to move between and function in various realms – such as exhibitions, commercial spaces, and scholarly research – and the opportunities this creates for artists and publishers. The panel will also explore the many modes of distribution of artists’ books, from sharing and exchange, to sales, web publications, and e-books. Participants include: Nicole Kaack (Dedalus Fellow in The Museum of Modern Art Archives), Emmy Catedral (Coordinator of Fairs and Editions at Printed Matter), Sharon Helgason Gallagher (President & Publisher of ARTBOOK | D.A.P.), Lisa Pearson (Publisher at Siglio Press).

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Workshop: Urgency Print Lab MoMA PS1 Book Space 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City NY Sun 5 Aug, 3 pm

Artist and publisher Paul Soulellis (Library of the Printed Web), will lead a web-to-print workshop that allows participants to make a collaborative publication by combining digital and analogue media. Participants will be encouraged to incorporate urgent social and political issues into their projects and consider the lifecycle of the book, exploring the potential of different distribution and exchange models. Participants are encouraged to bring laptops but not required.

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Protest and Production: Activism and Zine Publishing MoMA PS1 Book Space 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City NY Sun 12 Aug, 1 pm

Join zine makers 3 Dot Zine, Endless Editions, TXTbooks, Interference Archive, and 8 Ball Community for a seminar-style discussion led by Femme Mâché on the influence of DIY publishing in activism and art practice, along with the application of that spirit to community engagement. Participants include: Devin N. Morris (3 Dot Zine and Brown Paper Zine Fair), Paul John (Endless Editions), Robert Blair and Kurt Woerpel (TXTbooks), Greg Mihalko and Leigh Hurwitz (Interference Archive), Lele Saveri and India Menuez (8 Ball Community), Lilian Finckel and Pooja Desai (Femme Mâché)

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Workshop: Art, Activism, and DIY: Zine-Making as a Tool for Change MoMA PS1 Book Space 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City NY Sun 12 Aug, 3 pm

Zines have long been used as a tool for change by artists, activists, teens, grown-ups, revolutionaries, riot grrrls, and radicals. Join Stefanie Lewin of Young Artist Zine Alliance for an interactive workshop where participants will learn all about the history of this crafty form of DIY activism. The workshop will also explore other examples of local zine workshops and delve into zine-making techniques. Everyone will leave with their own handmade piece of activist art, ready to photocopy and distribute.

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Workshop: Binding for Self-Publishing Hauser & Wirth Publishers Bookshop 548 West 22nd Street, New York NY Tue 14 Aug, 6 pm

Celine Lombardi from the Center for Book Arts will teach participants how to make numerous book structures for self-publishing art and writings. Over the course of this three-hour workshop, participants will explore variations on the pamphlet and accordion book, taking home three different projects.

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Reimagining the Art Object: Artist-Run Presses and Artists’ Books Hauser & Wirth Publishers Bookshop 548 West 22nd Street, New York NY Thu 16 Aug, 7 pm

Please join four artist-run presses and bookmakers – Small Editions, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Peradam Press, and Cooperative Editions – for a discussion on how books function as art objects in their own right. This group will address the creative process behind bookmaking and publishing as well as the politics, practices, and ideas that drive projects. Participants include: Corina Reynolds (Director & Co-founder Small Editions), Nontsikelelo Mutiti (Self-publisher and Graphic Designer), Elizabeth Jaeger (Co-founder of Peradam Press) and Sam Cate-Gumpert (Co-founder of Peradam Press), and Nicholas Weltyk (Publisher at Cooperative Editions)

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Publishing in Spaces: Institutions, Galleries, and the Web Hauser & Wirth Publishers Bookshop 548 West 22nd Street, New York NY Tue 21 Aug, 7 pm

Please join us for a panel discussion moderated by Hauser & Wirth Publishers that focuses on the way institutional missions – the goals of galleries, museums, and other established print and digital publishers – influence the process of publishing itself. With art as the published content, how do publications become vehicles that accomplish what these institutions set out to do? How do these publications exist independently from the programs and spaces for which they’re created? Participants include: Hannah Kim (Business and Marketing Director for the Department of Publications at The Museum of Modern Art), Zachary Kaplan (Executive Director of Rhizome at the New Museum), Mark Polizzotti (Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at The Metropolitan Museum of Art), Kaye Cain-Nielsen (Editor-in-Chief of e-flux journal)

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Nonprofit Art Publishing: Diverse Models and Sustainable Practices Hauser & Wirth Publishers Bookshop 548 West 22nd Street, New York Thu 23 Aug, 7 pm

In this conversation, moderated by Sharon Helgason Gallagher (President & Publisher of ARTBOOK | D.A.P.), nonprofit publishers including Primary Information, Printed Matter, The Drawing Center, and Pioneer Works Press will discuss the value of independent publishing, organizing and attending art book fairs, and creating models for sustainable publishing practice. Participants include: Miriam Katzeff (Co-founder of Primary Information), Craig Mathis (Bookstore and Distribution Manager of Printed Matter), Joanna Ahlberg (Managing Editor at The Drawing Center) & Noah Chasin (Executive Editor at The Drawing Center), Camille C. Drummond (Publisher at Pioneer Works Press), Lesley A. Martin (Creative Director & Publisher, The PhotoBook Review at Aperture Foundation)

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Recto / Verso Book Market Hauser & Wirth Publishers Bookshop 548 West 22nd Street, New York NY Tue 28 Aug, 6 pm

Please join us in celebrating Recto / Verso with an evening of drinks in the Roth Bar and a final chance to browse and purchase publications produced by the series’ esteemed presenters. There will be a brief presentation from Brian Paul Lamotte on the process of designing the Recto / Verso publication, which will act both as a record of the series – featuring contributions from each week’s presenters – as well as a reference guide mapping publishing resources in New York.

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Recto / Verso: Art Publishing in Practice is co-curated by Kristen Mueller, Buyer & Manager, Artbook @ MoMA PS1 Magazine Store, and Paige Landesberg, Hauser & Wirth Publishers Bookshop Manager.