Fillip

VABF Symposium on Art Publishing
July 28th, 2024

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Emily Carr University of Art & Design
Rennie Hall, Level 2
520 East 1st Ave
Vancouver, BC

View the full agenda and register here!

Fillip, Libby Leshgold Gallery, and Emily Carr University Press are pleased to present a day of presentations and conversations on contemporary art publishing practices in conjunction with the Vancouver Art Book Fair.

10:00 a.m.
Coffee & Check-In

10:30 a.m.
Welcome & Keynote
Opening remarks: Bopha Chhay, Jonathan Middleton
Keynote: Emmy Catedral

11:25 a.m.
Panel: Learning from Collections
Anthea Black, Dallas Fellini, Christine Walde
Moderated by Bopha Chhay

Libraries, collections, and archives offer important repositories of publications and publishing histories. These collections typically have overt pedagogical roles, housed within academic institutions, or serving as research resources within art museums and public institutions. But if libraries and archives are intended to reinvigorate contemporary practice, what can be said about the obvious gaps in most collections? How can we imagine a bidirectional or more complicated relationship between archives and the “classroom,” workshop, or gallery space?

1:30 p.m.
Panel: Magazines, Criticism, and Art Writing
Hallie Ayres, Brian Kuhn Wood, Joni Low/André-Louis Paré, Mandeeq Mohamed, Anton Vidokle
Moderated by Maxine Proctor

Art magazines and journals play integral roles in the cultural landscape, not least of which is their support for critical writing that sits apart from the (often) laudatory writing of catalogue essays and other institutionally commissioned texts. The demands of running a periodical are high, and we’ve seen numerous publications wrap up or substantially change direction over the past few years. This panel features representatives of three periodicals who will speak to their current editorial and artistic directions, and what strategies they employ to sustain their important roles.

2:50 p.m.
Panel: Distribution, Collaboration, and Funding
Adetola Adedipe, Blair Swann
Moderated by Louis Rastelli

Distribution is often cited as a major barrier for publishing artists and art book presses, but it remains a fraught territory, with low funding, high amounts of labour, narrow margins, and retail partners that are, at times, overly cautious. How can we better support a network of small distributors geared towards artists and small publishers? What other distribution models might we consider? Are there ways that artists and publishers can engage in collaborative models that facilitate both the production of art books and their journey into the hands of interested audiences?

4:30–7:00 p.m.
Reception

Please join us after the Symposium for food and drink at Steamworks Mount Pleasant (2275 Main St). Steamworks is an approximately 15-minute walk from the Emily Carr campus. We will be in the private lounge area.