Nordic Art Book Store

Illustration: Hyuga Watanabe

We have invited five key figures from the Nordic art book scene to curate contemporary art books and zines as well as important publications that have influenced each of their countries and to build a 4-day exclusive book store at TABF. From Norway, we have Elise By Olsen, director of the International Library of Fashion Research, which she founded herself, and from Sweden, the “Malmö Artist's Books Biennial” curatorial team, which organises art book biennials in the city of Malmö from 2018. The curators for Finland, Denmark and Iceland are Hikari Nishida, Johan Rosenmunthe and Sigurður Atli Sigurðsson, who are each actively involved in art book fairs and book-related events while running their own artistic practice based in their respective capitals. They invite us to encounter new talents and yet unknown means of expression, thus creating opportunities for us to engage in the past and present of the Nordic art book culture.

【Curators】

Norway
Elise By Olsen
Born in 1999. She founded a youth culture magazine Recens Paper at 13 and has stirred interest for having landed a place on the shelves of Tate Modern, Dover Street Market, 10 Corso Como, Palais de Tokyo, Colette and Tsutaya Books. She took part in the editing of this periodical until she resigned in 2017, at age 18. The same year, she debuted her next publishing venture Wallet, a fashion commentary publication creating critical conversations within the fashion industry. In 2020, she founded the International Library of Fashion Research of which she is currently the director.

Sweden
「MABB – Malmö Artist’s Books Biennial」

MABB is a Swedish platform for art works that are inspired by the structural and conceptual properties of the book form. The first biennial and series of seminars was held in Malmö, Sweden 2018, and was followed up in 2022 with about 30 exhibitors from the Nordic countries, Poland, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Italy, USA and others. The next event will be held in May 2024.

Finland
Hikari Nishida
Artist, born and raised in France, currently based in Helsinki. Established in 2021, the project The Temporary Bookshelf focuses on the distribution of art books, zines and other printed materials by independent publishers & zines from Finland-based and international artists, and designers. Currently, The Temporary Bookshelf organises events around book publishing, and curates selections for cultural spaces and festivals in Finland.

Denmark
Johan Rosenmunthe
Born in 1982, currently lives and works in Copenhagen. Rosenmunthe is first and foremost an artist whose work spans from artists' books to sculptural installations and performances, but he is also the founder of the curatorial collective and publishing house ‘Lodret Vandret‘, exhibition space ‘New Shelter Plan‘ and art book festival ‘One Thousand Books’. In the capacity of directing those three initiatives, he has curated a long list of exhibitions, symposiums and publications, and has become a central figure in the Nordic world of artists’ books.

Iceland
SIgurður Atli Sigurðsson

A visual artist working in Reykjavík, Iceland. His work deals with the structural elements of society, often displayed in printed matter. In 2015, he established Print & Friends, a vehicle for production, publishing and teaching printmaking. His specialisation in the field has led him to curate exhibitions, teach and lecture internationally. Additionally, he runs the Reykjavík Art Book Fair as well as the Y gallery rebuilt from a 1970s gas station.

Date: 25th November (Sat), 17:00-18:30 (Door opens at 16:45)

Place: Auditorium

A presentation and a panel discussion will be held by four curators expected to visit.