2024 Programs


The Seattle Art Book Fair includes talks, activities, and installations from members of our extended arts community.

All programs are free and open to the public! 

Photo courtesy Kavitha Krishnan


2024 Program Preview


TALKS
SATURDAY, MAY 11
  • 12:00 pm: Editions Studio: Elements of artist’s books
  • 1:00 pm: Errant Press: What is a book?
  • 2:00 pm: A. T. Pratt Comics Reading Live Experience Musical Spectacular
  • 4:00 pm: Organizing Power: Unionizing for Arts Workers (Roundtable discussion organized by Current Editions)

SUNDAY, MAY 12
  • 12:00 pm: Own The Means of Production and Share It: Resource Pooling for Independent Publishers (Panel discussion with Late Night Copies Press & friends)
  • 1:00 pm: Art and Inspiration with Seattle Walk Report
  • 2:00 pm: Taha Ebrahimi: Guided Street Tree Walk of Cherry Hill (outdoor walking tour)
  • 2:30 pm: Photography, Fauxtography, & The Photographic Image In Risograph Printing (Organized by Zach Clark, National Monument Press)

WORKSHOPS
  • Sat, May 11, 12:00–4:00 pm: Letterpress printing with Partners in Print
  • Sun, May 12, 11:00–2:00 pm: Pen + Pen - Pen (Chen Luo & Bella Tuo of Body&Forma)

ONGOING PROGRAMS 
  • Climate Emergency Reading Room and Community Altar (ANEMONE + Alex Barsky)
  • Rainy Day Book Exchange
  • Book Fort
  • You As An Animal (Michelle Lassaline) 

Additional programming to be announced. 




Talks

All talks take place in the first floor Classroom of Washington Hall unless otherwise noted.

The Six Elements of Artists’ Books
Sarah Maker, Editions

SATURDAY, MAY 11
12:00 pm




Book Arts is a boundless medium that continues to see growth and development across the art world. Artists’ books can follow a formal structure or take a more sculptural approach in which the book’s physical form follows its content. This flexibility in approach to the book form is one of the hallmarks of a book artist, but we have never had a formal structure for discussing this the way we do painting and drawings and sculptures. Book artist Sarah Maker proposes that in addition to the seven elements of art as we know them, there are likewise six elements of artists’ books.

Sarah Maker is the book artist who founded Editions, Seattle’s center for book arts, because she knows what it’s like to want to create the work that embodies your soul and not have the tools to do it. Maker’s work is inspired by the world and issues around her. Community plays a huge part in her artistic process and informs the books she makes and the risks she takes. 



"What is a book?" A new creative approach.
Alan Sobrino, Errant Press

SATURDAY, MAY 11
1:00 pm




What makes a book a book? Join us for an exploration of the book and its layers. In this talk, we will explore the different definitions of a book throughout history, its layers, and how we can play with them as artists. 

Alan Sobrino is a book artist who works under the imprint Errant Press. His work forces literature into new physical spaces, altering traditional reading dynamics.



A. T. Pratt Comics Reading Live Experience Musical Spectacular
A. T. Pratt

SATURDAY, MAY 11
2:00 pm




The comics reading experience is often at home, secluded, and silent. This live reading experience from a selection of  Pratt's latest and classic work is none of that. The author brings his publications to life, exploring their variety of reading paths through handmade 3D innovations like pop-ups and foldouts, as well as performing aspects of the work that previously would be up to the reader's imagination to cobble together, specifically character voices, sound effects, and big broadway-style musical numbers.

A. T. Pratt is a cartoonist from NYC who writes, draws, and self-publishes comics, zines, art books and paper crafts of all shapes and sizes, often including handmade special features like pop-ups and fold-outs. He teaches comics at Montclair State University and School of Visual Arts.



Organizing Power: Unionizing for Arts Workers
Roundtable discussion organized by Current Editions

SATURDAY, MAY 11
4:00 pm




All working people have rights, whether we work at an art museum, a bookstore, or a school. Nationwide, arts workers have begun to unionize—they’ve enhanced their rights and improved their workplaces. But it can be difficult to know how to get started. Organizing Power is a series of Risograph-printed booklets which provide tools for union formation tailored to arts workers. Join artist Jessalyn Aaland and worker-organizers from institutions like the Seattle Art Museum and more to learn about their experiences. Presented by Current Editions. 

Current Editions (Emeryville, CA) celebrates micro histories, niche cultural expressions, and public discourse. An artist-run press formed by Jessalyn Aaland and Paul Morgan in 2017, our publications range from protests on San Francisco’s Market Street to New England’s unique contribution to target sports. For fans of: vernacular, curiosity, information architecture.



Own The Means of Production and Share It: Resource Pooling for Independent Publishers
Late Night Copies Press & friends

SUNDAY, MAY 12
12:00 pm




A panel featuring artist/publishers who create public access to their personal equipment, such as risos and photocopiers. We'll discuss the pros, cons, and logistics of sharing our tools and space with strangers, with an eye to its sustainability for organizers and impact on local publishing ecosystems. Presented by Late Night Copies Press.

Late Night Copies Press is a queer and trans owned micro-press run by collaborators India Johnson (she/her) and Aiden Bettine (he/him). We publish informal research-based writing, erotica, and zines about topics like arts organizing, queer archives, and LGBTQ history in the Upper Midwest. Late Night Copies hosts the Midwest Queer & Trans Zine Fest annually in Minneapolis, MN. Find us at zine fests and brick-and-mortar bookstores all over the country, and online: @latenightcopies / latenightcopies.com



Art and Inspiration with Seattle Walk Report
Susanna Ryan

SUNDAY, MAY 12
1:00 pm




Self-taught artist Susanna Ryan, author of the local bestsellers "Seattle Walk Report" and "Secret Seattle," will share insights and stories from her untraditional path into publishing while examining the books and people who influenced her work.

Susanna Ryan is a Seattle-based cartoonist and author of the books "Seattle Walk Report" and "Secret Seattle.” In 2021, she was named one of Seattle Magazine’s most influential people in Washington State. Her work has been featured by the Seattle Times, Evening Magazine, and Atlas Obscura.



Guided Street Tree Walk of Cherry Hill
Taha Ebrahimi

SUNDAY, MAY 12
2:00 pm
Duration: 60-90 min


Note: This guided walking tour takes place outdoors. Limited to 20 participants (registration will open in April).


Seattle has one of the most diverse collections of street trees in the country (double the East Coast and triple the Midwest!). Join the author of Street Trees of Seattle on a guided walk of the neighborhood exploring both its history and its street trees. We will travel through the southern part of Cherry Hill and past what remains of the old Black Panther headquarters, stopping at notable street trees to learn more about them.

Taha Ebrahimi is the author and illustrator of "Street Trees of Seattle" (Sasquatch Books: 2024), an unconventional walking guide based on city data going back to 1950 and covering approximately 170,000 street trees. She serves as a member of the council for Historic Seattle as well as the board for the Cal Anderson Park Alliance. Her writing has appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Crosscut, The Seattle Times, and several anthologies.



Photography, Fauxtography, & The Photographic Image In Risograph Printing
Organized by Zach Clark, National Monument Press

With Amelia Greenhall, ANEMONE; Erica Wilk, Moniker Press; and Carlos Gabaldon, Risolana

SUNDAY, MAY 12
2:30 pm



Risograph printing rose to its present day near ubiquity in large part due to how its methods and quirks complement comics, illustration, and experimental zines. However, alongside these publications a growing number of artists and publishers utilize Riso as a means to work with photography, from single color photo books to practices and publications that push the limits of what the medium is capable of. This panel will discuss various approaches, tools, and philosophies for Risograph printing the photographic image.

Zach Clark is an Oakland, CA based artist and educator. He is one half of Chute Studio and publishes as National Monument Press, a publishing project focused on supporting uniquely American stories through small edition artist books, zines, printed ephemera, and curatorial projects, completed largely through collaboration with other artists.  


Workshops



Press Power
Partners in Print

SATURDAY, MAY 11
12:00 – 4:00 pm




Partners in Print is bringing their presses, paper, and ink to the Seattle Art Book Fair—what message will you print and share with your community? Free, family-friendly letterpress poster printing for all. PiP brings people together by using old printing presses to amplify new voices, share knowledge, and spark creativity. Learn more at partnersinprint.org and on Instagram: @pipletterpress.



Pen + Pen - Pen
Chen Luo & Bella Tuo of Body&Forma

SUNDAY, MAY 12
11:00-2:00 pm




Pen + Pen - Pen Workshop allows participants to work with variable lengths and widths of pens to draw patterns and letters, then rearrange the composition to generate new visual forms. In this workshop Body&Forma invite people to craft their patterns while questioning how shared labor and authorship can be interwoven as a collaborative practice. Workshop participants are encouraged to question: how can we create sustainable tools built upon existing art material?

Body&Forma is a collaborative design house that publishes books, zines, and typographic prints and hosts performative workshops. Their work focuses on research, writing, and unlearning strategies that reevaluate and reconnect with cultural tradition. They propose and demonstrate a new interplay of activities and interrogative exercises. They also examine domestic design traditions and especially the humor evident in both written and verbal communication.


Ongoing programs

The programs below are available all weekend unless otherwise noted.


Climate Emergency Reading Room and Community Altar
ANEMONE + Alex Barsky

Participatory installation,
second floor stage


Browse a selection of books, zines and pamphlets about the climate crisis: including artist-publishing, local issues, renewable energy and solarpunk, political organizing, grief, taking action, resource sharing, and community. Attendees are invited to bring books, writing, or other objects to add to the community altar, as a symbol of our values, gratitude to each other and our planet, and wishes for our collective future.

ANEMONE is a collaboration and artist initiative by Amelia Greenhall and Adam Greenhall making artist publications, maps, Spectrolite app, and other projects. Alex Barsky makes comics, zines, and animation in Seattle, WA. She runs the risograph micropress, Zine Hug, with Zack Lydon.




Rainy Day Book Exchange
Seattle Art Book Fair


“There’s nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.” —Octavia Butler

Join in the art and joy of sharing books! Visitors are welcome to bring an art book to leave for someone else, and then take another book in exchange. Collect new books from the community for the next rainy day. The Rainy Day Book Exchange is open to anyone who wants to participate.



You As An Animal
Michelle Lassaline 

Artist Michelle Lassaline paints portraits of people as any animal they choose. With watercolor and ink on paper, Michelle creates these personal, whimsical works of art in just a few minutes. Lassaline started the project in 2014 and has since performed for the City of Seattle, Artist Trust, 4Culture, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Northwest Public Art Conference, Pike Place Market, Fremont Market, Vashon Strawberry Festival, and numerous weddings, celebrations, and gatherings of all kinds.
Michelle Lassaline received an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from the Maine College of Art & Design in 2022. In addition to watercolor, Lassaline works in paper mache and textiles. www.youasananimal.com



Book Fort!
Seattle Art Book Fair

An activity table for kids and kids at heart, with book making instructions and supplies. Follow one of the provided book construction methods, or invent your own!



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© 2024 Seattle Art Book Fair is organized by volunteers, powered by Shunpike, and supported by 4Culture, ArtsWA, and King County︎ ︎