Hong Kong's premier large-scale art book fair features artists' books and explores the intersection of "sound" and "print" as a theme
HONG KONG, April 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tai Kwun Contemporary's BOOKED: Hong Kong Art Book Fair 2023 is returning for its fifth edition, with local, regional, and international exhibitors joining in person. Extending across the gallery spaces of JC Contemporary and F Hall in Tai Kwun from 28 April to 1 May 2023, this latest edition also launches "Sounds Like Print", a project that explores the intersection of "sound" and "print".
For the first time since 2020, BOOKED: is welcoming exhibitors from outside the city physically back in Hong Kong, including Printed Matter (New York), Nieves (Zurich), onestar press / Three Star Books (Paris), Self Publish Be Happy (London), Afterall (London), Jakarta Art Book Fair (Jakarta), aBC (Beijing/Shanghai), Jiazazhi (Ningbo/Shanghai), and more. Additionally, Display Distribute and Reading Room will respectively bring along a special selection of books from lumbung kios and lumbung publishers, previously featured in Documenta 15. This inspiring range of artists and exhibitors reasserts BOOKED: as a major regional art book fair.
Venturing into new horizons, BOOKED: 2023 includes the project "Sounds Like Print" (28 April – November 2023), co-curated by Ingrid Pui Yee Chu and Edward Sanderson, and co-organised with Daniel Szehin Ho. "Sounds Like Print" explores how the visible and the audible overlap: on the one hand, the ways in which sound and music—what we hear and listen to—are recorded in print, in the packaging around sound and music, as well as magazines, zines, and flyers, and on the other, how printed matter can trigger or generate sounds. Created in affordable, multiple copies for distribution and circulation, music/sound recordings as well as printed matter have remarkable similarities to one another, particularly in opposition to the classical notion of "art" considered as valuable and unique. There is thus an accessible, indie or self-made spirit here.
The project launches with a special display of sound art and experimental music primarily from the Mainland, on loan from the archive of Hong Kong-based curator and scholar Dr. Edward Sanderson, alongside several "Notations" exploring associated themes. Other artworks by Samson Young (Hong Kong), Dave Muller (Los Angeles) and mmmmor studio (Düsseldorf/Hong Kong) are set among the Artists' Book Library. During BOOKED: 2023, "Sounds Like Print" features a durational piano performance spearheaded by Samson Young as part of his larger Furniture Music series, which combines repurposed furniture with books and recorded sound as a way to visually represent sound as well as its silences.
Featuring more than 80 artists, publishers, organisations, and booksellers, BOOKED: Hong Kong Art Book Fair also includes special displays by the Hong Kong photographer Kurt Tong, the Swiss independent publishing house Nieves, and the high-end French publisher onestar press / Three Star Books, along with a wide range of public programming such as talks, workshops, and performances. Of note is an on-site performance by BASE (Florence Lam and Pang Jing), who will walk through the fair and interact with books in a variety of acrobatic ways, generating new definitions of female "bodily knowledge".
BOOKED: Hong Kong Art Book Fair underscores Tai Kwun Contemporary's dedication to providing a platform for creative practitioners and publishers who are invested in books as a medium of artistic and intellectual expression while providing an opportunity for public audiences to enjoy and engage with these materials as art, and as an important resource for learning and research.
Tickets will be available on KLOOK from 3 April, HK$40 for Adults and HK$30 for Concession; limited numbers of tickets will be available on site.
Highlighted participants this year include:
Printed Matter (New York)
- Founded in 1976, Printed Matter, Inc. is the world's leading non-profit organisation dedicated to the dissemination, understanding and appreciation of artists' books and related publications.
onestar press / Three Star Books (Paris)
- Onestar press / Three Star Books has produced over 300 books, 300 multiples and artists' films since 2000, allowing for collaboration among international artists on a variety of projects. This has enabled them to access and use new technologies.
David Zwirner Books (New York)
- David Zwirner Books is a publishing house dedicated to publishing the highest quality art publications. It focuses on projects that are artist led or inspired, and commissions texts by novelists, poets, and journalists. It was founded in 2014 and publishes over 25 titles a year, available worldwide in museum stores, independent bookstores, online, and in all gallery locations.
Jakarta Art Book Fair (Jakarta)
- Further Reading Press is an independent multi-format publishing platform with a production and distribution unit, that seeks to engage in discourse within design practices by exploring the wider contexts through various programmed experiences, such as online publication, printed periodicals, pop-ups, and residency.
- The Jakarta Art Book Fair showcases a range of Indonesian independent publishing.
Jiazazhi (Ningbo/Shanghai)
- Hailing from Shanghai, Jiazazhi is a photo art publisher devoted to exploring the possibilities of photo work presentation.
Reading Room (Guangzhou)
- Reading Room offers publications from an active network of art collectives and cultural commons, and is a part of the "lumbung" presentation by BOLOHO (in documenta 15). Based in Guangzhou, they share a regional perspective as a member of Lumbung Publishers.
Self Publish Be Happy (London)
- Self Publish Be Happy is dedicated to shaping contemporary photography and visual culture through publishing, online and offline events, and education programmes.
Nieves (Zurich)
- A one-man publishing house, founded in 2001, Nieves focuses on producing artist publications and zines.
Case Publishing & shashasha (Tokyo)
- Case Publishing is a Tokyo-based publisher founded in 2015. For nearly a decade they have spotlighted Japan's artistic culture showcasing contemporary art, photography and design.
P_PAL (Beijing)
- Beijing's latest up-and-coming magazine focused on artists' books and independent publishing.
abc (art books in China fair) (Beijing)
- One of the largest art book fairs in the Mainland, abc hosts fairs in metropolitan Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and beyond.
Highlighted Local Exhibitors
mini press @ Tiana Cloudland
- Small Book Publishing is a publishing project of Tianyou Yunshuyi Studio, which advocates publishing independent publications in limited editions, mini-sizes and hand-binding.
This Bakery
- A fantastic, mystical world of stories including but not limited to comics, storytelling and illustration.
YeP YeP
- Featuring works by emerging local artists, YeP YeP is an experimental fashion and art magazine published in Hong Kong.
ACO Books
- An independent bookshop located in Hong Kong, ACO Books believes in freedom of expression and the sharing of knowledge. It is a space for connecting art practitioners, cultivating humanity and sensibility through art and cultural collaboration activities.
Kan Tai Wong
- Kan Tai Wong began a long career as a photojournalist when he joined the Hong Kong Press in the late 1970s, after attending the Tokyo Institute of Polytechnics to study photography.
Asia Art Archive
- Asia Art Archive is a catalyst for new ideas that enrich our understanding of the world through the collection, creation, and sharing of knowledge around recent art in Asia. An independent non-profit, the archive documents the multiple and recent histories of art in Asia, with a valuable collection of art.
For more information, please visit https://www.taikwun.hk/en/programme/detail/booked-hong-kong-art-book-fair/1193.
#BOOKEDHK2023 #BOOKEDHK
— End —
Editor's notes:
Please click here to download the hi-res images with captions.
Visitor Information
The entire site of Tai Kwun is open to the public daily from 8am to 11pm.
Visit the Tai Kwun website for more details: https://www.taikwun.hk/en/
Programme details are subject to change, so please refer to the Tai Kwun website for news and updates.
About Tai Kwun — Centre for Heritage and Arts
Tai Kwun is Hong Kong's Centre for Heritage and Arts — a cultural destination for inspiration, stimulation and enjoyment. We aspire to offer the best heritage and arts experiences, and to cultivate knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art, performing arts and history in the community.
Tai Kwun invites all visitors on a journey of discovery that unites across multiple genres of arts, heritage, culture and lifestyle in Hong Kong. Here, visitors will discover the rich heritage of the site through the thematic exhibitions and immersive public programmes that explore Hong Kong's history and culture, alongside a multitude of vibrant and inclusive contemporary art presentations and performing arts offerings all year round.
Opened in May 2018 and operating on a not-for-profit model, Tai Kwun is the fruition of a joint partnership between The Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Government of the HKSAR to conserve and revitalise the buildings of the historic Central Police Station compound, which represents one of the most significant revitalisation projects in Hong Kong. The site comprises three Declared Monuments of Hong Kong – the former Central Police Station, Central Magistracy and Victoria Prison – all have been meticulously conserved, with unfailing attention to authenticity. The site also includes two new buildings – JC Contemporary and JC Cube, by renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron – and several outdoor spaces – Parade Ground, Prison Yard and Laundry Steps – providing an exciting venue for the public programmes presented by Tai Kwun and its partners.
Tai Kwun, which means "big station" in Chinese, is the colloquial name used by Hong Kong people to refer to the former police headquarters and the surrounding compound. The name has been adopted as a reminder of the historical importance of this living heritage site.
In 2019, Tai Kwun received the Award of Excellence in the 2019 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. This is the highest honour of the prestigious Awards, which bestows an international recognition of the outstanding achievement in the conservation and revitalisation efforts of Tai Kwun.
Tai Kwun Contemporary is the not-for-profit visual art programme of Tai Kwun. Realising six to eight exhibitions a year and curatorially driven, Tai Kwun Contemporary showcases and commissions artists from Hong Kong and beyond, while offering an extensive range of public programming. With the aspiration to contribute to and transform the experience and understanding of contemporary art in Hong Kong, Tai Kwun Contemporary is devoted to inspiring the Hong Kong public with an inquisitive attitude and committed to offering a conducive platform for learning and experimentation.
For more information, please visit our website: https://www.TaiKwun.hk.
