PrintRoom

15:00 -17.30 PM: 

Boek Klup #5

We are thrilled to invite you to the launch of Mbuchi: Turtle Words. On Forbidden Mother Tongues, a book by Eva Posas and to introduce you to our new Publisher in Residence Loraine Furter!! 

Mbuchi: Turtle Words. On Forbidden Mother Tongues, delves into Eva’s long-term research on language, mother tongues and decolonial transmission practices through different generations and geographies. 

The book explores in seven chapters the human as a turtle, the turtle as a human and the environment that intertwines Binnizá cosmologies with poetry, dreams, lullabies, migration policies, children books, family wounds, language resistance and its modes of becoming in this epistolary narrative.

Eva invited artist Valentina Jager to join this adventure with translation as an artistic practice and artist Alan Sierra, accompanies with his illustrations as a lyrical interpretation of the reading. 

Design by Dongyoung Lee, printed and published by PrintRoom

Join us for a festive reading of Mbuchi: Turtle Words. On Forbidden Mother Tongues and conversation in the warmth of chocolate oaxaqueño

Let us introduce to you: Loraine Furter!  who dreams of a publishing project as a liant (“binding agent” in cooking and chemistry) across difference — books that speak to divergent sensibilities, that can bring together the very old and the very young, that make you want to learn minored languages, alliances between typographers and illiterates, … a laboratory to imagine a publishing shelter for projects that are hard to find in regular bookshelves and that can circulate in surprising ways ♥

At PrintRoom, Loraine hopes to engage in conversations with neighbouring local projects and their communities, share experiences and desires, dive into PrintRoom’s publications archive and organise book-making and binding workshops.If you recognize yourself (or a friend) in this desire for a type of book that is hard to find in regular bookshelves, please get in touch with us.

More information
Eva Posas is a curator, writer, and editor living between Mexico and the Netherlands. Her work addresses the politics of language, (forgotten) identities, and intergenerational memory as a form of aesthetic reflection at the crossroads of her Binnizá heritage.

Loraine Furter is a Brussels-based graphic designer and researcher interested in storytelling and empowerment through different forms of publishing.In the next months, Loraine will frequently be at PrintRoom for research, workshops, presentations and to meet people. Please get in touch if you’d like to meet her or join parts of the programme.

Last November, PrintRoom joined the Tokyo Art Book Fair. We’ve finally unpacked the suitcases to share our picks with you.

Friday 15 March 2024
7 – 9 pm  (doors open at 18.30)

Book presentations:
1. Tropical Reading: Photobook and Self-Publishing by Fotobook DUMMIES Day, with author Lin Junye (online) and Matt Johnston, author of the foreword
2. The Oldest Thing by Ruth van Beek, our TABF travel companion who signed her book at the fair.
3. 50 selected books from Asia by Common Imprint (Berlin/Seoul) with Sam Kim.

Presented publications:
~PrintRoom’s picks from the TABF 2023 (see publishers list below)
~A selection of publications from the Fotobook DUMMIES Day collection

Soup and snacks will be crafted by Erika Hirose (WAKEAT)!

Presentation runs from15.03 until 13.04.2024
Thursday, Friday & Saturday 12:00—18:00

PrintRoom’s Picks from the TABF, publications by: 

Audrey Fondecave / Too Much Magazine (Japan), Bananafish Books (China), Calaca press (Mexico/UK), Common Imprint (Germany/ South Korea), Chang Wen-hsuan (Taiwan), dmp editions (Taiwan), EBOOKS: Rio Ebato / Yumiko Tashiro (Japan), Fotobook DUMMIES Day (Taiwan), Gudskul Ekosistem (Indonesia), Hand Saw Press (Japan), Katja Lee Eliad (France), Knuckles & Notch (Singapore), Mulu Office (Taiwan), Le Lin (China), Loneliness Books (Japan), Neutral Colours (Japan), nos:books (Taiwan), Oven Universe (Japan), Satellite 82 (South Korea), Stay With Tuesday (China), Terry Bleu (Netherlands), The Book Society/Mediabus (South Korea), understructures (Ukraine), Yi-Chin Chen (Taiwan), 
Among others

More information:

The TOKYO ART BOOK FAIR at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo gathers more than 350 independent publishers, gallery presses, bookshops as well as individual artists and groups, from Japan and abroad. It attracts more than 20,000 visitors each year. With various events including special exhibitions, talks/panel discussions and film screenings, TOKYO ART BOOK FAIR aims to champion and lead art publishing culture in the region, and create the ideal opportunity for visitors to experience the ever evolving, vibrant arena of arts publishing.

Erika Hirose joined us in Tokyo to present and sign her book Making Miso, published by Twofold Press and PrintRoom.

The Tropical Reading presentation and Fotobook DUMMIES Days selection is organised in collaboration with Jhen Chen / Limestone Books (Maastricht). Thank you Jhen for making the selection and the connection!

Flyer: Dongyoung Lee

PrintRoom’s participation in the TABF was supported by the Mondrian Fund. Our programme is kindly supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL and the City of Rotterdam

Launch of PrintRoom’s Leesmap of artist publishing
&
Bebe Books x PrintRoom x Masha Krasnova-Shabaeva Calendar 2024

Saturday 16 December
18:00 – 21:00 at PrintRoom

An evening with artist presentations, wet-off-the-press-zines and a cheeky calendar. We welcome you with mulled wine and spicy soup!

Just in time for the holidays, we will launch our first edition of Leesmap! 

It playfully gathers a range of (maga)zines by artists and publishing platforms, and will be distributed to multiple places: from the hairdresser and dentist to the art space, laundromat, library and (your?) living room.

PrintRoom’s Leesmap is inspired by the traditional Dutch ‘leesmap’, a file with mainstream magazines. Popular in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the leesmap was (and still is) a way for people to read a variety of magazines, and to have access to tabloids or erotica that one would hesitate to buy in a shop. The magazines, as well as the folder that holds them, come in an anonymous cover. 

Our Leesmap will contain a women’s zine, a queer zine, an architecture zine, a children’s zine, a zine on parenthood and one on baking.

With contributions by Ruth van Beek, Basje Boer, MonoRhetorik/Matt Plezier, Jizz Taco, Czar Kristoff, Rose Nordin, Sarmad Platform/Alireza Abbasy, Priya Jay, Yusser Salih, Ulufer Çelik, Alaa Abu Asad, Claudia de la Torre, Eva Posas, Marie Déhé, Yuliya Gwilym, Happy Potato Press, Teuntje Fleur, José Quintanar, Cengiz Mengüç, Nicole Martens, Dongyoung Lee, and others.

* Artists and designers will present their contributions.
* Join the baking of traditional date cookies with Alaa Abu Asad.
* Purchase a special limited edition of Printing Plates: Books for Bread. Profit goes to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

Back by dope demand: the Bebe Books x PrintRoom Calendar, this year by Masha Krasnova-Shabaeva. 

Bebe Books, PrintRoom and Masha Krasnova-Shabaeva collaborated on a 2024 explicit wonder. This year’s Calendar will focus on longing, a daily reminder to connect with our bodies, to play with it and pleasure it, which can come in a myriad of different ways and forms.

Treat your eyes and soul and get your copy tonight!

Throughout 2023, artist and graphic designer Rose Nordin (UK) was one of our Publishers-in-Residence. 

Through her practice and research, Rose is interested in the publication as a site of exchange and collaboration, print technologies as tools for union, and letterforms as modes of magic. The residency at PrintRoom was marked by three projects, spread over time. 

In April, we invited a group of publishing friends to join us at the archive of the Institute of Social History (ISSG) in Amsterdam, for a new edition of our project Holiday in the Archive. Rose was one of the participants that conducted research in the archive.

During the Books Are Bridges Publishing Summit, in July 2023, Rose was part of the curatorial team of the public programme of talks, and a participant in the Fabulous Art Book Fest. During several days, at PrintRoom and the SNV community gardens, she contributed to conversations and workshops about collective publishing practices and printmaking.

For PrintRoom’s Leesmap, Rose conceptualised, gathered and designed the publication Printing Plates: Books for Bread, a zine about baking bread in times of siege. She also developed a special edition, bound in bread bags, of which the proceeds go to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). The Leesmap is launched on the 16^th of December in a public event and artist presentation at PrintRoom. 

Recently, Rose was an artist-in-residence at Somerset House Studios London and Jan Van Eyck Academie Maastricht, where she developed work on the divine qualities of printed letterforms and alphabets under the project title: The talisman of the written word and the talking leaves. As a designer, Rose primarily makes artist books and printed matter. This extends to exhibition and custom type design.

Distant Intimacy,
An evening on Self-Help and Co-Creation

With Marie Déhé and Haydée Touitou

19:30 – 21:00
Doors open at 19:00

Presentation of publications & film screening at PrintRoom

Artist Marie Déhé and writer Haydée Touitou will present their publications and engage in a public conversation about what it means to co-create as artists – without being an artist duo. In a situation of distant intimacy, they found themselves working together, again and again. The screening of their video Self-Help is part of tonight’s programme.

In a round table conversation, moderated by Alexandre Furtado Melville, Marie and Haydée will reflect on ways to support one another in collective practices. They will touch upon shared correspondence, the wider family, spaces of residence, and the meaning of place.

Haydée Touitou is an author and translator who works with poetry. Publications:
In Constant Hilarity published by Thoughts of Me
Still Life Poems / Poèmes Nature Morte published by Pois.é

Marie Déhé is an artist and publisher. Publications:
Distant Intimacy published by Art Paper Editions
Correspondance self-published as Asiro éditions

Together, they have published:
We Have Been Meaning To published by Art Paper Editions
Self-Help poster self-published as Asiro éditions

Alexandre Furtado Melville is initiator of this event. He is a creative director and partner at Concrete Blossom. 

The visit of Haydée Touitou and Marie Déhé is made possible by the International Visitors Programme of Nieuwe Instituut with support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

23 to 26 November 2023
Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo

PrintRoom will join Tokyo Art Book Fair with a curated collection of our publications and works by other publishing platforms. As part of the public programme, artist Erika Hirose will give a talk about the book Making Miso, which we published together with Twofold Press in 2022.

For a full overview, go to Tokyo Art Book Fair.

In january, we will present our picks from Offprint Paris and Tokyo Art Book Fair in our shop and archive in Rotterdam. Stay tuned!

9 to 12 November 2023
Pavillon de l’Arsenal, Paris

PrintRoom will join Offprint Paris with a selection of our  publications and works by publishing platforms that we dearly support. In line with the Books Are Bridges concept, we will bring back new editions for our shop and archive in Rotterdam. 

At Offprint we will serve watermelon (in the form of a pin) and Cease Fire buttons. Donate what you can. Profit goes to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

We will also bring reprints of Intifada Milk (2015), which explores a hidden chapter in the history of Palestinian resistance, and its vision to be an independent nation. Illustrations by Sofia Niazi, with text by Arwa Aburawa and created for the OOMK Visions of the Future reading room exhibition at IHRC Bookshop. Reprinted by PrintRoom in November 2023. 

€ 5 euro or donate what you can.

For an overview of stalls and talks, go to Offprint Paris.

It’s that time of the year!

Join us for the book presentation of Let’s Become Fungal! – Mycelium Teachings and Arts with Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez.

Friday, 13 October, 19:30-22:00 // start at 20:00

This Friday, the 13th Let’s Become Funghal! will be presented at PrintRoom. As part of this occasion, we will go out in the afternoon with a group of interested parties and experts, led by Eline Vis of the Mycologische Vereniging Nederland. Eline is specialized in the mushrooms that grow in the Natura2000 area of ​​Oostvoorne and Rockanje. The walk is organized in preparation for a future NETBook in collaboration with Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez. In the evening, Yasmine will present her most recent publication Let’s Become Funghal! and talk about her collective mycelial efforts. Come to Printroom to spread your spores and make new connections!

About Let’s Go Funghal!

There is a growing interest in fungi and mycelium as a material, the ever-branching connecting threads of the fungal world. The entanglements and how this rhizomatic network functions is not just a fascinating ecological system and material, but carries a profound usefulness as a metaphor for our potential new systems, ways of thinking and behaviors.

Let’s Become Fungal! takes its inspiration from the world of art and mycology and shares innovative practices from Latin America and the Caribbean that are rooted in multispecies collaboration, symbiosis, alliances, non-monetary resource exchange, decentralization, bottom-up methods and mutual dependency­—all in line with the behavior of the mycelium.

Every chapter is phrased as a question. They do not lead to answers, but to twelve teachings addressing for instance collaboration, decoloniality, non-linearity, toxicity, mobilization, biomimicry, death, and being non-binary. Simultaneously it ventures deeper into the world of fungi. The teachings from the fungus may inspire artists, collectives, organizations, educators, policy-makers, designers, scientists, anthropologists, change-makers, curators, urbanists, activists, gardeners, community-leaders, farmers, and many others, to become more fungal in their ways of working and being.

Inspired by conversations with: Francisca Álvarez Sánchez, Carolina Caycedo, Annalee Davis, Maya Errázuriz, Juan Ferrer, Lilian Fraiji, Giuliana Furci, Sofía Gallisá Muriente, Yina Jiménez Suriel, Patricia Kaishian, Mirla Klijn and Olaf Boswijk, Lola Malavasi and Daniela Morales Lisac, Martina Manterola and Carmen Serra, Camila Marambio, Mariana Martínez Balvanera, Claudia Martínez Garay, Lina Meija and Luciana Fleischman, Tomaz Morgado Françozo and Marília Carneiro Brandão, Marion Neumann, Maria Alice Neves, Tara Rodríguez Besosa, Raquel Rosenberg, Juli Simon, Ela Spalding, Gianine Tabja, Gabriela Flores del Pozo and Lucia Monge, Fer Walüng, Tatyana Zambrano

Design: Andrea Spikker with illustrations by Rommy González

Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodríguez is the author of Let’s Become Fungal! Mycelium Teachings and the Arts. She works as a curator and researcher on art and ecology, and is based in Mexico-City. She founded and directed many international initiatives at the intersection of art and ecology, including the Green Art Lab Alliance (Asia, Latin America and Europe) and the Nature Research Department; the Van Eyck Food Lab; and the Future Materials Bank at the Jan van Eyck Academie (the Netherlands).