Friends With Books: Art Book Fair Berlin Launches 6th Edition

Berlin – Friends with Books: Art Book Fair Berlin, Europe’s leading art book fair committed to the distribution and promotion of artists’ books and associated mediums, launches its sixth edition in the iconic Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin. From September 20–22, 2019, a diverse array of over 200 international exhibitors, ranging from artists to art publishers, will present their publications, reflecting the diversity of today’s art publishing. Free and open to the public, the fair explores all facettes of contemporary art publishing through a strong programme of lectures, panel discussions, book presentations, performances and art installations, bringing understanding to the discipline and celebrating its resurgence in today’s digital climate.

The 2019 edition will host a series of curated temporary Art Installations including Alias (MX), Tamami Iinuma (FR/JP), Kathrin Köster (DE), Marlena Kudlicka (PL) and Rudolf Samohejl (CZ). For the second year running, Friends with Books will present a newly commissioned Children’s Art Installation – this year by artist Egill Sæbjörnsson (IS), Iceland’s representative at the 57th Venice Biennale, in parallel with a children’s workshop and daily activities. Performances will include the artist collective Black Palm (DE) and artists Mette Edvardson (NO), Jeroen Peeters (BE) and Lara Salmon (US).

The yearly Public Programmes series will feature lectures, conversations, panel discussions and performances presented in partnership with Argobooks: Birgit Rieger and Claudia Wahjudi; Artphilein Editions: Caio Reisewitz and Daniela Labra; Tamami Iinuma and Thibaut de Ruyter; Black Palm: Sonja Cvitkovic, Verena Dengler, Marine Drouan, Anke Dyes, and Megan Francis Sullivan; Verlag der Arthur Boskamp-Stiftung: Micha Bonk, Ulrike Boskamp, Joerg Franzbecker, Annette Hans, and Sebastian Stein; Marlena Kudlicka and Agnieszka Gratza; EECLECTIC: Chiara Capodici, Erik Göngrich, Janine Sack; The Invisible Archive (in collaboration with Goodbye Books): Yon Natalie Mik, Lara Salmon, and Micaela Terk; Hatje Cantz: Nanne Meyer and Lena Kiessler; Fiona Geuss; neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst (nGbk): Florian Wüst; Varamo Press: Mette Edvardsen and Jeroen Peeters, among others.

This year’s Friends with Books Blog interview will welcome artist Elisabeth Tonnard in conversation with art critic Agnieszka Gratza.

The annual Friends with Books Artist Poster Edition will feature a new poster edition by Anne Schwalbe in an edition of 200 – 25 of which will be signed and priced at 50 € to help support Friends with Books.
Established in 2014 by co-founders Vanessa Adler and Savannah Gorton, Friends With Books is a non-profit organisation dedicated to contemporary art publishing. The event draws over 12,000 visitors each year, acting as a platform for exchange between art publishing professionals and the general public.

Special Thanks: Udo Kittelmann, Dr. Gabriele Knapstein, Dr. Nina Schallenberg, Fiona Geuss, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin; Gaby Horn, KW Institute for Contemporary Art; Barbara Wien; Dr. Michael Lailach, Kunstbibliothek Berlin; Claus Due, Studio Claus Due; Virginia Illner, Medialis Druck.

Support: Friends with Books is generously supported in part by Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.