HOW(EVER) is an event dedicated to contemporary forms of art publishing. Taking place in conjunction with the Frankfurt Book Fair, HOW(EVER) offers a glimpse into the vibrant practices of over 200 publishing communities and showcases diverse approaches to book-making. The title of this inaugural program is inspired by the eponymous journal founded by US-American poet Kathleen Fraser (1935–2019), a radical platform that championed the work of women writers.

Rethinking ways of engaging with artist publications, the Barcelona-based architecture studio MAIO has been commissioned to create an installation in-situ, which displays a curated selection of art books and zines from all continents that are available for purchase. For this purpose, two rowing boats were taken from the basement of the Portikus building, a storage space shared with the adjacent Frankfurter Ruderverein von 1865 and full of objects that normally remain alien to the exhibition space above. MAIO’s proposal to turn the boats into temporary pedestals for books uses this ready-made statement to avoid creating waste. Over the course of four days, Portikus turns into a site that highlights new editorial discourses and fosters the circulation of art books. HOW(EVER) examines the poetic and political power of publishing—its ongoing exploration of alternative methods of cultural production and its possibilities as a form of resistance.

MAIO is an architectural office based in Barcelona that works on spatial systems that allow variation and change through time and embrace the changing complexity of everyday-life. MAIO has lectured at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Barbican Center, London; UC Berkeley, Yale School of Architecture and Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam. among other places. MAIO’s work has been exhibited at the MoMA, New York, Guggenheim Bilbao, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York. In 2016, they received the Golden Lion with the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Their work has been exhibited at Chicago Architecture Biennial 2015 & 2017 and they collaborated with artist Ignasi Aballí on the Spanish Pavilion of this year’s Venice Biennale. MAIO is run by Maria Charneco, Alfredo Lérida, Guillermo López and Anna Puigjaner

The Portikus Art Book Festival is accompanied by a series of conversations titled HOW(EVER) RADICAL OBJECTS curated in collaboration with Eina Idea (Barcelona).

Thursday, 20.10.2022

18.00–19.00h
Lumbung Stories
Reading with Jone San Martin · performer, Berlin
in collaboration with consonni, Bilbao

Friday, 21.10.2022

18.00–19.00h
Publishing as Feminist Practice
Susan Gevirtz · HOW(ever), San Francisco
Didem Yazıcı · curator and writer, Karlsruhe/Istanbul
moderated by Sarah Shin · Silver Press and Ignota Books, London

Saturday, 22.10.2022

14.00–15.00h
On Behalf of Artists
Carlos Copertone and Patxi Eguiluz · Caniche Editorial, Bilbao/Madrid
Anne König · Spector Books, Leipzig
moderated by Carina Bukuts · Portikus, Frankfurt and Manuel Cirauqui · Eina Idea, Barcelona

15.30–16.30h
The Poetics of Internationalism
Ariadna Serrahima · I.F Publications and L’Automatica, London/Barcelona
Laía Argüelles Folch · artist, writer and researcher, Zaragoza
moderated by Manuel Cirauqui · Eina Idea, Barcelona

17.00–17.30h
Cuir Decolonial
Río Parana · artists, Barcelona
moderated by Manuel Cirauqui · Eina Idea, Barcelona

18.00–19.00h
Reclaiming Space through Publishing
Mearg Negusse · Contemporary And (C&), Berlin
Pascale Obolo · AFRIKADAA, Paris
moderated by Vanessa Peterson · frieze magazine, London

19.00–21.00h
Copy Machine Residency #2
Zine Launch with Émilie Pitoiset · artist, Paris

Sunday, 23.10.2022

11.00–12.00h
Relay
Susan Gevirtz · HOW(ever), San Francisco

14.00–15.00h
Books, Conversations
Dora García · artist, Oslo
moderated by Manuel Cirauqui · Eina Idea, Barcelona

15.30–16.30h
I'm Sleeping in My Clothes Next to the Books
Stefan Marx · artist, Berlin
Sandra Doeller · graphic designer, Frankfurt
moderated by Yasmil Raymond · Portikus and Städelschule, Frankfurt

17.00–18.00h
Printing with Artists
Christophe Boutin · Three Star Books, Paris
moderated by Yasmil Raymond · Portikus und Städelschule, Frankfurt

Curated by Liberty Adrien & Carina Bukuts
Co-curator HOW(EVER) Symposium: Manuel Cirauqui

Assistant Curator HOW(EVER): Lucas Jacques-Witz
Assistant Curator HOW(EVER) Symposium: Mireia Molina Costa

HOW(EVER) – Portikus Art Book Festival is generously supported by Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst, Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), Institut français Deutschland, Institut français Paris, and Städelschule Portikus e.V.. Additional support is provided by Terranova. A heartfelt thanks to the Frankfurter Ruderverein von 1865.

Poster Design: Alexandre Viladrich, Barcelona, Spain

Photography: Max Creasy