The Copy Machine Residency is a new series for which Portikus invites artists to create an artist publication on the institution’s photocopier during a short stay in the city of Frankfurt.
Historically, zines – publications produced with inexpensive material from everyday life, such as paper, staplers, and glue – have been platforms for artists as much as members of the counterculture to freely share ideas outside of the restrictions of traditional publishing and mainstream media.
Initiated by curators Liberty Adrien and Carina Bukuts, Portikus’ Copy Machine Residency is inspired by the poetic as well as political power of independent publishing – its constant exploration of alternative methods of cultural production and the possibilities of using publishing as a form of resistance. This series aims to give space to practices that challenge the current logics of efficiency, embrace the experimental, seek the uncontrollable and foster community. At the end of each residency, the zine produced in a small print run will be launched with a gathering at Portikus in presence of the artist.