Alternative publishing for alternative reading

Mirene The encounter considers the publication not merely as a physical object but also through the different stages - material and immaterial - and configurations leading to its production. Forms such as the reading group, the library, piracy projects and the revisiting of historical publications are all strategies deployed within the art world that uncover, test and explore the publication and its potential.

What discourses, forms and possibilities of engagement can publishing projects offer today?

The diversity of invited guests will provide an array of perspective on publishing practices in Europe and in the Middle East. Revisiting archival material (98weeks; Archive Books), performing the magazine or the text (Mounira el Solh; Marwa Arsanios), thinking the temporarily of reading in relation to the production of knowledge (Ghalya Saadawi), or rethinking strategies of circulation and distribution (Eva Weinmayr, Judith Raum), Alternative Readings offers different perspectives on publishing, specific to cultural and social contexts.

Hosted by the Villa Romana in Florence, the meeting will be open to the public upon registration and will be moderated by Mirene Arsanios (98weeks). Parallel to this encounter, the Villa Romana Pavillion will host a temporary bookshop, open to visitors during the meeting’s 3days.

GUESTS

# 98weeks: Research on Historical Arab Magazines (Lebanon)

# Archive Books, Chiara Figone (Germany/Italy):

#Judith Raum (Berlin): The Library Project

#Eva Weinmayr (London): AND publishing / The Piracy Project

#Ghalya Saadawi / Kristine Khoury (Beirut): The Arab Study Group

PROGRAM ALTERNATIVE READINGS

NOV 10

All participants arrive. We meet in the afternoon and do an informal group presentation.

NOV 11

Roundtable takes place throughout the day. The public needs to register to attend.

10: 30 Introduction to the meeting: Mirene Arsanios