HONG KONG.- Tai Kwun — Centre for Heritage and Arts will welcome the first edition of a new international art book fair in Hong Kong this January.

The inaugural “Booked: Tai Kwun Contemporary’s Hong Kong Art Book Fair” will take place from 11 to 13 January 2019 at JC Contemporary in Tai Kwun. The three-day event will provide a platform for art book publishers and artists to display and sell a diverse range of art books, such as photography books, art albums, art historical and theoretical texts, zines as well as artists’ books, among others. “Booked” aspires to enable local, regional and international publishers and artists to showcase and share their works; additionally, the art book fair will feature talks, workshops and performances over the three days.

Examples of art books include (but are not limited to) artists’ books, photography books, art albums, zines, art catalogues, art historical and theoretical texts, artists’ editions and gallery editions (e.g. prints), texts by artists, book arts and book sculptures, as well as art-related ephemera (such as tote bags, pins, and badges)—in sum, the results of artistic practice at the intersection of “art” and “books”.

Art books of various types undertake a crucial role in art appreciation and education. In particular, artists’ books challenge the idea, content and form of the traditional books. Such publications have been conceived as artworks in their own right, in which the artist uses the book as a medium of artistic expression. Such artists’ books are sometimes published in limited editions and occasionally even as one-of-a-kind objects.

“Booked: Tai Kwun Contemporary’s Hong Kong Art Book Fair” will present a wide range of art books for the public to enjoy and to use as resources for learning and research. This will be the first time in Hong Kong for approximately 60 art publishers and artists from Asia, Europe, North America, as well as Hong Kong to attend such a book fair.

Some of the books displayed at the “Booked: Tai Kwun Contemporary’s Hong Kong Art Book Fair” are also collected in the Artists’ Book Library at Tai Kwun Contemporary—an ongoing collection of Asian artists’ books and an integral part of the programming at Tai Kwun Contemporary.

Tobias Berger, Head of Arts at Tai Kwun said, “As a new international art book fair, ‘Booked: Tai Kwun Contemporary’s Hong Kong Art Book Fair’ underscores Tai Kwun Contemporary’s dedication to presenting contemporary art programmes in support of Hong Kong’s expanding art ecosystem. We are delighted to help ignite the public’s interest and appreciation for artists’ books while providing a strong platform for local, regional and international artists and designers who use books as a medium of artistic expression. With this first edition of the fair, we invite everyone in Hong Kong to come and engage with these distinctive works of art as a source of learning and enjoyment.”

From 11 to 13 January 2019, “Booked: Tai Kwun Contemporary’s Hong Kong Art Book Fair” will be hosted within Tai Kwun’s international-grade-galleries, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, situated within the restored Central Police Station compound in the heart of Hong Kong’s Central district.