WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS.- Publication Studio is an on-demand press that prints, binds, and publishes original work of all kinds. WCMA’s Rotunda, the site of the college’s original library, becomes its latest hub. From September 25 through December 19, 2014, Publication Studio is a platform for public and curricular use, bringing us together to make books and exchange ideas about the ever-changing notion of the book. It functions as an exhibition, an on-going program, and a site for social interaction.

Founded in Portland, Oregon in 2009, Publication Studio has worked and collaborated with innumerable artists, writers, and institutions to publish original work and create a new kind of space for the conversations, experimentation, and production of books. The on-demand press uses ubiquitous materials and modest machines to allow for broad and inexpensive publication. All that is necessary to make a Publication Studio book (besides human labor and thoughtfulness) is a photocopier, scoring machine, perfect-bind machine, guillotine cutter, office paper, manila folders in different stocks and colors, and stamps.

Patricia No and Antonia Pinter of Publication Studio Portland are the Publishers in Residence at the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) from September 25 through October 2, 2014. Patricia No, one of the co-founders of Publication Studio, is a writer and editor. Antonia Pinter is an artist who started out as No's intern and built a friendship and working relationship with her. Pinter has since become a co-owner and together, they have grown an experimental project into a thriving business that challenges traditional approaches to publishing. They sell books at over 60 bookstores worldwide, have 11 international locations, and have conducted artist residences around the world.

At WCMA, Publication Studio will serve as a resource for curricular and collegiate engagement. Faculty across disciplines will engage students in a range of book making projects. In conjunction with the English Department, poets Claudia Rankine and Craig Dworkin will visit to engage with the museum space, collection, visitors, and Williams students and faculty. Each of their projects will culminate in the production of a site-specific book and a public reading.

“Publication Studio is an innovative and exciting new way for the museum to collaborate with faculty, artists, and the public. It blurs the lines between what we've traditionally understood to be an exhibition, a program, and an artist's residency. And it makes transparent and accessible a process—publishing books—that is usually out of reach and sight of the public,” said Christina Olsen, Class of 1956 Director of WCMA.