Booklyn Calling

On this episode of Booklyn Calling , Faride Mereb and Oriana Nuzzi of Letra Muerta trace the evolution of their publishing practice, from its beginnings in Venezuela to their current studio in New York City. Together, they discuss how publishing can serve as a form of research: recovering overlooked texts, engaging in translation, fostering collaboration, and creating new ways of reading poetry. T...

Why do archivists collect artists’ books? In this conversation, UConn archivists Graham Stinnett and Kristin Eshelman reflect on the university’s 20-year partnership with Booklyn and discuss their approaches to collecting, teaching, and curating. At the heart of their work is a shared belief that “archives are for everyone.” Links: Graham's UConn profile Kristin's UConn profile Graham's d'Archive...

Master printer Ruth Lingen hops on the call to chat about the magic of collaboration, and why making an artists’ book can feel like stepping into a “strange country.” She dishes out some jolly tales from Booklyn’s early days and offers some sage advice for emerging book artists (spoiler: don’t go at it alone!). Links: Ruth's website Ruth's Instagram Ruth's catalog Booklyn's website Booklyn's Insta...

Ever wondered how Booklyn came to be? Artist and founding member C. K. Wilde joins us on a trip to the ‘90s to uncover our history. From the book mobile that started things off, to the librarians who helped us make our way, and how a misread exit sign became our name. Links: Christopher's website Christopher's catalog Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram Christopher Karl Wilde was born in 1972. W...

Puerto Rican textile artist Gloribel Delgado Esquilín talks with Monica & Marshall about her work as a journalist, the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and how a found bag of cloth ignited a journey of sewing dolls and creating soft books. The three discuss the political nature of her work, and Gloribel shares the importance of making work that is vulnerable and physically soft (to offset hard to...

Josh MacPhee joins this episode of Booklyn Calling to discuss social movement culture as a third space outside of art and design with Booklyn curators Marshall Weber and Jan Descartes, and how art doesn't make change on its own. The three talk about collective expression and how imagery takes on meaning, and MacPhee teaches how to read protest and organizing symbols as a language. Links: Josh's In...

Teacher, artist, and activist Shana Agid joins Booklyn Calling for episode ten, answering questions from Monica and Booklyn curator Jan Descartes. They talk about the themes come up so often in her work, like privilege and absence, and Agid explains his way of trying to make sense of the world by coming back to the same core questions throughout his art. Links: Shana's Website Shana's Catalog Grou...

Monica and Marshall go on a wild ride with Fred Rinne, as they’re pulled into his universe for an episode. Join in as they reminisce about his artist book beginnings, discuss the overlapping of art, music, and humor, share thoughts on Booklyn Zine Club, and have story time with some of Rinne’s books. Links: Fred Rinne's Website Fred Rinne's Catalog Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram

José and Jess from Mobile Print Power join Booklyn Calling to give insight into their newly released box set and talk about the collective. They tell us what it's like being a bilingual multi-generational collective that explores social and cultural situations in a public setting, and how they take inspiration from their community and turn it into graphic designs. Find out about the collaborative...

Sofia Szamosi joins Marshall to talk about how creating zines can be a gateway to making painted books and graphic novels, and how the process is different for them all. They also do a retrospective on Szamosi’s work around social media, looking into the subjects of body image and ‘girlhood’ and discuss her desire to make personal books. Links: https://sofiaszamosi.net/ https://www.instagram.com/s...

Brooklyn-based artist and self-proclaimed "hydro-feminist", sTo Len, joins us to talk about his life so far as an artist, spanning his teenage years to today. From selling gas station zines and printmaking with dead fish to making collaborative artists' books with the Organik collective and his position as the first-ever NYC Department of Sanitation artist-in-residence. A super fun episode with a...

Jeanette Arellano and Joe Brusky from Art Build Workers (Milwaukee, WI) join in to talk about the fight for public education, how everyone in a community can show up to help, and how art can amplify the voice of unions and social justice organizing. The Art Build Workers (ABW) are a group of six artists, designers, photographers, and educators who are based in Milwaukee, WI. We work locally and tr...

Mary Tremonte and V Adams join us to talk about the Queer Ecology Hanky Project - a program and exhibition with a new book that explores the intersection of sexuality, queer theory, biology, and the environment. Tremonte and Adams expand on the project's themes, their personal connections to hankies, and how foraging in the woods evolved into an evolving community art project. Queer Ecology Hanky...

Artist, archivist, and educator, Sauda Mitchell joins us to look at the intersections of marginalized students, archives, space engagement, and critical analysis of primary sources, and how she's merging art, education, and archival practice into one profession. Sauda Mitchell is an American multidisciplinary artist, archivist, and educator from Winston-Salem, NC. Utilizing artists' books as a med...

Hannah Brancato (Baltimore, MD) and Lorena Kourousias (NYC) of The Monument Quilt Project join us to talk about creating public rituals of healing, undoing white supremacy culture, and how they transformed what started as an art project into a movement. The Monument Quilt, a project of Baltimore and Mexico City-based FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, is a collection of more than 3,000 stories by surv...

In Booklyn Calling’s first episode, NYC-based multimedia artist Zoe Beloff joins in to talk about her 5ft x 130ft history painting recording the horrors of the Trump regime. It was inspired by her post-inaugural rage as well as the materiality of the hand-painted protest sign. Beloff shares insights into her work, her influences, her process, and where she fits into the world as a working artist....