Programing features a range of workshops and talks on the processes of publishing, including a Symposium focused on independent methods of publication and distribution

Abu Dhabi, UAE – 09 January 2020: Warehouse421 will present a range of public programing in relation to its ongoing exhibition, How to Maneuver: Shape-shifting texts and other publishing tactics. The programing falls in line with Warehouse421’s continued aims to enable audiences to explore regional narratives, to shed light on how emerging and established creative practitioners maneuver their fields, and allow them to engage further with creative works related to the act of making a thing public.

Manager of Warehouse421, Faisal Al Hassan, commented: “Our latest exhibition, How to Maneuver: Shape-shifting texts and other publishing tactics, contains a wide range of rich and contrasting artistic material that audiences are able to draw from. With this series of public programing, we are hoping to encourage audiences to see the wider perspectives contained within contemporary independent publishing practices. We are looking forward to welcoming participants for this fruitful exchange.”

Taking place on 18 January and 15 February will be two sessions held by artist Khalid Mezaina on the processes of Storytelling Through Stamp Printing. On 1 and 29 February, Mezaina will also lead two workshops on the process of Storytelling Using Stencil Printing. Participants can create between one to two stamps or stencils, and use them in an aesthetically repeated pattern that conveys a message or a story. They will be able to learn a technique that can easily be repeated at home.

Additionally, Ryan Inouye, a curator at the Sharjah Art Foundation, will give a talk on 18 January titled You Send Me: Authorship and Interiority, which uses Sam Cooke’s 1957 song You Send Me as an initial discussion point for questions on authorship in the music publishing industry. On 21 January, Dubai-based Geographer Ahmed Makia will lead a focus group in researching publishing in the UAE during Print Labor, held from 5:30 – 8:30pm.

On 28 and 29 January, Sarah Ahmed, founder and curator of the independent publishing platform, Jaffat El Aqlam, will hold two workshops teaching techniques of bookmaking. The first, titled 8 Fold Zine workshop, will center on the creation of short self-published works, known as zines, whilst the second Bookbinding Basics: Saddle Stitch Binding, teaches a popular binding method to create books.

A workshop titled Ikhtiyār and the Production of (in)visibility will be held on 1 February, and will unpack the concept of Ikhtiyār, which means ‘choice’ in Arabic, and refers to the processes of selection and reproduction in culture. The discussion will focus on what is an ancient concept, and will feature debate regarding its current pertinence to modern regional art and culture more widely.

The exhibition’s programs culminate in Publishing Maneuvers Symposium, held between 7 – 8 February. Through talks, informal discussions, performances, book launches and workshops, this symposium will open the floor for a more engaged and productive conversation between various publishing practitioners, established or just beginning, be they artists, (independent) publishers, distributers or other. 

During the exhibition period, some of the participants of the exhibition will upload videos to the Warehouse421 website, discussing their individual methods of self-publication, alongside sharing the challenges and opportunities posed by the processes of independent publishing. The content will be freely available on the Warehouse421 website.

How to Maneuver: Shape-shifting texts and other publishing tactics is open at Warehouse421, and runs until 16 February. For more information, please visit warehouse421.ae