BABE is back and bigger than ever for 2013. Spread over 3 floors more than 80 artist bookmakers, dealers and small presses from Bristol and around the world will come together at Arnolfini to show and sell their work.
BABE provides a relaxed and friendly space to meet and chat to artists about their work and buy works of art. Prices start from just a few pounds. Across the weekend there will be a number of performances, interventions and informal talks. Open until 6pm on Saturday and 5pm on Sunday.
For pre-bookable Workshops and Book Surgeries, please call Arnolfini Box Office on 0117 917 2300.
Tours
Saturday 20 April, 2pm, Free
Linda Newington, Head Librarian, Winchester School of Art
Sunday 21 April, 2pm, Free
Julian Warren, Archivist Bristol City Council
Booking Not Required, Meet in the Foyer
Artists Book Surgeries
Saturday 21 & Sunday 21 April, 11am – 3.30pm
Free, Booking Essential
An opportunity for artists to discuss and receive advice on any aspect of a book related project be it conceptual, technical or otherwise. Individual surgeries held by artist/writer Nancy Campbell on Saturday and Simon Goode founder of the London Centre for Book Arts on Sunday are up to 25 minutes each.
- Workshops
- Saturday 20 April, 11.30am – 1.30pm, Free
Guy Begbie’s introduction to Simple Books – bookmaking workshop
Pre-Booking Essential
Saturday 20 April, 2pm – 3pm, Free
Book Badge-making, drop-in workshop with Angie Butler (all ages – children must be accompanied by an adult)
Sunday 21 April, 11.30am – 1.30pm, Meeting Room, Free
Stephen Fowler’s fabulous rubber stamp roller workshop (16+)
Pre-Booking Essential
Imi Maufe; LK 243 UnderSail
Saturday 20 April 11am – 6pm & Sunday 21 April 11am – 5pm, Free
Gallery 5
LK 243 UnderSail is the result of an artist residency onboard the sailing ship Swan during the Tall Ships Races 2011. Imi Maufe spent 5 weeks travelling with the crew, from from Ireland to Sweden via the Shetland Islands, documenting and collecting information to be used in the final exhibition which will be on show during BABE 2013. Whilst at sea forty-three wooden postcards were cast into the ocean and eight of these were found, five hundred boat drawings were collected from the public visiting the harbours; these and a collection of artists books, screenprints and other artefacts are housed in a bunk box, made specifically to contain the entire exhibition and travel onboard the Swan.
LemonMelon
Saturday 20 April
Don’t be alarmed! Throughout the day LemonMelon will fill BABE with reading/book situations. Occupying the intermediate spaces of Arnolfini LemonMelon will ‘activate’ publications on the stairs, in the lift or maybe the café. You may be asked to read a LemonMelon publication with Marit in silence or aloud or you may just discover an impromptu reading in an unexpected place.
Abigail Thomas
“And here we have…someone reading”.
Saturday 20 April, 3.30pm, Free
Meeting Room
“And here we have…someone reading” is a short, live, performance-lecture as a reading event or, perhaps, a book happening. It combines visual elements with text in a vocally annotated, projected presentation. There will be a bookwork in the form of a free lecture handout to accompany the performance.
The Bristol Art Library
Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 April, 1pm – 5pm, Light Studio
The Bristol Art Library is a fully functioning public library housed in a wooden cabinet the size of a suitcase. Created by artist and head librarian Annabel Other, the library’s volumes (all 5”x4”) were made by artists and practitioners from all areas of the arts and sciences and cover a wide range of subjects.
Lucy May Schofield
‘Missing Letters’ Project
Sunday 21 April, 2pm, Free
Meeting Room
Celebrating the launch of her new artist’s book Lucy May Schofield invites visitors to BABE to create a simple one or two word contribution using the name of a person, place, object or feeling that they miss. Inspired by the ‘triangular letters’ Russian soldiers wrote home during WWII these secret longings will form a collection of anonymous nostalgia notes by the close of the book fair.
Hear Sarah Bodman’s recent lecture – Contemporary Artists and the Art of the Book. Sarah Bodman is Senior Research Fellow for Artists Books/Programme Leader Multidisciplinary Printmaking at CFPR, UWE.
Join in the conversation #BABE13
BABE is organised in conjunction with the Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of England.
