Physical opening in Sao Paulo, Brazil and online on facebook and instagram

By Heidi Trautmann

Our Cypriot artists, Inci Kansu, Ismet Tatar and Mandana Mehrnia, members of the Cyprus Paper Artists Association KKSD and of “IAPMA - THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PAPER MAKING PAPER ARTISTS” have enrolled in this interesting worldwide project which now finally comes to the long and eagerly awaited opening, and it will not be the end, as the entire project is planned to travel to other places, I have heard. It is a project about working together, trusting each other, with a partner assigned by the curator.

As we learn from the introduction text by the organiser, 72 artists from 36 countries have been taking part, please read the text below for the background story.

Through our above mentioned artists I had the opportunity to follow the steps taken and it was quite an adventure to get the artist books from one country to the next where they had to be finalized; so each artist had to work on two books, first as the initiator and then finalizing the book done by the partner. It demands a lot of imagination and openness to find the artistic answer to the project started.

I think that this project demands our awareness and our respect, especially in these weird times we are going through, so please mark the date in your calendar.

Find here photos of our artists works

INTRODUCTION BY THE IAPMA COORDINATOR

Postal Artist Books is the exhibition of the collection of the artist books made in pairs by 72 artists from 36 countries enrolled in the Postal Artist Books Project, between the years 2020 and 2021, during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Event Dates
The exhibition is opened from May 15, 2021 until July 15, 2021.

Opening Hours
Physical and Online Exhibition will open on May 15, 2021 at www.artistbooklibrary.art

Please click on link for more information.

Countries: Participating Artists

Argentina: Mónica Goldstein and Silvia Turbiner
Australia: Gail Stiffe, Heather Matthew and Denise Martin
Brazil: Altina Felicio, Angela Barbour, Cildo Oliveira, Eliana Anghinah, Luciane Kunde Borges, Lygia Eluf, Marisa Garcia de Souza, Maura Takemiya and Regina Carmona,  Lourdes Sakotani   
Canada: Ann Mansolino and Gina Page
Chile: Maria Elena Vial
Colombia: Hilda Piedrahita and Miriam Londoño
Cyprus - North: İnci Kansu and Ismet Tatar, Mandana Mehrnia
Denmark: Anne Vilsboell and Grethe Wittrock
Ecuador : Gabriela Égüez
Egypt: Okasha and Rania Ashraf
Finland: Erica Menna, Liisa Malkamo and Niina Keltamäki
France: Dominique Rousseau, Pascal Minart and Viviane Colautti Ivanova
Germany: Carolina Oltra, Heike Berl, Josephine Tabbert, Petra Grupp and Siegrid Mueller-Holtz
Grecce: Evangelia Biza
Hungary: Eszter Bornemisza
Iceland: Kristveig Halldórsdóttir
India: Ankon Mitra
Indonesia: Karna Mustaqim
Israel: Laura Behar
Italy: Luciano Pandiani and Renata Giannelli
Japan: Keiko Horiguchi
Latvia: Ilze Dilane
Malaysia: Ceres Lau
Mexico: Margara De Haene and Laura Romero
Morroco: Haji Said
Netherlands: Aliza Thomas, Cherilyn Martin and Eva Kipp
Norway: Kirsti Grotmol
Paraguay: Lilia Puentes
Peru: José Luis Mosie and Roger Bellido Ancori
Poland: Zuzanna Dolega
Spain: Annabel Keatley and Olga Serral
Estonia : Anne Rudanovski
Sweden: Elisabeth Westlund
Switzerland: Therese Weber
United Kingdom:Amanda Lynch
USA: Devi Dragone, Genevieve Lapp and Naomi Krajewski
Venezuela: Juan Eduardo Pérez Padrón and Natalia Rondón

When the whole world stopped, people and especially artists had the chance to rethink their lives and the planet, they could be involved in an extraordinary and unique way in their creative processes, seeking answers and finding unexpected solutions.

This project aimed to create an opportunity for artists around the world, to exchange experiences through the exchange of Artist Books, in this difficult access period.

An international call was opened, with free registration to all artists interested in participating in the exchange project. Artists from any country were able to participate, and in particular IAPMA member artists who correspond to 44 artists in the exhibition, some of them has joined IAPMA during the project.

Each artist was assigned, through a draw, a partner from a different continent than his own. Thus, pairs started a joint work, where each artist produced an artist book to be completed by the partner. The books created by each artist were sent to the partner artist who completed it on the other side of the world and then sent it to us, in Brazil, for the organization of the exhibition.

The distances were reduced, the books traveled where we could not go in the current circumstances, facing all the difficulties of closing borders, and post offices, and in the end we have a beautiful collection of artist books, where each book made by two artists from distinct continents, carries with it a world of experiences and visions of this unique moment in which we are living.

A precious collection that is now part of the International Artist Book Library, which is launched worldwide in this beautiful exhibition at the Oswald de Andrade Gallery in Sao Paulo Brazil.

We have already invitations to present the exhibition in five more countries.

We hope this project can reach many people and share the artists experiences during this time!

Angela Barbour
Curator and
IAPMA Exhibitions Coordinator

The Project was idealized and curated by Ângela Barbour, the IAPMA Exhibitions Coordinator, organized by Ellora Ateliê, joined to PapelArte/ArtPaper Interchange Art Project, and supported by IAPMA from the Call for Members Proposals.