ABC Beijing Art Book Fair: Independent publishers from around the world come to Beijing

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The 2019 abC Beijing Art Book Fair has just been held at the Beijing Times Art Museum over the weekend. Different from traditional book fairs, it features some 70 leading independent publishers and artists from around the world and includes self-published works. Li Qiong reports.

The abC art book fair brings together a wide array of ideas.

It would take a long time to tour around the exhibiting halls, as each exhibitor brings their own style and inspiration.

SU XING EXHIBITOR "All my inspiration comes from the toys from the 1980s and 90s. I want to express the state of being a child. The little book includes my paintings, photographs and pictures I like. I've exhibited them several times in different art book fairs like this, around the world."

Since its inception in 2016, the abC Art Book Fair has been dedicated to establishing a creative ecology for artists' books and indie publications. It's a place to share and discover artistic productions, and to interact with a rich variety of creators.

ZHAO MENGSHA CO-FOUNDER OF BEIJING ART BOOK FAIR "Self-created books are not as commonly accessible as those published by publishers. This is the main impetus for holding art book fairs. Visitors here could have a view of hundreds of different self productions at one time. For example, we have quite a number of "Zine" exhibitors."

Zines have been a popular publication form for a while now, especially in Europe. Different from magazines, zines can be made and published by any artist on his or her own, at an irregular pace.

Zines are also a good form for expressing the views of young artists. At the art book fair, 12-year-old Doudou and Jiajia hope that their self-made zines sell well, so that more people would know about the world in the eyes of primary school students.

SHI YUNHE EXHIBITOR "We made a zine together on different types of violence, like physical bullying and cyber violence. Some of the stories are what we saw online, and some are from our own experiences in school."

WANG SIHAN EXHIBITOR "Actually I've figured out ways to protect myself from school bullies, but I wanted to let more people understand the fact that being bullied is not the victim's fault. I don't mean to blame anyone, but it's just not YOUR fault. That's why I made this book and put my own story in."

The fair is not only about exhibiting displays, but also HOW. It has invited other art book fairs to show their imaginative ways to be more eye-catching and effective.

LI QIONG BEIJING "This is a miniature of the Taipei Art Book Fair. It was launched three years ago, and has quickly become a major event in international publishing. It challenges the limits of fair curation and insists that 'Sobriety is unnecessary'. Just take a look at these displays."

This is how the Taipei Art Book Fair always works -- using sponges, or cardboard boxes, or even recycled newspaper in their displays. Their "open form" concept endows the fair with flexibility and vitality.

Much alike, the abC Beijing art book fair is also seeking its way to be stylish but down to earth at the same time. LQ, CGTN, BJ.