The word “publish,” now commonly understood to mean “to publish” or “to make public,” is said to originate from the idea of “creating a public (publicus) place” and “making something known to people.” Before the widespread use of printing technology, it was also used to describe the act of reading poetry or texts aloud and sharing them with others.

If we think of “publish” in a broader sense, perhaps it can mean more than producing publications alone. It may also include creating spaces and opportunities through which people can communicate and share something meaningful with others.

One of the distinctive features of Pages | Fukuoka Art Book Fair is the large number of exhibitors from across Asia. This two-part talk program welcomes guests from different parts of Asia and revisits the original meaning of “publish” through conversations with practitioners engaged in locally rooted forms of “Local Publish-ing” — activities that emerge from and respond to their own communities and contexts.

In the second part of the program, we welcome Liu Chao-Tze from MULU OFFICE (Taiwan), Zhang Ying from Stasis Space (China), and Ang Song Nian from THE BOOKSHOW (Singapore), all exhibitors at Pages.

Founded in 2021 and based in Taipei, MULU OFFICE is both an artist collective and an independent publisher, continuing practices that are not confined to conventional ideas of publishing or the form of the book itself.

Stasis Space is an independent art space based in Hangzhou, China. Beginning with the books they publish themselves, as well as publications by independent publishers from around the world, their activities expand into exhibitions, workshops, and participatory programs.

THEBOOKSHOW is a Singapore-based project launched in 2014. Supporting the production and publication of art books by artists and photographers, it continues to operate as a platform for diverse artistic practices that emerge through the medium of the book.

The first half of the talk will consist of presentations by each guest about their respective activities. In the second half, returning to the original meaning of “publish,” the conversation will explore locally rooted forms of “Local Publish-ing” and the ways these practitioners create spaces, relationships, and forms of exchange within their own communities.