In the mood for SPRINT 2018: Independent Publishers in Milan

by Sara Tortolato

BLADE—BANNER, invernomuto, I GO CHOP YOUR DOLLAR, plotter print on silk, 1x1m, ed. of 2, Spazio Maiocchi, Milan, SPRINT 2018.

SPRINT 2018—Independent Publishers and Artists’ Books Salon at its 6th edition

In the city where almost every week is “Something” Week – whether it’s fashion, design, food or wine – a special autumn weekend dedicated to independent and artists’ publishing is now a certainty in Milan’s cultural agenda: SPRINT—Independent Publishers and Artists’ Books Salon has reached its 6th edition.

The event, curated by the artist Dafne Boggeri in collaboration with O’ non-profit association, will take place in Milan from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th of November, 2018 with some big news. For the first time the non-profit fair, together with the collateral events of the program, will be held at Spazio Maiocchi, a new cross-disciplinary space — cofounded by Slam Jam and Carhartt WIP — of over 1000 square meters in the central neighborhood of Porta Venezia.
SPRINT will amplify its voice city-wide, aiming to generate a connection between Porta Venezia and the district of Isola, where the five previous editions took place.

The official opening of SPRINT 2018 will be at O’ non-profit association – the historical venue of the fair – where, on Friday 23rd, the first European exhibition of the American artist Guadalupe Rosales (Los Angeles) will open to the public: Endless Nights ~ Mapping the city of Los Angeles through a collective memory (6-10 PM). The exhibition will be open also on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th (11 AM-6 PM, free entry).

ENDLESS NIGHTS ~ MAPPING THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES THROUGH A COLLECTIVE MEMORY (invitation’s image) by Guadalupe Rosales (Los Angeles) founder of Map Pointz ~ Veteranas and Rucas, veteranasandrucas.com, curated by Dafne Boggeri, O’ non profit association, Milan, European preview at SPRINT 2018.

Map Pointz – A Collective Memory, extract, by Guadalupe Rosales (Los Angeles) founder of Map Pointz ~ Veteranas and Rucas, veteranasandrucas.com, publishing by Little Big Man, 2018.

Guadalupe Rosales is an artist and archivist, founder of Veteranas and Rucas and of Map Pointz, Instagram accounts conceived as growing and collaborative digital archives related to the 90’s Los Angeles Latinx party crew scene and Chicanx youth culture. For SPRINT 2018, Rosales will realize an immersive site-specific installation to offer a unique perspective on these underrepresented contexts. Her book Map Pointz – A Collective Memory will be presented at Spazio Maiocchi, where she will also take part in the talks program (Saturday 24th, 6-7 PM).

On Saturday 24th, you will also be able join other talks: the panels include KABUL Magazine (Turin) with the preview of K-Studies; ALTALENA with a reading from Fiabette (Diego Gualandris) and the presentation of Versificatore Ipermnesico (Gabriele Cremonesi); Ossì (Rome) with the second number of their erotic fanzine. The protagonists of this Sunday afternoon public program will be NXS World (Amsterdam), Selfpleasurepublishing of Jacopo Miliani (Milan) and Ronnie Fueglister (Basel).

During the two days of non-profit fair, Spazio Maiocchi will also host a screening program focused on the Mexican artist Ulises Carrión (San Andrés Tuxtla, Mexico, 1941 – Amsterdam 1989), and the recurring display BLADE—BANNER, for which six artists – for SPRINT 2018, Alessandro Agudio, Guendalina Cerruti, invernomuto, Riccardo Sala, Rada Koželj, Maria Giovanna Drago – are invited every year to conceive an image printed on a 100×100cm silk module.

SELFPLEASUREPUBLISHING by Jacopo Miliani (Milan), 2018

Altalena, Versificatore Ipermnesico by Gabriele Cremonesi, extract, 2018.

Ulises Carrión (1941, San Andres Tuxtla, Mexico – 1989, Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Bookworks revisited. Part 1: a selection, video still, 36’33’’, color, sound, 1987. Courtesy of LIMA – preserves, distributes and researches media art.

By having a look at the list of all the publishers and artists involved during the years, one will have the feeling that within SPRINT there is a sort of natural permeability between people, contents and spaces. The selection of participants reflects a background continuity, given by the network of connections and relationships built up over the years by the curator and the participants themselves. The different sections of the program are linked by a specific attention to the ethical line, the quality and the fluidity of contents, which contributes to the trans-disciplinary nature of the event.

The 80 international publishers taking part of the 6th edition of SPRINT come from 11 countries around the world. There is a large presence of Milan-based entities – such as Diorama Magazine, that recently published Art In The Age Of The Cloud by Carlo Zanni – and old vets, but this year the fair counts more than 30 new entries between Italian and international publishers. Among them, there are some very recent projects such as Ossì, a Rome-based erotic fanzine curated by Alice Scornajenghi with a graphic project by Francesca Pignataro, and Compulsive Archive, an archival research conducted by Giulia Vallicelli, dedicated to punk publishing. Some of the international first-time guests are A Dance Magazine (Beirut), Gato Negro Ediciones (Mexico City), The Modernist (Manchester), Prima Materia (Hamilton, Canada), Alicia Nauta (Toronto), NXS World (Amsterdam), PRJTS (Bruxelles), and Stefanie Leinhos (Leipzig), who is also the author behind the image of the free poster-catalogue for SPRINT 2018.

Diorama Magazine (Milan), Art In The Age Of The Cloud by Carlo Zanni, 2017.

Stefanie Leinhos (Leipzig)

Since its second edition, SPRINT has promoted a Risograph printing workshop. For the third year, the Swiss visual designers Pierrick Brégeon, Ali-Eddine Abdelkhalek (EUROSTANDARD) and Eilean Friis-Lund will share their love for this special printing technique during a two-day workshop (on November 17-18 at O’ non-profit association), assisted by the artist Elena Radice and by Studio ATTO.

At Spazio Maiocchi, on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th, a particular display called THE MATRIX will enshrine SPRINT’s strong connection to the Risograph world. The projects produced during the last five years of workshops will be exhibited together with a selection of contributions from all over the world: Dawn Press (Melbourne), Dexter Sinister (NY), Maison Riso (Paris), Temporary Services/Half Letter Press (Chicago), Panayiotis Terzis/MEGA PRESS (NY), Amal Alhaag & Maria Guggenbichler Side Room (Amsterdam), Sarah Lucas Furniture courtesy Sadie Coles HQ (London), Nieves and Rollo Press (Zurich), among others.

THE MATRIX – Special Guest The Oracle, view of the exhibition before the exhibition: in the form of a transport layout, Spazio Maiocchi, Milan, SPRINT 2018.

Dj WU-TANGU (Bledarte / Leaving Dakota – Bruxelles), KO Club, Milan.

Admission to the non-profit fair, the public program, and to the exhibition at O’ is free: for this reason SPRINT won’t even stop at night, and will need your support at A che punto siamo della notte? This iconic fundraising party happens on Saturday night (11 PM-4 AM) at KO Club, with special guest WU-TANGU (Bledarte/Living Dakota, Bruxelles) and hosted by the TOMBOYS DON’T CRY collective.
…leaving plenty of time to bounce back from the dancing night and start again with the last day of SPRINT 2018!

Droste Effect magazine is media partner of SPRINT—Independent Publishers and Artists’ Books Salon, that takes place in Milan on November 23-25, 2018. Come visit us at our stand.