VOLUMES, Swiss Self-Publishing and the question of the archive. A lecture by Anne-Laure Franchette

Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art present a public talk by VOLUMES's art director Anne-Laure Franchette. She will introduce the project and its international ethos, give a snapshot of the Swiss Self-publishing scene through selected examples and present the organization’s archive project and its activations within exhibitions and festivals.

VOLUMES is a non-profit organization and collective which was created in Zürich in 2013 to support the local and international DIY-facet of art publishing and introduce it to a larger audience in Switzerland. Operating in various locations, the organization’s main event is an eponymous book fair which takes place annually in Zürich at the end of November. The fair showcases the production of local and international independent publishers as well as self-editing artists who use small means of production. Exploring the creativity gravitating around the practices of independent art publishing, the event also offers to the visitor a series of experiences such as performances, workshops, talks, projections and book exhibitions. VOLUMES is building an archive of art books and zines which are both collected and donated. The collection is showcased online and exhibited at fairs, workshops, and presentations. The events organized by VOLUMES are made possible thanks to the involvement of artists and publishers, the funding contributions and the limitless enthusiasm and engagement of the team of organizers, technicians, and helpers.

Anne-Laure Franchette is a visual artist, researcher, and curator whose production explores cultural perception, categorizations, cycles of production, and misappropriation. Especially interested in the representations and manifestations of hierarchies of dignity, the micro economy of art, the self-organization and representation of artists through collectives, art spaces or publications, she has been involved in numerous publishing and curatorial activities in France, England, Italy, Greece, and Switzerland. Along with Gloria Wismer and Patrizia Mazzei, she founded the nonprofit organization and eponymous book festival VOLUMES in 2013 to investigate and promote the creativity revolving around publishing.