I am mainly surrounded by piles of paper as I put together book after book after book in preparation for BABE (Bristol Artists' Book Event) on the first weekend in April.
After the last 'paying to enter' things entry, I had to think about this as a table at an artists' book fair costs money. BABE is £80 for the weekend and then of course, you need to add in petrol and sleeping. My answer to these costs is to take my husband with me and try and make it into a nice weekend away. The really hard bit is not buying too much of other people's work!
I have been really struggling to make the books I want to as I just can't pay for materials/production. Instead of beautifully made, gleaming, letterpressed editions, I end up with pamphlet stitched books done on my printer and with a little screenprinting. I long to be back at Women's Studio Workshop in NY, where I did a book residency last year. Never before have I appreciated time and facilities to make work so very much. I was like a machine! They are another organisation that have had funding cuts this year. I wish I could do something to help. If I ever won pots of money, that would be one of the first donations!
I organised Liverpool Artists' Book Fair last year and really struggled with table charges as I know how difficult it is to do these events. As it was tables were charged at £25/weeekend and £15 for one day. This just paid for advertising and paying cafe workers. For hours of work over four months, I didn't pay myself a bean. But, I loved doing it, it was the first one and Bristol and others offer so much more in terms of audience and establishment. This year, to avoid killing myself with all that unpaid work again, the book fair has had to go. It has a good home and will be at A Foundation this year, but it was so very difficult to give all my work away in exchange for goodwill.
I suppose BABE has to be thought of as a trade fair and therefore, an investment. It is a financial risk, but I have my fingers crossed that I can at least break even……..
http://artistsbookfairliverpool.blogspot.com/
http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/de…
