Book making as an art form: exploring the boundaries

For this episode of Book Making as an Art Form, I speak with Hans Gremmen, graphic designer and co-founder of Fw:Books, about Enter Enter, the Amsterdam project space he runs with friends. “It’s like a shoebox, impossible size, strange ceiling, worn-out floor, and everybody deals with it in his or her own way,” Hans says. In our conversation, Hans reflects on how Enter Enter began when Idea Books offered the space on the condition that it support books without becoming a shop or a commercial gallery. We talk about how the name came from a doormat, how the team shares the work and covers the costs themselves, and why a secondhand book sale of more than 3,000 books was, for him, “never a shop or a sale” but “an installation.”Together, we spoke about:- How Enter Enter grew out of a friendship, a lost studio, and an offer from Idea Books- Running a cultural space without funding, an institution, or fixed rules- Exhibitions as a way of seeing a book, and a maker’s work, from a new perspective- Surprises the room makes possible, from a fire that changed an exhibition to an unexpected visit from Jan DibbetsIf you’re building something with others, there’s plenty here to take with you, including a reminder that a space doesn’t have to be perfect to bring people together. As Hans puts it, the room is “like a chameleon,” and it “completely transforms every time.__________Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠Audio productions: ⁠Drexhage Media ⁠| Jasper DrexhageDesign: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠Recorded at Stedelijk Museum LibraryCommunication & promotion: Chana LevyInterns: Julija Sotirovič & Birte Lemmen❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst. With particular appreciation to our principal supporters: Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen._____________________________________________________⁠⁠Explore book photography and publisher partnerships with your host, Justina Nekrašaitė.

For this episode of Book Making as an Art Form, I speak with Eelco van Welie, director and publisher of nai010 publishers, a Rotterdam-based publishing house behind over 2,200 titles in architecture, art, photography, and design. Under his leadership since 2005, nai010 has become one of the most internationally orientated independent publishers in the Netherlands.This episode is dedicated to Esther Scholten, long-time director of the Best Dutch Book Designs, who passed away this summer. It was originally planned as a conversation with her, and Eelco generously stepped in to carry it forward.In our conversation, Eelco reflects on the merger that created nai010, the moment digitisation nearly convinced the industry that books were finished, and how that led to nai010's guiding idea of "from print run to reach." We talk about why design is never an after-thought, and the challenges facing printers and binders today.Together, we spoke about:How NAi and 010 merged into nai010Publishing as an integrated ecosystem of books, exhibitions, and conversationThe invisible labour behind every booknai010's evolving position on AI, authenticity, and authorshipSit with us for a conversation about integrity, collaboration, and what it means for a publishing house to be a reflecting mirror of the world around it.Discussed books: https://www.nai010.com/en/product/invented-from-copies/https://www.nai010.com/en/product/interwoven-histories/https://www.nai010.com/en/product/life-is-strange/__________Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠Audio productions: ⁠Drexhage Media ⁠| Jasper DrexhageDesign: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠Recorded at Stedelijk Museum LibraryCommunication & promotion: Chana LevyInterns: Julija Sotirovič & Birte Lemmen❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst. With particular appreciation to our principal supporters: Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen._____________________________________________________⁠Explore book photography and publisher partnerships with your host, Justina Nekrašaitė.⁠

For the last episode of Season 2, of Book Making as an Art Form, before the summer break, I speak with Jordi de Vetten, co-founder of Bring Your Own Book, a collective behind one of Amsterdam's independent book fairs. Since 2021, together with Susu Lee, Augustinas Milkus, and Lies Kelder, the collective has organised book fairs and publishing projects that create space for collaboration, experimentation, and emerging makers.In our conversation, Jordi reflects on how Bring Your Own Book began as a student initiative at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and gradually grew into a recurring event within Amsterdam's publishing community. We talk about lowering the threshold for participation, organising a self-funded collective, and why publishing is not only about producing books, but also about creating the conditions for people to meet, exchange ideas, and share their work. Together, we spoke about:- How Bring Your Own Book grew from a student project into an independent book fair- Creating accessible spaces for emerging bookmakers and publishers- What it takes to organise a self-run collective and recurring public events- Choosing slow, sustainable growth over constant expansionSit with us for the last conversation before the summer, and enjoy a wonderful discussion on independent publishing, collective organizing, and why sometimes the most important thing you can publish is a space for others to participate.__________Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠Audio productions: ⁠Jasper Drexhage | Drexhage Media ⁠⁠⁠⁠Design: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠Recorded at Stedelijk Museum LibraryCommunication & promotion: Chana LevyIntern: Chiara Tamborrino❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst. With particular appreciation to our principal supporters: Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen._____________________________________________________Explore book photography and publisher partnerships with your host, Justina Nekrašaitė.

In this episode of Book Making as an Art Form, I speak with Jeremy Jansen, a graphic designer based in Haarlem working across book design, exhibition design, and visual identities for cultural institutions.Alongside his design practice, Jeremy has taught at ArtEZ for over a decade, focusing on image authorship and storytelling through found materials. His work often moves between designing and editing, building new narratives from archives, fragments, and existing imagery. In 2023, he also co-founded Blind Finch Books, a publishing house dedicated to photography-related projects.In our conversation, Jeremy reflects on finding his own way into books without growing up surrounded by them, how film editing continues to shape his design process, and why intuition often plays a central role in making books.Together, we spoke about:Building concepts from found materials and existing archives How rhythm, sequencing, and editing influence book designTeaching image authorship and storytelling at ArtEZGoogle-scanned library books and unexpected beginnings in publishingWhy books do not need to feel perfect to feel aliveTune in now for a conversation on intuition, image-making, teaching, and constructing books through rhythm, fragments, and storytelling.__________Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠Audio productions: ⁠Drexhage Media ⁠| Jasper DrexhageDesign: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠Recorded at Stedelijk Museum LibraryCommunication & promotion: Chana Levy❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst. With particular appreciation to our principal supporters:Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen._____________________________________________________⁠Explore book photography and publisher partnerships with your host, Justina Nekrašaitė.⁠

In this episode of Book Making as an Art Form, I speak with Jochem Öfner, Director of Printing at Drukkerij Raddraaier, an Amsterdam-based printing house with roots in activist print culture.Founded in the late 1970s during the Dutch squatting movement, Drukkerij Raddraaier emerged from a network of independent print shops producing books, posters, pamphlets, and political materials when mainstream printers would not.In our conversation, Jochem reflects on the radical history of the press, his own journey from wanting to “make the revolution” in Central America to working in print, and how the politics of publishing remain embedded in the act of printing itself.Together, we spoke about:The activist roots of Drukkerij RaddraaierFreedom of the press before and after the InternetThe environmental realities of print and digital publishingWhy sustainability in printing is more complex than it seemsThe importance of keeping independent print production aliveTune in now for a conversation on activism, sustainability, and the politics of print.__________Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠Audio productions: ⁠Drexhage Media ⁠| Jasper DrexhageDesign: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠Recorded at Stedelijk Museum LibraryCommunication & promotion: Chana Levy❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds, and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst. With particular appreciation to our principal supporters:Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen._____________________________________________________⁠Explore book photography and publisher partnerships with your host, Justina Nekrašaitė.⁠