A-Changin

My last post spoke of an upcoming time of transition, since writing I have made the decision to take a research librarianship position on the west coast, resulting in the retirement of this blog. The WCAD Library Zine Collection  is now in the hands of Lisa Williams (lwilliams@watkins.edu), the new WCAD Assistant Librarian/Visual Resources Curator. She is pushing the zine project forward in the WCAD community and  Nashville at large. See the new WCAD library webpage for more on the collection and Lisa at: www.watkins.edu/library

I have had an incredible time working with the WCAD zine collection, the zine library community, and Nashville community activists. A special thanks to the Firebrand Collective who donated over 200 zines to the collection, due largely to the support and efforts of  firebrand members Sean and Ryan.  

I plan to vie for a zine collection for my new institution and continue to work to bring alternative media into libraries. I am grateful to be working with Dan Tsang who has a similar passion for alternative media. Dan has passed on his duties of film collection development to me, and is a prolific voice for alternative film and politics. He has a radio show, Subversity on our local college radio station, check it out! 

I am currently posting all new projects on my website which include zine bibliographies and resources I have developed and posted on this blog. A heartfelt thanks to all who have read this blog and contributed your ideas and support for the founding of the WCAD Zine Collection.

Peace and Respect,

Virginia 

WCAD Zines at Cheekwood

A portion of the "core-zine" collection from WCAD is now on exhibit at Cheekwood Museum in the Post-45 Gallery. Two of the zines on display were created by Watkins students! Here is a write up about the show:

Artists’ Books from Postwar to Present
April 19 - July 6In the late nineteenth century, publishers began to employ artists as illustrators. These books were often printed on fine paper and considered luxury items. Over the course of the twentieth century, artists expanded the idea of an “artist’s book” to new levels. This exhibition will include books by artists such as Kara Walker, Stanley William Hayter, Jasper Johns, Richard Diebenkorn, Robert Motherwell, and John Baldessari.

A great review of this show titled "Literary Beauties" was published in the Nashville Scene

ARLIS 2008 post mortem

I have returned to a whirlwind in Nashville with many ideas to set into place before I leave Watkins. I am gathering my notes and will write about some of the conference soon. I did want to create a link to a hidden post on ArLiSNAP (a blogging community for new art library professionals and students). The following link will take you to a very thorough bibliography on art librarianship created by B.J. Irvine in 2005 from the University of Indiana for her art library students.

ARLIS, 2008

I've decided that the annual North American Art Libraries Association (ARLIS) conference would be a good time to break my blogging hiatus to write about what I am learning. This year's conference is in Denver, it is May but cold and snowy here, yikes! In regards to my hiatus I will write about it at length soon, but for now I will say that I have been busy turning the tools that I originally posted on this blog into a more user-friendly format on my website http://virginiaallison.com/, check it out!

This semester has provided many challenges that may or may not lead to my enrollment in graduate school with VCU's MATX program or a new position as an art librarian outside of Nashville. Change is a constant part of life, and I am anxious and sad to be leaving the wonderful community I have found in Nashville, but excited for new challenges and adventures to come.

It is day two of the conference and already I am floored with gratitude for my art librarian community. I've found a great group of new professionals (ARLISNAP) who have accepted me into their fold. I've enjoyed hearing from the experiences of others who are new to the profession. Navigating the many critical decisions that we are faced with as newbies, it is helpful to share experiences and advice with others who are in the same boat. These people are my people and as a somewhat solo librarian, I get gitty to be amongst other art librarians.
-Z

Art in the Bibliosphere

This semester 12 students added to our zine collection!

At the end of this semester I lead a project with my dear friend and colleague Lauren Kalman for her class, "Art in the Public Sphere." We decided to do a political/interventionist project in which I presented on the political/historical aspect of zines and artists' publications. We then asked students to create a zine themselves in which they submitted one to printed matter, one to zine world, and dropped off the rest of their batch of 15 all over the city.

Nashville Homeless Paper

Nashville has a bonified homeless paper thanks to the hard work of many volunteers! The first volume of this project has just been issued and is available at the Watkins College of Art and Design Library.

The name of the paper:

The Contributor: Diverse perspectives on homelessness. Genuine opportunities for advancement.

Here is their press release...

First Issue of The Contributor Hitting the Streets
Newspaper designed to provide perspectives on homelessness

Nashville, TN – On Wednesday, November 14th, a new and original newspaper arrives on the streets of downtown Nashville. The paper was created to assist the public in understanding the challenges and difficulties associated with homelessness for everyone while providing employment opportunities for homeless individuals.

The Contributor will provide diverse perspectives on the condition of homelessness while also highlighting the contributions of homeless and formerly homeless individuals.

“Homelessness in Nashville is an issue that is looked at in many diverse ways,” said Executive Director Tasha French. “We will be working directly with homeless and formerly homeless people to create a forum for all these perspectives.”

All of the vendors selling The Contributor are either homeless or formerly homeless.

They will start out with a number of free papers, selling each for $1. After generating some income, each vendor can come back and purchase additional issues for just 25¢ per issue. The profits of the sale of the paper will be directly to the vendor.

In addition, one key goal of The Contributor is to have at least 50% of the content in each issue be from homeless and formerly homeless individuals.

“We want to give our vendors an opportunity to earn an income, eliminate stereotypes and share their stories as homeless men and women,” said Director of Vending Steve Samra. “Instead of panhandling, our vendors have a product they can provide, and hopefully this paper can initiate a new and healthy dialogue between people across the socioeconomic spectrum.”

The first batch of papers will be distributed to vendors at 2pm at the Downtown Presbyterian Church at 5th and Church and will be sold at major street corners in the downtown area.

For more information about the publication, or to offer writing submissions, please contact Executive Director Tasha French at (615) 598-0061 or online at thecontributorstaff@gmail.com.

Vamp & Tramp comming to Watkins!

You are invited:


Learn about the growing world of artists' books!
Watkins College of Art & Design
Monday, Nov. 5 at 4pm
Room 502

Vicky and Bill Stewart – as Vamp & Tramp, Booksellers – represent 200+ contemporary fine presses and book artists. They spend much of the year traveling the US taking the works they represent to private and institutional customers.
On November 5, they will be at Watkins talking about the burgeoning world of artists' books and sharing examples from their inventory. Please join us for their presentation followed by a reception.

Overview of Sandra Kroupa’s role in the University of Washington’s Book Arts Collection -

“My job is primarily to be the conduit between the artist and viewer. The artist can’t talk to the person directly, but they can talk to them through me as I provide the book.”