UNLOCK BOOK FAIR
3 & 4 June 2023
Museum for Hamburg History

Welcome to our feast of graffiti books and zines! 👈

Established in 2016, the Unlock Book Fair is the meeting place for the international scene of independent graffiti publishers and graffiti book lovers. This Hamburg instalment of the fair gathers over 40 publishers from across Europe and beyond.

Come to the fair and enjoy UNLOCK’s trademark scope, a deep dive into graffiti culture and into graffiti-related matters such as urban exploration, hobo culture, street photography and street art. Over 600 different titles will be available!

Visit our Unlock Showcase table to find guest books from the US and Australia, and don’t miss our special feature Unlock Old & Rare – a selection of sought-after graffiti titles from the 1970’s and later decades, for display and sale.

➔ List of exhibitors
➔ Public programme
➔ Location and opening times

A deep dive into graffiti culture

The fair features presentations of milestone books like ‘DIAMONDS: Moving Cathedrals’, ‘The World Screaming NOV’ and ‘John Fekner: Detective Show’, outstanding premieres of both mainstream and underground movies, as well as a surprise collaboration with legendary designer Mervyn Kurlansky.

UNLOCK teams up this time with EINE STADT WIRD BUNT, an exceptional exhibition about the early history of graffiti in Hamburg, on view at the Museum for Hamburg History.

Loiq - The Fame Game - 2023 - Unlock Book Fair

An outstanding public programme

Graffiti’s favourite illustrator Loiq will be at the fair presenting ‘The Fame Game’, his long-awaited new comic book. Read on for more highlights!

Other surprises include two graffiti-themed table games, and the launch of ‘The Good and The Bad’, a zine that pays homage to the 1974 book ‘The Faith of Graffiti’ and to its designer Mervyn Kurlansky. The cover of the zine has been designed by Kurlansky himself.

The study of graffiti keeps growing, and we took the opportunity to host an open talk around the idea of ‘graffiti heritage’. The event will gather pioneering publishing and archival projects from The Netherlands, Germany and France, and aims to kick-start the discussion of this necessary topic.

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Introducing ‘Tag Spotlight’, and more

We are especially happy to present ‘Tag Spotlight’, UNLOCK’s own new series of publications featuring rare documentation of name-writing in public space.

The first four volumes in the series feature Delta INC, Walter Josef ‘OZ’ Fischer, François Chastanet and Mike Delmar aka @tape.delay, and have been co-published by Hitzerot. Each volume is accompanied by a related video, to be premiered at the launch.

The fair’s screening program features more unique content, from a peek into the obscure world of European trainhopping to a special presentation of ‘The Rise of Graffiti Writing’ hosted by Mick La Rock. The fair will close with the premiere of ‘Stencil Stories’, a groundbreaking film exploring the unknown century-long history of street art.

All events will be introduced by UNLOCK’s host Dumar NovYork and will take place at the Museum auditorium. Speakers will talk in English except where otherwise noted.

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We are excited to bring the graffiti publishing scene together again

Three years after the last full-format Unlock Book Fair, there are great expectations among graffiti enthusiasts. A large number of recent and brand new graffiti books and zines will be presented at the fair.

EINE STADT WIRD BUNT

Make the most of your weekend at Unlock with a visit to EINE STADT WIRD BUNT, an ambitious exhibition about the history of graffiti in Hamburg, also at the Museum for Hamburg History.

The Unlock Book Fair and our sister event The Tag Conference are presented as closing chapters of the exhibition’s prolonged and exciting program of graffiti-related events.

The venue: Museum for Hamburg History

The book fair will be installed within the covered courtyard of the Museum for Hamburg History, an impressive century-old building located inside a park right in the center of the city. All events will take place at the Museum auditorium.

Location and opening times

➔ Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte
(Museum for Hamburg History)
Holstenwall 24
20355 Hamburg

➔ Book fair opening times
Saturday: 11am – 7:30pm
Sunday: 11am – 5pm

➔ Special Unlock ticket
Reduced price of 5€ with full-weekend access to the whole museum, including the exhibition EINE STADT WIRD BUNT

➔ Free admission for children and young people under 18, holders of the Hamburg City Pass, representatives of the press, and necessary accompanying persons for severely disabled persons.

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EXHIBITORS

André Rickert
Self-publishing author | DE

Artvibe
Magazine | PL

Aurel Johannes Marx
Self-publishing author | DE

BAMN Magazine | NL

Boulevard
Journal | DE

Brain Damage Gallery
Publishing house | PL

Brut Press
Publishing house | ES

BuchDruckKunst /
Museum der Arbeit | DE

Chemistry Publishing
Publisher and printer | NL

Cityfuck Magazine | DE

Club 27
Publishing house | IT

Double-H
Publishing house | DE

Futura
Publishing house | GR

Gerrit Retterath
Self-publishing author | DE

Grosse Récré
Fanzine | FR

Grow Up Publishing | GR

Hitzerot
Publisher and bookstore | DE

Holger Wiese
Self-publishing author | DE

It’s For Us
Studio | DE

Jens Besser
Self-publishing author | DE

Keda*Press
Publisher and printer | GR

Kudla Press
Publishing house | GR

L’Œil d’Horus
Publishing house | FR

Loiq
Self-publishing author | FR

Masmedia
Self-publishing author | DE

Maurizio Jori
Self-publishing author | IT

Mr. Graffiti
Bookstore | NL

Munich Graffiti Library
Publishing house | DE

Neongrau
Magazine | DE

N.O.Madski
Self-publishing author | DE

Nokkio Institute of Zines
Publishing house | BE/HU

Option–C
Publishing house | CH

Podpolie
Publishing house | DE

Pressure Expansion Valve
Magazine | GR

Racoon Books
Publishing house | DE

Reclaim Your City
Collective | DE

Replikat Press
Publisher and printer | AT

Ruyzdael
Publishing house | NL

Slap Me Baby
Publishing house | CH

Spraytrains
Fanzine | IT

Stickit
Publishing house | NL

SubCulture Zine | US

Tsamantakis and Pangalos
Self-publishing authors | GR

Urbanario
Publishing house | ES

Zgbkaos
Magazine | HR

Unlock Old & Rare

A selection of sought-after graffiti titles from the 1970’s and later decades, for display and sale. Curated by Book Bros.

Unlock Showcase table

Bill Daniel
Self-publishing author | US

BioEditions
Publishing house | UK

CarnageNYC
Publishing house | US

Espo
Self-publishing author | US

King Koala
Publishing house | IT

Lachlan MacDowall
Author | AU

Public Ad Campaign
Publishing house | US

Red Tower Publishing | DE

Schlachthof Kassel
Publishing house | DE

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PUBLIC PROGRAMME
SATURDAY 3rd

➔ 12 pm — Special presentations

‘All City’
Cardboard game
Racoon Books (DE)
With creator Leo Bauske (DE)

‘The Fame Game’ 👈
Comic book
Vers le Futur (FR)
With author Loiq (FR)

‘Illegal Crunch’
Table game
With publisher Podpolie (DE)

‘Why Oh Why’
Book presentation & signing with Dumar NovYork (US), Shave WOW (NL) and Ruyzdael (NL)

➔ 1 pm — Zine launches

‘Slap Me Baby #5’
With the publishers (CH)

‘Spraytrains Vol.7’
With photographer Chiara (IT)

‘Barletta_Bari_Brindisi – Bitritto_Bitetto_Bitonto’
With author, publisher and printer Jens Besser (DE)

➔ 1:30 pm — Book presentations

‘DIAMONDS: Moving Cathedrals’ 👈
With publisher Hitzerot (DE)

‘The World Screaming NOV’
With author and publisher Dumar NovYork (US)

‘Viva Roma’
Allaboutdrow & Hitzerot (DE)
With author Aurel Johannes Marx (DE)

➔ 2:15 pm — Book launches

‘Metro a 2001’
With publisher Club 27 (IT)

‘Schönesbasel’
With publisher Slap Me Baby (CH)

‘136 Minutes of Malmö’
Hitzerot (DE)
With author and photographer Sascha Blasche (DE)

‘John Fekner: Detective Show’
BioEditions (UK)
With editor Susan Hansen (UK)

➔ 3 pm — Special Unlock launch & premiere 👈👈👈

‘Tag Spotlight #1 – HAER Survey of the 3rd Avenue EL line, 1974’
Archivist: Mike Delmar (US)

‘Tag Spotlight #2 – Philadelphia Dark Pages’
François Chastanet (FR)

‘Tag Spotlight #3 – Benching Delta’
Photographs by Sascha Blasche (DE)

‘Tag Spotlight #4 – Werkauszug’
Works by Walter Josef ‘OZ’ Fischer

With publishers Urbanario (ES) & Hitzerot (DE)

➔ 3:30 pm — Screening + talk

‘The Rise of Graffiti Writing’ (selected episodes)
72′, 2017–2021
With featured artist Mick La Rock (NL)

➔ 5–6:30 pm — Open talk 👈

‘Graffiti as Heritage: How to Preserve an Ephemeral Culture’
With
Arcanes (FR)
Dutch Graffiti Library (NL)
Kladmuur (NL)
Munich Graffiti Library (DE)
Robin Vermeulen (NL)
Gabriel Calvín (ES)
Javier Abarca (ES)

SUNDAY 4th

➔ 11:45 am — Book launch + talk

‘A Question of Style: Graffiti Writing Between Art/Theory and Practice’
Edifir (IT)
With editors Ilaria Hoppe (DE) and Egidio Emiliano (IT)

➔ 12:15 pm — Zine launch + talk 👈

‘The Good and The Bad’
Chemistry Publishing (NL)
Cover by Mervyn Kurlansky (DK)
With author Instagneto (NL)

➔ 12:45 pm — Launch + open talk

‘Blackbook 01 – Crye One’
Red Tower Publishing (DE)
Rüdiger Glatz, Sascha Blasche and editor René Kästner (DE) will discuss the role of blackbooks in graffiti culture
🇩🇪 In German

➔ 1:30 pm — Talk

‘Die andere Seite’
With Trainspotter Last Seen (DE)
🇩🇪 In German

➔ 2 pm — Talk

‘Stickers as Street Memes: Remixing, Anonymity and Trolling’
With Slapmebaby (CH)

➔ 2:30 pm — Talk

‘Unauthorized Art Critique’
With Robert Kaltenhäuser (DE)

➔ 3 pm — Talk

‘I Left My Giotto in The Faith of Graffiti’
With Christian Omodeo (IT/FR)

➔ 3:30–5 pm — Premiere + talk 👈

‘Stencil Stories: A History of Stencil Graffiti’
60′, 2023
With director Ulrich Blanché (DE)

Installations

‘Writers on Wax: The Sound of Graffiti’
2019–2022
Ruyzdael (NL)
Musical installation featuring the vinyl record series

‘Writers on Wax: The Sound of Graffiti – Miami Showcase’
Video premiere, 5′ (loop), 2023
Ruyzdael (NL)

‘Never Lost Tapes I & II’
Video, 12′ (loop), 2023
Peter Stelzig Archiv Berlin 2003/04

‘Worst Case Scenario’
Video premiere, 18′ (loop), 2022
Bozzzdooog, Meat Pie and Magpie

The team

Director
Javier Abarca

Production
EINE STADT WIRD BUNT (Oliver Nebel, Frank Petering, Mirko Reisser, Andreas Timm), œstreicher, Bettina Beermann (MHG)

Host
Dumar NovYork

Resident author
Thomas Chambers

Management assistant
Rocco Berger

Photography
Emmett Edelstein

Fair photo report
Jennifer Kauka

Archivists
Mike Delmar, Orestis Pangalos, Gabriel Calvín

Presented by

In cooperation with

With support from

UNLOCK BOOK FAIR3 & 4 June 2023Museum for Hamburg History