UNLOCK BOOK FAIR
18 & 19 May 2024
Abguss-Museum, Munich

French specialist François Chastanet will present the second edition of his groundbreaking ‘Cholo Writing’, while Berlin-based Racoon Books will provide an exclusive pre-release of ‘Overkill Legacy Ausgabe’, a reprint of the foundational graff zine. With the presence of editor, co-founder and Berlin graffiti legend Inka.

A hugely expected book launch for graffiti fans worldwide is ‘All City Writers X’, the new edition of the most ambitious and comprehensive graffiti book ever published. We are pleased to host the official international launch of this long-awaited volume.

The book will be presented by several authors of the new in-depth texts featured in this largely expanded edition of the milestone title.

But the true crowd pleaser in this year’s programme is the launch of ‘Theory of Style’, the 1996 Munich legendary book, in new English and German editions from Berlin imprint Hitzerot. On stage will be local writers Cemnoz & Don Karl, authors of the book and mythical figures for local and European graffiti history.

Unlock’s host and force of nature Dumar NovYork will close the public programme on Saturday with a reading of the new chapter from the new edition of his unsurpassed ‘What Do One Million JA Tags Signify?’ Expect insights, drama and fun!

We pay homage to Munich by looking back at two of its oldest graffiti legends, resistance hero Walter Klingenbeck and pioneer sprayer Ray, and with the re-launch of the classic local book ‘Theorie des Style’.

You will not want to miss our show on Vaughn Bodē, the iconic North American underground comic-book author and long-time revered reference for graffiti writers.

Dutch graffiti connoisseur Instagneto curates this exclusive showcase of original sketches, prints, comic books and other vintage objects. The show includes items from the curator’s archive and lendings from European collectors.

Take a break from the action at the book fair and explore the legacy of Bodē and his far-reaching impact in graffiti culture.

This Unlock Book Fair takes place at the massive House of Cultural Institutes. Among the institutions hosted there is the Central Institute of Art History, holder of one of the largest and most comprehensive art libraries in the world.

The Central Institute has reached into its vast archive of over 700.000 volumes to curate an exhibition of graffiti-related titles, including vintage books from the 1970s and 1980s. Unlock is honoured to partner with the ZI in this special treat for book lovers.

Ray was famous in Munich for his work on visible and hard-to-reach spots before any other sprayer roamed the city. The works shown here were painted exactly four decades ago.

These very rare pictures have the most incredible origin. They were taken by an anonymous Munich photographer who passed away, and were fated to end up in the trash. Luckily, local archivist Hania El Houry rescued them, along with hundreds of slides from the early years of Munich graffiti.

We are delighted to feature the paintings of this local legend and proud to keep supporting the rogue side of graffiti research.

Working from their headquarters in downtown Munich, the MGL develops an unrelenting program of events and holds one of Europe’s largest specialised libraries.

The Tag Conference is the spearhead event in the growing field of graffiti studies. Since its founding instalment in 2017 it has travelled to cities in Europe and America to host over 100 speakers coming from more than 20 countries on all 5 continents.

Staying in Linz for the Friday night allows for an easy jump next morning to Unlock. We are excited to offer again the perfect week for graffiti enthusiasts with our combined four-day celebration of the culture. See you in Munich and Linz! 📚🔥❤️🎉

(CO >< CO)
International publishing collective

abcdef
Self-publishing author | DE

Andrea Ceresa
Self-publishing author | IT

BAMN Magazine | NL

Chemistry Publishing
Publisher & printer | NL

Christliche Literatur-Verbreitung
Publishing house | DE

Cityfuck Magazine | DE

Danny Rumbl
Self-publishing author | NL

Debatable Publishing
Publishing house | IT

Deniz Beser
Self-publishing author | TR/AT

Deposit
Publishing house | HU

Doppelhand
Publishing house | DE

Dutch Graffiti Library
Publishing house | NL

E.K. Fernbeziehung
Magazine | DE/AT

Freiräume*n
Collective | DE

Futura
Publishing house | GR

Heyt be! Fanzin | TR/AT

Hitzerot
Publishing house & bookstore | DE

Hobo Spazio Urbano
Gallery & publisher | IT

It’s For Us
Publishing house | DE

Jens Besser
Self-publishing author | DE

Keda*Press
Publisher & printer | GR

Kudla Press
Publisher & printer | CZ

Le Groupe Maudit
Publishing house | DE

Metallo e Cemento
Magazine | IT

Munich Graffiti Library
Publishing house | DE

N.O.Madski
Self-publishing author | DE

Neongrau
Magazine | DE

New Utopia Press
Publishing house | PL

Nexus Media
Publishing house | AU

Nokkio Institute
Publishing house | BE/HU

Offline Graffiti Magazine | AT

Ole Zimmermann
Self-publishing author | DE

Podpolie
Magazine | DE

Possible Books
Publishing house | DE

Racoon Books
Publishing house | DE

Replikat Press
Publisher & printer | AT

Soi Books
Publishing house | UK

Spike
Self-publishing author | LU

Spraycity
Publishing house & bookstore | AT

Spraytrains
Magazine | IT

Stickit
Publishing house | NL

Studio Vierkant Press
Publishing house | DE

Sync–Sync
Publishing house | IT

Telling Cities
Publishing house | IT

Tsamantakis & Pangalos
Self-publishing authors | GR

Tutti Liberi Libere Tutte
Fanzine | IT

UP Street Art & Graffiti Magazine | US

Urban Creativity, AP Journals
Publishing house | PT

Urbanario
Publishing house | ES

Where Next Gallery
Publishing house | FR/XK

➔ 1pm
Lorenz Wittmann (DE)
«The art of stealing»

➔ 1:30pm
Instagneto (NL)
«Pub quiz on Vaughn Bodē: exploring the work and legend of an icon in graffiti»

➔ 2pm
Hania El Houry (DE)
«Saving treasures from the trash: the work of a rogue graffiti archivist»

➔ 4pm
«HWS—Top, die Wurst liegt»
Studio Vierkant (DE)
With the publishers

➔ 4:15pm
«Overkill Legacy Ausgabe 01–10, 1992–1999»
Racoon Books (DE)
With editor & co-founder Inka and publisher Peter Stelzig (DE)

➔ 4:30pm
«Daniel Weissbach aka COST aka DTagno»
Ruttkowski;68 (DE)
With co-editors Steffen Köhler and Matthias Hübner (DE)

➔ 4:45pm
«Neu Konstrukt 01»
Nexus Media (AU)
With publisher Richard Keville (AU) & art historian Harald Hinz (DE)

➔ 5pm
«Pier–A»
Nexus Media (AU)
With publisher Richard Keville (AU)

➔ 5:15pm
Denise Reitzestein (DE)
«V for victory: Tagging for resistance against the Nazi regime — the case of Walter Klingenbeck»

➔ 5:45pm
«Eddies Polaroids»
Munich Graffiti Library (DE)
With the publishers

➔ 6pm
«Cholo writing: Latino Gang Graffiti in Los Angeles»
Dokument Press (SE)
With author François Chastanet (FR)

➔ 6:15pm
«The Far Site»
Chemistry Publishing (NL)
With author Francesco Marchini (IT)

➔ 6:30pm
«Theorie des Style» / «Theory of Style»
Hitzerot (DE)
With authors Cemnoz and Don Karl (DE)

➔ 7pm
«What Do One Million JA Tags Signify?»
Possible Books (DE)
With author Dumar NovYork (US)    

➔ 12pm
Christian Omodeo (IT/FR)
«Italian post-graffiti: From New York subways to Roman gallery walls»

➔ 12:30pm
Suridh Hassan & Ryo Sanada from Soi Books (UK)
«Graffiti publishing, from mainstream to independent»

➔ 1pm
Jeroen (NL)
«Graffitilibrary.com, a collaborative database for graffiti books and zines»

➔ 1:30pm
«All City Writers X»
Sync–Sync Editions (IT)
With co-editor Pietro Rivasi (IT), authors François Chastanet (FR), Andrea Ceresa (IT), Javier Abarca (ES) and Robert Kaltenhäuser (DE), and featured artist Shlomo Faber

➔ 2pm
«Tutti Liberi Libere Tutte: Xeevr issue» (IT)
With editors Andrea Ceresa and 0331 (IT)

➔ 2:15pm
«Grafemi Issue 2»
With publisher Andrea Ceresa (IT)

➔ 2:30pm
«New zines: Handmade, edition of 1»
With author & publisher abcdef (DE)

➔ 2:45pm
«UP Street Art & Graffiti Magazine Issue 6: Graffiti» (US)
With correspondent Andi Schmitz (DE)

➔ Abguss-Museum
Haus der Kulturinstitute
Katharina-von-Bora-Straße 10

Ground floor: book fair
First floor: exhibitions
Second floor: events

Weekend support ticket: 8€

➔ Opening times
Saturday: 11am—7:30pm
Sunday: 11am—5pm

Founder & director: Javier Abarca (ES) | Production: Benjamin Schandelmaier, Petra Weigart, Berny Valenta, Lorenz Wittmann (DE, Munich Graffiti Library), Dr. Johannes Griebel, Dr. Rüdiger Hoyer (DE, Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte), Nele Schröder-Griebel (DE, Abguss-Museum) | Host: Dumar NovYork (US) | Fair manager: Orestis Pangalos (GR) | Stage manager: Susan Hansen (UK) | Scientific advisor: Edward Birzin (US) | Photo report: Maximilian Werdin (DE) | Archivist: Hania El Houry (DE)