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

Unlock Book Fair Munich 2024

UNLOCK BOOK FAIR
MUNICH 2024

May 18 & 19

Exhibitors | Programme

A feast of graffiti books and zines!

The Unlock Book Fair travels to Munich for its famed celebration of books, zines and graffiti culture, with over 50 publishers from 18 countries in 3 continents and a packed 2-day programme featuring the launch of long-awaited books.

Come and enjoy Unlock’s trademark scope, a deep dive into graffiti culture and into graffiti-related matters such as urban exploration, hobo culture, historical wall-writing, street photography and street art.

Over 600 different publications, including many recent launches, will be available at the fair. Don’t miss it!

A new gathering for graffiti books & culture

Since its first instalment in 2016 the Unlock Book Fair became the international meeting place for the thriving publishing scene that grew out of graffiti.

After travelling to nine European cities, the fair is still an insider event attracting a crowd of small, self-supported ventures. If you want to discover cutting-edge graffiti books and zines, Unlock is the place!

This year’s special public programme features fascinating lectures about graffiti and boasts the official launch of outstanding and long-awaited books. Plus an exhibition on Vaughn Bodē!

The fair will take place at the ample and light-filled spaces of the Abguss-Museum, in the impressive Munich House of Cultural Institutes within the city’s Art Quarter.

Unlock is proud to partner this time with the Munich Graffiti Library.

Unlock Book Fair Munich 2024 - Ray

An outstanding public programme

This year our stage welcomes speakers from Australia, the United States and across Europe to make Munich the epicenter of the culture for two days of the finest graffiti nerdiness.

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’, 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.

More highlight launches

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!

Unlock Book Fair Munich 2024 - Ray

Lectures, exhibitions and a focus on Munich

This year our programme is more scientific than usual, with varied approaches to graffiti from scholars, curators and connoisseurs, including voices from the local scene.

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’.

Vaughn Bodē and books from the Central Institute of Art History

We are happy to expand our programme this time with two exhibitions of rare books, vintage comic books and other graffiti-related material.

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.

A peek into a vast archive

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.

Unlock Book Fair Munich 2024 – Ray

Honouring Ray, the Munich legend

Our graphics for this year feature none other than Ray, the original graffiti pioneer from Munich.

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.

The Munich Graffiti Library

Unlock partners this time with the Munich Graffiti Library, one of the leading projects making Central Europe the boiling pot for 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 in Linz

A new Tag Conference will take place in Linz, under three hours away from Munich, on the Thursday and Friday before the book fair.

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! 📚🔥❤️🎉

Unlock Book Fair Munich 2024 – Ray

Location and opening times

➔ 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

location & times
Munich House of Cultural Institutes, Unlock Book Fair 2024 Munich House of Cultural Institutes, Unlock Book Fair 2024
Abguss-Museum Munich Abguss-Museum Munich
location & times

The team

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)

location & times

In cooperation with


Unlock-Book-Fair-Munich-2024-presented-by

Funding

Unlock Book Fair Munich 2024 funding

Support

Unlock Book Fair Munich 2024 support
Unlock Book Fair Munich 2024 – Ray

EXHIBITING PUBLISHERS

(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

Nexus Media
Publishing house | AU

Nokkio Institute
Publishing house | BE/HU

Offline Graffiti Magazine | AT

Ole Zimmermann
Self-publishing author | DE

Playbomb
Magazine | ES

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

Unlock Book Fair Munich 2024 - Ray

PUBLIC PROGRAMME SATURDAY 18th

Lectures

➔ 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»

Book presentations

➔ 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)

Lecture

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

Book launches

➔ 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)    

SUNDAY 19th

Lectures

➔ 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)
«Grafflibrary.com, a collaborative database for graffiti books and zines»

Book launch

➔ 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

Zine launches

➔ 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)

Snapshots from the Unlock Book Fair, Munich 2024 📷

Unlock Book Fair