UNLOCK BOOK FAIR
AMSTERDAM 2018

288kk Press
Publishing house, PL

A Paper Book
Publishing house, NL

Adam Void
Self-publishing author, US

Artkitchen gallery / Decultclub
Publishing house, NL

BAMN magazine
Magazine, NL

Chemistry Publishing
Publishing house, NL

Dokument Press
Publishing house, SE

Dutch Graffiti Library
Publishing house, NL

Éditions Carton-pâte
Publishing house, FR

Éditions Peinture
Publishing house, FR

Editions Terrain Vague
Publishing house, FR

Éditions Vers le Futur
Publishing house, FR

Espora
Magazine, ES

Frank Fickeisen
Self-publishing author, DE

Futura publications
Publishing house, GR

Graffneck
Bookstore, CZ

Hitzerot
Publishing house and bookstore, DE

International Neighbourhood
Publishing house, DE

Invalid Books
Publishing house, RU

Jens Besser
Self-publishing author DE

Klick Klack Publishing
Publishing house, DE

Lawjamba Zines
Zine, NL

Livor Mortis Zine
Zine, UK

Microcosm
Publishing house, US

Nicolas Dolto
Self-publishing author, FR

Nokkio institute of zines
Publishing house, BE/HU

Nuart Journal
Magazine, NO

Page Five
Publishing house, CZ

Podpolie Books
Publishing house, DE/BY

Possible Books
Publishing house, DE

Puresu de Tokyo
Publishing house, JP

sorrysomethingwentwrong.com
Publishing house, DE/AT

Stickit
Publishing house, NL

Street Spirit Mag
Magazine, ES

Trafo Gallery
Publishing house, CZ

Urban Creativity
Publishing house, PT

Urbanario
Publishing house, ES

Zelle Asphaltkultur
Self-publishing collective, DE

Zugriff
Magazine, DE

➔ 12:30 to 2pm — Book signing

‘OH’
A Paper Book (NL)
With author Boris Tellegen aka Delta INC (NL)

➔ 1pm — Book presentations

‘Amsterdam On Tour, the early signs of Dutch graffiti’
(Out in March 2019)
With editor Again (NL)

‘Disz: The first Dutch writer bombing the New York City subway’
Dutch Graffiti Library (NL)
With editors Dutch Graffiti Library

➔ 1:40pm — Book launches

‘Nuart Journal’ n°1
Nuart (NO)
With editors Martyn Reed and Susan Hansen (UK)

‘Punk files’
Cultclub/ArtKitchen (NL)
With author Hugo Kaagman (NL)

‘Punk Graffiti Archives’
Urbanario (ES)
With editors Javier Abarca (ES) and Thomas Chambers (UK)

‘Zar Zip Fly Zoro’
Click Clack Publishing (DE)
With editors Click Clack Publishing

➔ 3pm — Lectures

Jens Besser (DE)
‘Viva Muralismo Morte, old & new publications about contemporary muralism in abandoned architectures’

Hugo Kaagman (NL)
‘From tags to stencils’

Carlo McCormick (US)
‘Hybridity is not for purists: How punk and hip hop had sex on the NYC dance floor’

Diana Ozon (NL)
‘Dr. Rat and I, an inside story on a life-long friendship of kids tagging the streets of Amsterdam’

➔ 5pm — Screenings

‘Mi firma en las paredes’
1990, RTVE (ES), 50′

‘Gallerie Anus Student Film’ (excerpts)
1979, unknown author (NL), 23′
Footage from Diana Ozon’s archive

Surprise screening
1980, NL, 19′

➔ 7pm — Poetry readings

Laser 3.14 (NL)
Diana Ozon (NL)

➔ 13h — Book launches

‘Trainwriting in Belarus (2002–2007)’
Podpolie Books (DE/BY)
With editor Ilya Bodunov (BY)

‘L’eunuque Décapité and Terre en Vue’
Terrain Vague (FR)
With editors Terrain Vague

‘Then He Decided to Cross the Tracks’
Urban Script Continues (DE) and Oxymoron Gallery (AT)
With author Jens Besser (DE)

➔ 14h — Book launches

‘The Horse Diaries’
Stickit (NL)
With publisher Jeroen van Mourik (NL) and author Willehad Eilers (DE)

‘’Steen zine set’
Stickit (NL)
With author Jeroen van Mourik (NL)

‘Roots, branches, offshoots’
Trafo Gallery (CZ)
With author author Epos257 (CZ)

’Phantasies’
Self-published
With author Nicolas Dolto aka Esso PAL (FR)

‘Hamburg’
Hitzerot (DE)
With author Emmett E. (DE)

➔ Launch party

‘Bomber Megazine’ (NL) 30th Anniversary Issue

➔ Exhibition

Sneak preview of ‘Disposable’, a photographic exhibition and book project from ‘Bomber Megazine’ curated by Bomber Johan and Jasper van Es, with works from 1up, Same, Utah & Ether, Boing and Suicide

➔ DJ sets

Mr. 13011113 and DJ Bite

➔ 8pm — DJ set

DJ Strychnine

➔ 10:30pm — Live band

Viscera

➔ 11:30pm — DJ set

CaptainSpank

Publishers came from seventeen different countries representing the whole European continent, and from as far as Australia and Japan. The fair took place at the spacious and beautiful Broedplaats LELY in Amsterdam West.

The theme of the fair’s public programme was ‘Punk and graffiti’. We were honoured to host lectures by local punk graffiti legends Hugo Kaagman and Diana Ozon, who also treated us with a reading of her poetry. A third star lecturer was Carlo McCormick, who flew from New York to speak about the early years of graffiti, punk and hip hop in New York City. 

Two companion books were published by the Unlock team on the occasion of the fair, documenting two legendary European punk-related graffiti scenes. The first book, titled ‘Punk Graffiti Archives: The Netherlands’, covers the country’s thriving punk graffiti scene from 1977-1983. The second book, titled ‘Punk Graffiti Archives: Madrid’, studies the barely known ‘ flechero’ graffiti scene of the late eighties.

The production of the books involved months of research into several private archives, including the two largest existing archives of punk graffiti related documentation – the Diana Ozon Archive and the archive of the Dutch Graffiti Library. Both books have become milestones in the study of these very underexplored topics and collector’s items for graffiti aficionados.

For the screenings session Unlock unearthed extremely obscure films about Amsterdam’s 1970’s punk graffiti scene featuring the only known images of some of the scene’s key writers – including interviews and images of the writers in action.

Other highlights of the fair’s public programme were a book-signing session by graffiti pioneer Boris Tellegen also known as Delta, who brought his recent book ‘OH’ documenting his groundbreaking work on freight trains, and the launch party for the highly anticipated 30th anniversary issue of the venerable Dutch publication ‘Bomber Megazine’. The programme of publication launches featured a long list of projects including DIY zines, hardcover books and scientific journals.

On the two days immediately preceding the fair the Unlock team organised for the second consecutive year the Tag Conference, a unique academic event focused on name writing, or tagging. The conference gathered twenty-one speakers from ten different countries in four continents delivering fascinating insights into the topics of contemporary and historical tagging, all in front of a full auditorium.

Our most sincere thank-you to the publishers, speakers, volunteers and visitors who made this new Unlock Book Fair possible. More in 2019, stay tuned! 📚🔥❤️🎉