Bookshop
What’s the independent publishing space and the A occhi aperti Bookshop?
At DAS, the center stage of the festival, you can find a space dedicated to independent comics as well as books from Italian and international publishers. The bookshop is a place where you’ll be able to buy comics as well as find conventions, meetups, games and live painting sessions.
Who curates the bookshop and what can you find?
A occhi aperti has invited two indie realities - Titivil and Just Indie Comics - to collaborate, along with Hamelin, in selecting the titles you’ll find at the bookshop, with the purpose of offering the most comprehensive and inclusive catalogue possible.
Titivil is a studio, a printshop and an exhibit space that promotes activities relating to drawing and independent production, printing and selling fanzines, workshopping, screenprinting and risograph printing. It’s located in via Mascarella 31, Bologna, and was born from a group of authors coming from the worlds of illustration, comics and independent publishing.
Titivil will offer a selection of prints and fanzines belonging to its collection and numerous other titles coming from all publishers from all over Europe, like Colorama, Kuš Komiks, Jumbo Press, and many others.
Just Indie Comics is a traveling bookstore managed by Gabriel di Fazio, critic and expert in the field of indie comics, in collaboration with the roman bookstore Risma, famous for their diversity of titles and their research in the USA underground landscape. Just Indie Comics will bring productions from Breakdown Press, The Mansion Press, Lagon Revue and many other realities.
Hamelin, the association that curates A occhi aperti Festival, will present a joint look at the themes of this edition, offering books and comics that reflect upon the relationship between bodies and landscape, as well as works belonging to the hosted authors. Hamelin focuses greatly on the world of independent publishing in Bologna and on authors coming from Accademia delle Belle Arti. You’ll also find titles coming from all over Italy: authors, collectives, macropublishing projects, all with the intent of showcasing the varied and different shapes that the independent publishing world offers, and presenting different experiences in the same place.
At DAS, the center stage of the festival, you can find a space dedicated to independent comics as well as books from Italian and international publishers. The bookshop is a place where you’ll be able to buy comics as well as find conventions, meetups, games and live painting sessions.
Who curates the bookshop and what can you find?
A occhi aperti has invited two indie realities - Titivil and Just Indie Comics - to collaborate, along with Hamelin, in selecting the titles you’ll find at the bookshop, with the purpose of offering the most comprehensive and inclusive catalogue possible.
Titivil is a studio, a printshop and an exhibit space that promotes activities relating to drawing and independent production, printing and selling fanzines, workshopping, screenprinting and risograph printing. It’s located in via Mascarella 31, Bologna, and was born from a group of authors coming from the worlds of illustration, comics and independent publishing.
Titivil will offer a selection of prints and fanzines belonging to its collection and numerous other titles coming from all publishers from all over Europe, like Colorama, Kuš Komiks, Jumbo Press, and many others.
Just Indie Comics is a traveling bookstore managed by Gabriel di Fazio, critic and expert in the field of indie comics, in collaboration with the roman bookstore Risma, famous for their diversity of titles and their research in the USA underground landscape. Just Indie Comics will bring productions from Breakdown Press, The Mansion Press, Lagon Revue and many other realities.
Hamelin, the association that curates A occhi aperti Festival, will present a joint look at the themes of this edition, offering books and comics that reflect upon the relationship between bodies and landscape, as well as works belonging to the hosted authors. Hamelin focuses greatly on the world of independent publishing in Bologna and on authors coming from Accademia delle Belle Arti. You’ll also find titles coming from all over Italy: authors, collectives, macropublishing projects, all with the intent of showcasing the varied and different shapes that the independent publishing world offers, and presenting different experiences in the same place.
What can you do at the bookshop?
You can get your book signed, or admire artists and authors work on their art.
During the festival, the hosted artists will offer book signings at the bookshop tables. In order to find out all the names and know when they’ll be there, look up the program on the website. The program also includes live painting sessions with independent authors; public meetups between authors and readers, to get your book signed or drink something together at the bar while enjoying a live painting session.
Assist (or participate) at a live painting event.
The bookshop offers two drawing events. The first, on Friday 15 at 12:30, is meant to be a playful challenge between groups of artists with a public Jury. The second, on Sunday 17, will act as a closing event to the festival,and focuses on collective drawing. Everyone will be able to work together on a single painting in the central hall of the DAS space, in an event open to the public.
Attending a meetup (or listening to some good music).
Just Indie Comics and Titvil will be the protagonist of the “Fare, divulgare e scegliere fumetti” (“Making, diffusing and choosing comics”) event on Friday 15 at 11:00. It will be a dialogue between two realities with different origin points - both chronologically and geographically - in regards to independent publishing and comics. The meetup will deepen your understanding of their work and research about comics, from the choices they make to their different positions.
Not just signings and meetups: on the evening of Friday 15, the bookshop will also offer a musical event in collaboration with Maple Death: A DJ set by Massimo Carozzi and Ant Hampton that will act as a follow-up to a live reading of Sloppy Taòls-
Find out more about the bookshop events by consulting the festival programme.
Where and When?
Via del Porto 11/2, From Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 of November.
Reasons to not be there?
None…