2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pageAfter the Glut - Photobook Publishing in the Age of Plenty
J. Carrier & Nelson Chan: Matt Eich, Harrison Miller, Mary Virgina Swanson
Friday, March 20 - 9:00AM to 11:00AM
Atlanta 5
Since Anna Atkins brought some of the first photographs ever made together in a book the "photobook" has been central to the world's engagement with photography. Over the past 100 plus years artists working across the medium's diverse range have turned to the book form as an integral and central part of their artistic vision.
Starting in the early 2000's photobook publishing entered a new golden age. New technologies democratized the photography landscape for photographers and many saw books as a meaningful outlet for expression as well as an antidote to an increasingly screen based world. And, in comparison to gallery exhibitions and the white cube, the book's intimacy, accessibility and permanence were an attractive asset.
A quarter century later the question is whether this landscape has changed again. Has the golden age of the photobook passed? Do today's photobook artists and publishers face a significant set of hurdles in bringing projects to audiences? If so, what does the next quarter century of photobook publishing look like? Are there new technologies or publishing models that can allow artists to continue their rewarding engagement with photobooks?
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