Thursday, September 11, 2025

Circulation and distribution of Photobooks

Luis Weinstein

Thursday, September 11th, 11:30AM–12:15PM

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Luis Weinstein is a photographer, editor, lecturer and curator from Santiago de Chile. He has been member of the board of the International Festival of Photography at Valparaíso until 2015. He is the author of more than ten photobook and has founded the South American photo magazine Sueño de la Razón. Through Fundación SudFotografica, a nonprofit he currently chairs, he collaborates in the research of the Chilean photobook.

Photobook design

Akiko Wakabayashi & Faride Mereb

Thursday, September 11th, 1–1:45PM

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Akiko Wakabayashi is from Nagano, Japan, works and lives in Tilburg, the Netherlands. She moved to Amsterdam (via London) to study graphic design, then worked at a design office before starting own practice. Akiko works project-based with individuals, couples, teams, groups of people, organizations etc., mainly in the field of book design.
akikowaka.com

Having Caribbean and Middle Eastern heritage, Faride Mereb’s profound love of books has deeply influenced her work, giving it a hybrid nature. Her experience encompasses book design, art direction, research, and teaching. She holds ongoing artistic collaborations in Latin America and Europe. In addition to teaching, she has worked with companies such as Penguin Random House, Kenning Editions, Cuban Artists Around the World, Ugly Duckling Presse, and many more. Faride directs her own design studio, Letra Muerta Inc. in Williamsburg. She is a member of the American Printing History Association (APHA), The Bibliographical Society of America, and Center for Book Arts. 
faridemereb.com

Living Archives: Photobooks as community builder

Lukas Birk

Thursday, September 11th, 2:30–3:15PM

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This talk examines how photobooks can serve as living archives that circulate within communities and reshape the way histories are remembered, utilized, or revisited. Focusing on overlooked photographic practices such as itinerant box camera photography in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Turkey, and on locally produced publications like the Myanmar Photo Archive, Birk shows how publishing can transform forgotten records into active cultural tools that  become a form of community building, inspiring new generations to continue and transform this history through practice as well as scholarship.

Lukas Birk is a photo artist, researcher and publisher. Lukas researches his imagery through investigations and explorations very often in areas that have been affected by conflict and have not yet had the chance to present existing material in an artistic form such as Afghanistan or Myanmar. He co-founded artist platforms and residency programs in China and Indonesia, an archive platform in Afghanistan and initiated the Myanmar Photo Archive. Since 2011 he publishes books on photographic history under the imprint Fraglich Publishing. Lukas gives workshops in printmaking, photobook making and consults on visual narrative construction. He is a Fulbright Fellow and  studied photography at the University of West London and printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design. 

lukasbirk.com | afghanboxcamera.com | boxcameranow.com | instantboxcamera.com

←Wednesday, September 10th

For more information, email: lisa@penumbrafoundation.org