On invitation from Tokyo Art Bookfair, the conceptual curation and identity for the Dutch section was made in collaboration with Miquel Hervas Gomez.
Unlearn, Display, Connect, presents a reflection of the working attitudes detected in, around, and through the experience of working within the Dutch design context of the studio fanfare. Through this optic, we invited peers and thinkers to join us in three conversations to collectively detect the essential relevance of experimental graphic design as a toolset for establishing collaborations and communicating across different professions. 

Unlearn, Display, Connect unfolded as a virtual space for discussions supported by a visual vocabulary of recent graphic design projects. In common, the projects tend to strive for cultural value over economic gain. They generate frameworks for learning, displaying, and connecting through communication networks and knowledge infrastructures. 

Unlearn

Educational responsibilities, learning conditions, positioning skills, and international influences

The focus on learning derives from the observation of design initiatives which are driven by the desire to convey and circulate knowledge. Seen in this light alternative educational structures, experiential learning curves, and a drive for approaching learning in an activating, playful and reflective manner is the centre of attention.

Freja Kir and Femke Dekker (Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee) in conversation with:
David Bennewith (Gerrit Rietveld Academie), Jurgen Bey (Sandberg Instituut), Roosje Klap (Royal Academy of Art the Hague).

Display

Hijacking platforms, navigating visitors, re-owning spaces, graduating displays and audience limitations

Whether naming it as “selecting”, “curating”, “editing”, “publishing”, or hosting, the attention to the display shines a light on curious ways of presenting content. This section focuses on the intermediary role of graphic design for bridging information, navigation and space. Here we include projects that activate the relevance of the audience, participants and social interactions.

Freja Kir and Femke Dekker (JaJaJaNeeNeeNee) in conversation with:
Yana Foque (Kunstverein), Richard Niessen (The Palace of the Typographic Masonry), Frederique Pissuise (Cosmos Carl).

Connect

Generosity of reproduction, organisational structure, explorative freedom and publishing as democratic business

The focus on “connecting” devotes space to collaborative design practices where tools and networks are used for the benefit of expressing, exploring or manifesting opinions into a societal context. As the field of design reacts to societal and technological developments, we devote attention to the collaborative nature of the graphic design discipline. By borrowing from various disciplines, these projects draw on graphic design tools to transform aesthetics, purposes and meaning into shared systems.

Freja Kir and Femke Dekker (JaJaJaNeeNeeNee) in conversation with:
Anja Groten and Juliette Lizotte (Hackers & Designers), Roger Willems (Enter Enter/Roma Publications), Karolien Buurman (NXS and Paradyme).

Colophon

Design and curation by: Freja Kir with Miquel Hervás Gómez
Design assistance: César Rogers
Conversation moderation by: Freja Kir and Femke Dekker (Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee)
Typeface, Kòtèba Kura: César Rogers
Jingle: Fabian Reichle

Conversation contributers: David Bennewith (Gerrit Rietveld Academie), Jurgen Bey (Sandberg Instituut), Roosje Klap (Royal Academy of Art the Hague), Yana Foque (Kunstverein), Richard Niessen (The Palace of the Typographic Masonry), Frederique Pissuise (Cosmos Carl), Anja Groten and Juliette Lizotte (Hackers & Designers), Roger Willems (Enter Enter/Roma Publications), Karolien Buurman (NXS and Paradyme)

Tokyo Art Bookfair was launched in 2009 as the first bookfair in Japan dedicated to art publications. With a growing number of visitors and relevance, the fair in 2019 introduced an elaborate museum programme at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

https://tokyoartbookfair.com/en/

The fanfare contribution is generously supported by the Danish Arts Foundation and the Creative Industries Fund NL.