New Orleans: Alive and Printing!

11/09/07

The 6th Annual New Orleans Bookfair
Saturday, November 10th 10AM to 6PM
500-600 Blocks of Frenchman St.
New Orleans, LA

Even the little ole' scarred town of New Orleans is having a bookfair this fall. Believe it or not, people still live there, still read and write and are still producing books, 'zines and events! New Orleans is alive and kicking! Even though you might not be in N.O this weekend, you can still check out these wonderful New Orleans books and organizations - buy some stuff to support the local creative economy!

Hot Iron Press

Kyle Bravo and Jenny LeBlanc are printmakers and designers living and working in New Orleans who do custom letterpress, silkscreen as well as offfset printmaking with their own hands and equipment. They are also the organizers of the New Orleans Bookfair

The Iron Rail

The Iron Rail Book Collective is a non-profit reading room, lending library, and bookshop with free internet access located in the New Orleans Marigny neighborhood.

Defend New Orleans

Since 2003 Defend New Orleans has been making silk-screen T-shirts that don't suck (the French Quarter is plagued by horrendous, touristy T-shirt shops) that are worn by ACTUAL natives! Profits are distributed to a variety of New Orleans arts organizations and charities.

Faub.org

A clever name for this new New Orleans creative collective (The Faubourg Marigny is a N.O neighborhood) whose purpose seems to be a little ambiguous at the moment, but who have an interestingly annoying, pretty website (even though there is a bit too much Futura; they're young). So far they seem to be producing some excellent silk-screen posters and developing a more content driven site, most probably covering the New Orleans art scene.

Constance
Issue 1: Replicas+Replacements
Designed and Edited by Erik Kiesewetter and Patrick Strange
Edition of 1000, signed and numbered
96 pages, full color
$20.00

A collection of writing, photography, illustration, design and street art representing various New Orleans artists that, "... strives to redefine the present as it reinvents the past . Mending and bending, vagrants and vigilantes, wastelands, promise lands and even efficient public transit..." The first issue was conceived after hurricane Katrina to give voice to displaced artists and those struggling to remain in the city.

$20.00 at the Constance site

Degrees of Separation
Designed and Compiled by Samia Saleem
Published by Featherproof Books
7" X 10"
77 perforated pages, full color
$24.95

New Orleans native Samia Saleem designed and compiled this book of postcards featuring the work of graphic designers living in, from and connected to New Orleans which showcases post-Katrina work and serves as a medium to share personal design narratives. The pages are perforated so you can mail out your favorites.

$24.95 at Featherproof Books

New Orleans As It Was
Sketchbook Drawings by Mark Andresen
1988 - Hurricane Katrina
Designed and edited by Rudy VanderLans
Published Gingko Press
8" X 8"
112 pages, Full color and black and white, softcover
$19.95

A gorgeous collection of pre-Katrina sketchbook drawings by illustrator Mark Andresen, covering 18 years of street scenes, Mardi Gras Indians and shotgun-houses. The sketchbooks are one of the few possessions Andresen took when he and his wife fled the city before the Hurricane hit. Emigre is donating $10.00 of each sale to The Tipitina's Foundation which is dedicated to helping artists recover from Hurricane Katrina and preserving the cultural traditions of New Orleans.

$19.95 at Emigre