Book Book Festival in Seoul × PAGES Fukuoka Art Book Fair
From 8 July until 19 September, Sam Kim of Common Imprint will be our Archivist in Residence.
Sam Kim presents a collection of Asian art publications gathered by Common Imprint; a reading room and project space in Berlin dedicated to archiving and showcasing Asian art publications. It has collected books by visiting ten art book fairs across fourteen cities. The more than 1,500 publications gathered in this way encapsulate a multi-layered experience of the publishing practices and the culture surrounding them—ranging from books created on the basis of the production and sharing of knowledge and solidarity, to those reflecting the environmental conditions of their respective regions.
However, the collecting process itself was one that constantly re-examined what is ‘shared’ and what is ‘not shared’. Many independent publications lack an ISBN, meaning they are, from the outset, excluded from distribution abroad. Furthermore, unfamiliar visual and written languages make it difficult to access their context. Eventually, unless one visits those places in person, these books remain in existence as something that is out of reach. Whilst some books easily cross borders to meet new readers, others are, by their very nature, limited to remaining within their region. Even when placed within the same collection, the boundary between what is shared and what is not already coexists within it. The exhibition title ‘(Un)shared Titles’ directly refers to this double state: the fact that a single collection is simultaneously a collection of individual titles with differing accessibility.
With this awareness, the Book Book Festival—a festival aimed at facilitating the sharing and expansion of networks for Asian publications—was organised in Seoul in 2025. The books presented in this exhibition comprise some 40 titles collected whilst preparing for the festival. Covering diverse themes ranging from visual arts and design to experimental formats, local community records and political engagement. They offer a broad cross-section of how independent publishing operates across Asia. The moment these books are placed together in a single space, items that would never otherwise have met become accidentally connected, and what was previously unshared is temporarily transformed into a state of sharing.
Following the conclusion of the Book Book Festival in Seoul in 2025, this collection was relocated to the Common Imprint Reading Room in Berlin, where it continued to connect with new readers. Afterwards, through an exhibition at the PAGES Fukuoka Art Book Fair in 2026, over 80 books donated by participants at the book fair were added to the collection. These newly added books, in line with the festival’s aim of ‘reading and communicating with one another’, trace a loose yet meaningful map. And now, (Un)shared Titles is forming yet another new bridge in Rotterdam. This exhibition is not an endpoint, but rather another starting point for future collaborations, further journeys, and the circulation of publications.