Printed Matter, Inc. presents the eighth annual NY Art Book Fair, September 20–22, at MoMA PS1, with a public opening on the evening of Thursday, September 19, from 6 to 9pm.

Free and open to the public, the NY Art Book Fair is the world's leading event for artists' books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines showcased by more than 280 booksellers, antiquarians, artists, and independent publishers from more than twenty countries.

Last year's NY Art Book Fair saw its largest attendance to date with more than 25,000 artists, book buyers, collectors, dealers, curators, independent publishers, and other enthusiasts attending over the course of the event.

The NY Art Book Fair 2013 is shaping up to be another incredibly exciting installment of the fair, with a dynamic program of special projects, screenings, book signings and performances taking place throughout the weekend. The Classroom—a curated series of artist-led workshops, readings, and discussions—and the annual Contemporary Artists' Books Conference—a two-day symposium on emerging practices and dialog within art-book culture—run throughout the fair and are free to the public.

Fair preview
Join us Thursday, September 19, 6 to 9pm, for an opening night preview to get an early look at the 280 exhibitors. The event will feature a live set on the steps of MoMA PS1 by MASKS (New York City-based duo Alexis Georgopoulos and Max Ravitz) incorporating elements of underground dance music through analog synthesizers and drum machines. Terekke (Matt Gardner) will perform an opening set of subliminal, dub–influenced basement house.

Special programming

The Classroom
Now in its fifth year, this curated series of informal conversations, workshops, readings and other artist-led programs is also an informal venue for artists, writers and publishers to feature new releases and present their publications. Participants include Tréy Sager with Badlands Unlimited (New York); Olof Olsson with Rollo Press (Switzerland); Linda Simpson with Peradam (New York); Elisabeth Tonnard and Chris Burnett with J&L Books (Scranton, PA); Amish Morrell with C Magazine (Canada); the curators of the Libros Mutantes Book Fair (Spain) and many others. The Classroom is organized by David Senior, Museum of Modern Art Library.

Contemporary Artists' Books Conference The sixth annual Contemporary Artists' Books Conference presents two full days of lively debate on emerging practices and issues within art-book culture. Conference sessions will cover an array of topics, including artists' books by designers, experimental comics, pedagogy, 'text engines,' as well as photobooks in relation to the exhibition of photographic works.

This year's conference will feature keynote addresses from Clive Phillpot and Warren Lehrer. Clive Phillpot, a noted critic and preeminent figure in the field of artists' books, will give a rare New York appearance on the occasion of his long-awaited Booktrek: Selected Essays on Artist's Books Since 1972. Writer and book artist Warren Lehrer will discuss his classic book works and present a multimedia performance of his latest work.

The full schedule of Conference sessions and advance reservation for keynote talks are available at nyartbookfair.com/conference.

The Schoolyard & the Small Press Dome A lively selection of international artists, zinesters, and small presses will represent independent publishing at its most innovative and affordable in the MoMA PS1 courtyard. Select exhibitors include The Song Cave (Northampton, MA); Cine Qua Non (Portugal); Bodega (Philadelphia, PA); Edizioni Corraini (Italy); and Lodret Vandret (Denmark), among many others.

Friendly Fire
A diverse group of politically-minded artists and collectives focused on the intersection of art and activism, this section of The Schoolyard includes Bureau for Open Culture (Bennington, VT), Temporary Services/Half Letter Press (Chicago, IL), Journal of Aesthetics and Protest (Los Angeles, CA), Autonomedia (Brooklyn) and World War 3 (New York), and others.

Swiss Focus
A selection of 13 Swiss presses, booksellers, and zine-makers present You Owe Me A Book, a curated room presenting a look at the vibrant state of contemporary Swiss publishing practice, with an emphasis on the visual arts, photography, architecture, and design. Participating publishers have invited nine artists to present their interventions within the context of the fair.

Focus: Photography
A curated cross-section of photo-based books and magazines, this year's Focus: Photography presents the latest from an exciting mix of publishers including A-Jump Books (Ithaca, NY), Dashwood Books (New York), AKAAKA (Tokyo), Kominek Books (Germany), Little Brown Mushroom (Saint Paul, MN), Mörel Books (United Kingdom), and TBW Books (Oakland, CA), and more.