Late night opening on July 4th until 20:00

Still taken from Oh Adelaide (2010)

. © Sonia Boyce, courtesy the artist.

Sonia Boyce: Scat

Next Thursday, July 4th, we will be open until 20:00 to celebrate Iniva's current exhibition, Scat: Sound and Collaboration, by Sonia Boyce. Come and visit our section of the exhibition which includes books, films, magazines and other items from Sonia Boyce’s archive.

Cover girls is a spread of popular magazines with Black British female music artists. There are also articles relating to Sonia Boyce’s long-term archive collection project, Devotional.
Find books on pop music culture amongst the artists’ books, group exhibition catalogues and critical theory volumes on the Library shelves.
Films and documentaries will be available to watch with headphones:
An Audience with Shirley Bassey:  ‘50 minutes of showbiz magic’
Top of the Pops, 40th Anniversary, 1964-2004
The Story of Lover’s Rock, Melenik Shabazz’s documentary on British ‘romantic reggae’

International Zine Month

We also invite you to celebrate International Zine Month in the Stuart Hall Library. On the evening of July 4th we'll display a selection of some of our favourite zines, so please drop by and have a browse, and feel free to donate your zines! 

Photo by Sheena Balkwill

From the Artists' Book Collection

At Stuart Hall Library we have a great interest in texts and objects that will tell us more about culture and creativity. So we decided to start collecting artists' books, and have been doing so for the past three years. Some have been donated to us, others have been actively searched for and purchased.

We were impressed and beguiled by the beautiful books on display as part of Iniva's Peter Clarke exhibition Wind Blowing on the Cape Flats, and felt inspired to display some of our own artists' books in the library.

Each book has its own narrative of ideas, influences and processes of production. Much of this remains hidden to the viewer/reader. But we hope that visitors will enjoy the books as objects in their own right, as well as being aware of the power they have to tell a story about a wider artistic practice or project.

Photo by Christa Holka.

Natasha de Betak's Nightshade is a collection of photographs of individuals at rest, in dream-like poses. The book is hard-bound and made from handmade paper, with its own slip case. It arrived in the post from the artist wrapped in pink and purple tissue paper tied with a black ribbon, like a present.

Alongside Nightshade is Faye De Gannes' Inside the Coco, which has been discussed previously on the Stuart Hall Library blog. This book, a tribute to Faye's late mother, is handmade and concertinaed, with lush photography of the countryside in Trinidad.



Photo by Christa Holka.

Faye had visited the library to gain inspiration from the collection before making her own book. Hormazd Nariewalla 's Dead Man's Patterns (above) is one of the books that caught her eye. The book originates from Hormazd's residency at a Savile Row tailor's company.

These books are on open display to enable visitors to handle and explore them, in order to gain a sense of what the artist aimed to achieve.



Smaller books are on display in our cabinets: My Travel Journal by Yukina Narita is a small box of thirty-four individual cards with illustrations of places visited by the artist. Sofa, by Jessica Jane Charleston is a six-page, black and white photocopied booklet demonstrating the simple but effective aesthetics of a zine. Paul Salt's River Thinking: Prague One Year After the Floods of August 2002 reflects his interest in environment and landscape.




Shelagh Atkinson's Lost, Found and Kept series of '6-fold' small books are exploring, in her words, 'the playfulness of the English language', using red print in '12-point Helvetica bold, a typeface that wants to be read, neutral and functional'. Red Diaper 'explores the twin themes of identity and relationship through text and imagery', while Face It documents 'thoughts and ideas testifying to the imperfect beauty of the human'.

Leo Asemota's Testimony is part of a bigger project, The Ens Project, which is 'informed by the Igue ceremony to the Head practiced by the Edo people of Benin City, the Victorian age of invention, exploration and conquest and Walter Benjamin’s seminal treatise on art in the technological age'. The book, A5 and concertinaed in format, has an archival quality, which can be experienced by the beautifully filmed Reading of Leo Asemota's Testimony by Brendan McGinty in which the viewer watches the book being opened, and the pages turned.

Most artists' books at the library are not on the open shelves, but visitors are welcome to see them on request.

From the Artists' Book Collection will be on display until 31 March.

For more information, contact us.

Library Exhibiton: The Art of Zines, October-December 2012

Stuart Hall Library staff and curator Fliss Collier enjoyed the whole process of thinking, planning and organising The Art of Zines, a display of zines selected from our collection. You can read more about the day on Fliss' blog, but here are some images from the launch event, and of the display:

Assistant Librarian Elena and Fliss

Zines made by Fliss

Zine enthusiasts at the launch event

Zines on display: DIY or don't we? Sugar paper, I'm not waiting, Zine making, Words that soak up life: a reading compilation zine

Doris #23, Electra #2, The Suffragette as Militant Artist, Ungrateful Black-White Girl

Ideas in Pictures #5, Mine: an anthology, Storm in a Teacup, Papakura Post Office, Toothworm

Every brush mark is torn out of my body

The display continues until 21st December.

To donate zines to the Stuart Hall Library, or to access the collection, email library@iniva.org

Guest blog post: Charlotte Seegers, Stuart Hall Library Volunteer

During my internship at Iniva, I had the opportunity to create a source note (a guide to Stuart Hall Library material for the conduct of research on a particular theme). I chose the subject: "Cultural identity and Politics," because I thought it particularly relevant to understanding the society I am living in. As the beginning of this century is marked by a conservative and parochial interpretation of identity in political discourse, I grew particularly interested in the complexity of globalized identities that challenge the monoculture concept of British art and culture.

With the help of general guidelines, I was independent during my research for this project, free to choose the way and the items I found appropriate. Therefore, I have discovered many artists and authors who have drawn on a wide range of cultural experiences and critical discourse definitions of home, displacement and boundary. When listing the Iniva archive, I discovered panel discussions; emerging artists; audio visual material and also came across periodicals addressing controversial issues, zine collections revealing an underground world, and key cultural theorists and artists.

Combining my own interrogations with the resources found at Stuart Hall Library, I aimed to provide a starting point for discussion about the way the production of new political identities subvert ideas about gender, race and the nation. This source note doesn’t offer simple answers or resolutions but a space for the exchange of ideas.

CULTURAL IDENTITY AND POLITICS

Stuart Hall Library Collections Guide

This guide provides an introduction to resources for studying cultural identity and politics. In addition to contemporary books, pamphlets and periodicals including titles published by Iniva, the collections also contain material on subcultures. Keywords have been included to indicate the subject area of each item. This guide aims to be indicative rather than comprehensive.


CRITICAL & CULTURAL THEORY

Beyond identity politics       ESS LLO
Moya Lloyd
London: Sage, 2005
Examination of the implications of recent theorising on difference, identity and subjectivity for theories on patriarchy and feminist politics.
Gender issues, feminism and identity


Cosmopolitanism                ESS COS
Edited by Carol A. Breckenridge, Sheldon Pollock, Homi K. Bhabha and Dipesh Chakrabarty
London: Duke University Press, 2002
De-centres the history and theory of translocal political aspirations and cultural ideas to areas outside Europe. Contributors include: Sheldon Pollock; Arjun Appadurai; Dipesh Chakrabarty; Mamadou Diouf; T.K. Biaya; Walter D. Mignolo; Wu Hung; Ackbar Abbas.
History, Translocal politics, Cultural identity


Dangerous liaisons: gender, nation and postcolonial perspectives   ESS DAN
Edited by Anne McClintock, Aamir Mufti, Ella Shohat
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1997
A collection of essays addressing issues of postcolonialism, including nationhood, history, gender, race, identity.
Racial issues, Gender issues, Nationalism, Postcolonialism


Displacements: cultural identities in question   ESS DIS
Angelika Bammer
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994
Examines the impact of the experience of cultural displacement and contemporary notions of cultural identity. The perspectives of anthropology, history, philosophy, literature and psychology are bought to bear on the discussions of identity politics and the question of 'us/them' is explored in our shifting political and conceptual landscape.
Cultural Studies, Identity, Displacement


Modernity at large: cultural dimensions of globalisation  ESS APP
Arjun Appaddurai
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1996
An examination of globalisation, described as being characterised by the twin forces of mass migration and electronic mediation.
Globalisation, Cultural Studies


Multiculturalism: examining the politics of recognition    ESS MUL
Edited by Charles Taylor and Amy Gutmann
Princeton: NJ, Princeton University Press, 1984
This paperback brings together a wide range of leading philosophers and social scientists to probe the political controversy surrounding multiculturalism. Contributors include Anthony K. Appiah; Jürgen Habermas; Steven C.Rockefeller; Michael Walzer; Susan Wolf.
Politics, Philosophy, Cultural studies


Questions of cultural identity     ESS QUE
Stuart Hall; Paul Gay
London: Sage, 1996
A series of essays interrogate different dimensions of the crisis of identity.
Rather than privileging any one approach to the problem of identity, the book
Opens up a number of significant questions and offers insights into different
Approaches to understanding identity. Contributors include: Stuart Hall;
Zygmunt Bauman; Marilyn Strathern; Homi K. Bhabha; Kevin Robins;
Lawrence Grossberg; Simon Frith; Nikolas Rose; Paul du Gay; James Donald.
Cultural Studies, Identity



Scattered belongings: cultural paradoxes of race, nation and gender   ESS IFE
Jayne O. Ifekwunigwe 
London: Routledge,
Narratives of six women of both continental African / African Caribbean and European parentage, demonstrating how identities are shaped not only by race but also by eth-nicity, gender, class and locality.
Women's Studies, Black Issues, Racial Issues, Identity



Visceral cosmopolitanism: gender, culture and the normalisation of difference
ESS NAV
Mica Nava
Oxford, New York: Berg, 2007
Study of cosmopolitanism that explores English suburban cosmopolitanism and fore-grounds the gendered, imaginative and empathetic aspects of engagement with cultural and racial difference.
Hybridity, Gender, Multiculturalism, Race, Sexuality, Migration



Rethinking multiculturalism: cultural diversity and political theory    ESS PAR
Bhikhu Parekh
Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 2000
An examination of multiculturalism, migration and cultural displacement addressing issues of philosophy, politics, nationalism, gender and religion.
Multiculturalism, Cultural studies



Un/settled multiculturalisms: diasporas, entanglements, 'transruptions'   ESS UNS
Edited by Barnor Hesse
New York: Zed Book, 2000
Analysis of multiculturalism in the West, particularly Britain, including diaspora issues, food, sport, gender, music, the Muslim community in Britain, Black identity, Afro-Caribbean identity in Britain, Chinese in Britain (including analysis of Yeu Lai Mo's video installation); the Asian 'gang'. Contributors include Barnor Hesse; S. Sayyid; Brett St. Louis; David Parker; Claire Alexander; Denise Noble; Roiyah Saltus-Blackwood; Zimitri Erasmus; Stuart Hall.
Racial issues, Masculinity, UK, Multiculturalism, Cultural studies, Diaspora

ART THEORY

Art and otherness: crisis in cultural identity    ESS MCE
Thomas McEvilley
New York: Mcpherson, 1992
The author explores the way in which the presentation of art can determine
its reception, how ‘influence’ can be bi-directional, how ‘otherness’ serves to define ’self’, and how art can be perceived outside concepts of universality.
Art, Cultural identity


Belonging and globalisation: critical essays in contemporary art   ESS BOU
Kamal Boullata
Saqi Books, 2008
Essays exploring art, culture, identity, and globalisation with a focus on the 7th Sharjah Biennial. Featuring essays by Hoor Al Quasimi, Frederick N. Bohrer, Kamal Boullata, Nicolas Bourriaud, Boris Brollo, Jean Fisher, Laymert Garcia Dos Santos. Elias Khoury, Ken Lum, Joseph Massad, Khaled Mattawa, Gerardo Mosquero, Achille Bonito Oliva, Jack Persekian, Nadia Tazi, Tirdad Zolghadr.
Globalisation, Biennials



Changing States: contemporary art and ideas in an era of globalisation   ESS CHA
Tawadros, Gilane
London: Institute of International Visual Arts, 2004
This anthology maps the changing landscape of contemporary art and culture over the past decade in the context of global economics and local politics, seen through the prism of a decade of Iniva's programming.
Art, Globalisation, Cultural identity



Complex entanglements: art, globalisation and cultural difference  ESS COM
Nikos Papastergiadis
London: Rivers Oram Press, 2003
An anthology is based on Globalisation + Art + Cultural difference –
On the Edge of Change, a conference held in Sydney in 2001 exploring the
legacy and the futures of multicultural discourses for the arts, situating the
debates on art, culture and theory in the context of globalisation. Contributors
Include: Ien Ang; Rasheed Araeen; Carlos Capelan; Paul Carter; John Conomos;
Ricardo Dominguez; Jean Fisher; Coco Fusco; Sneja Gunew; Ghassan Hage;
Marcia Langton; Gerardo Mosquera; Hetti Perkins and Fazal Rizvi.
Globalisation, Cultural Studies


Global visions : towards a new internationalism in the visual arts  ESS GLO
Edited by Jean Fisher
London: Kala Press, 1994
Collected papers of the Institute of International Visual Arts symposium, 'A New Internationalism', held at the Tate Gallery in London in April 1994. Contributors include: Rasheed Araeen; Hal Foster; Guillermo Santamarina; Sarat Maharaj; Geeta Kapur; Olu Oguibe; Judith Wilson; Hou Hanru; Everlyn Nicodemus; Gilane Tawadros; Jimmie Durham; Gordon Bennett; Gerardo Mosquera; Raiji Kuroda; Fred Wilson; Elisabeth Sussman.
Art history, Globalisation


Mixed belongings and unspecified destinations   410.111 INI MIX
Nikos Papastergiadis
London: Institute of International Visual Arts (Iniva), 1996
Volume 1 of the "Annotations" series. Brings together papers delivered during a one-day interdisciplinary conference at the John Hansard Gallery, University of Southampton, in collaboration with Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts), May 1996, to coincide with the exhibition 'Imagined Communities', curated by Richard Hylton. With contributing essays from Kobena Mercer, Graham Crow, Simon Edge, Richard Hylton, Doreen Massey, Lynda Morris, Yinka Shonibare and Tim Rollins, the book explores the different and complex relationships between artists and notions of community.
Identity, Art, Community


Over here: international perspectives on art and culture   ESS OVEGerardo Mosquera, and Jean Fisher
Cambridge: MIT Press, 2004
The collection of essays addresses cultural issues arising from displacement and placement; the effects of diaspora, transnational communities, translation and the untranslatable. Contributors include: Lisa Phillips; Jean Fisher; Gerardo Mosquera; Lee Weng Choy; Carlos Vidal; Gabriel Peluffo Linari; Geeta Kapur; Chang Tsong-Zung; Pam Johnston; Rustom Bharucha; Carolina Ponce De Leon; Jose Manuel Valenzuela Arce; Apinan Poshyananda; Jose Luis Brea; John Clark; Marian Pastor Roces; Edouard Glissant; Everlyn Nicodemus; Kathryn Smith; Jalal Toufic; Gustavo Buntinx; Nikos Papastergiadis; Angela Dimitrakaki; Jose Gatti and Victor Tupitsyn.
Art, Cultural Issues, Displacement, Diaspora

SUBCULTURE

Resistance through rituals: youth subcultures in post-war Britain   ESS RES
Stuart Hall, Tony Jefferson
London: Routledge, 1993
A collection of essays first published as a double issue of the working papers of the centre for contemporary cultural studies in 1975, looking in detail at the wide range of post war youth subcultures in Britain, from teds, mods and skinheads to black Rastafarians. Contributors include: John Clarke; Brian Roberts; CCCS mugging group; Dick Hebdige; Paul E. Willis; Howard Becker; Geoffrey Pearson; John Twohig; Colin Webster; Rachel Powell; Iain Chambers; Chas Critcher; Graham Murdock; Robin Mccron; Angela McRobbie; Jenny Garber; Paul Corrigan; Simon Frith; Brian Roberts and Steve Butters.
Cultural studies, Young culture



Riot Grrrl : revolution girl style now!   ESS RIO
Nadine Monem
London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007
Riot Grrrl: Revolution Girl Style Now! is an account of the Riot Grrrl subculture founded as part of third wave feminist cultural activism. The book documents the punk inspired music scene from its inception in Olympia, WA to its international influence. The history of the Riot Grrrl movement is explored through zine cultures, music, fashion and dress, and interrogates ideologies concerning gender, sexualities, race, and class. Contributors include Beth Ditto, Julia Downes, Red Chidgey, Cazz Blase and Suzy Corrigan.


Stuart Hall     ESS PRO
James Procter
London: Routledge, 2004
Placing Stuart Hall's work within its historical contexts, the author provides a clear guide to key ideas and influences, as well as to his critics and his intellectual legacy, covering topics such as popular culture and youth subcultures; cultural studies; media and communication; racism and resistance; postmodernism and post-colonialism; Thatcherism; identity, ethnicity and diaspora.
Cultural Studies, Diaspora, Identity, Racism, Politics, Post Colonialism



Subcultures    REF SUB
Memphis, TN: LLC, 2011
Encyclopedia of popular and alternative subcultures, such as: hippie; goth subculture; new age, skinhead, steampunk; transhumanism, emo; furry fandom; dandy; zine; punk subculture; military brat; mod; national-anarchism; military sociology.
Subculture, Alternative Lifestyle, Nonconformist, Alternative Culture


Subculture: the meaning of style  ESS HEB
Dick Hebidge
London: Routledge, 1997
Exploring subculture in the expressive forms and rituals of subordinary groups from teddy boys to mods and rockers to skinheads to punks who are alternately dismissed, denounced and canonized; treated at different times as threats to public order and as harmless buffoons in post-war Britain.
Social history, cultural studies


EXHIBITION CATALOGUES
  
Afro modern: journeys through the Black Atlantic  410.174 AFR
Edited by Tanya Barson, Peter Gorschlüter
London: Tate Liverpool, 2010
Published on the occasion of the exhibition Afro Modern: journeys through the Black Atlantic at Tate Liverpool 29 January until 25 April 2010. The notion of the Black Atlantic was coined by British academic Paul Gilroy in the early 1990s to descrive the hybrid cultures that have arisen as a result of the dispersal of black peoples. The catalogue also includes a glossary, a comprehensive timeline, and a bibliography focusing on the visual art of African diaspora based on the holdings of the Tate library as well as publications from Iniva's Stuart Hall Library.
Black Atlantic, Diaspora, Black Art



Crossing black waters   410.111 CRO
Allan Desouza, Shaheen Merali
London: Working Press, 1992
Accompanying an exhibition of the same name, this book documents the work of 13 South Asian artists, of which seven are based in Britain. Through essays, interviews and photographs, Crossing Black Waters analyses the artists' handling of the colonial legacy and their attempts to extend and develop a contemporary cultural practice. Artists Include: Said Adrus; Anand Moy Banerji; Arpana Caur; Allan Desouza; Nina Edge; Sushanta Guha; Bhajan Hunjan; Manjeet Lamba; Shaheen Merali; Quddus Mirza; Samena Rana; Anwar Saeed; Sashidharan. Contributors Include: Chopra, Suneet; Wilson, Amrit; Rashid, Ian; Grech, Joyoti; Alexander, Meena; Dutta, Pulak; Gaze, Harriett; Gupta, Sunil; Hashmi, Salima; Merali, Jamila; Minissale, Gregory; Min, Yong Soon.
Asian art, Asian British artists, Colonialism, Representation issues



Entanglement: the ambivalence of identity   410.111 INI ENT
Tessa Jackson
London: Iniva, 2011
Pamphlet to accompany Entanglement: the Ambivalence of Identity, 14 September to 19 November 2011 curated by Iniva at Rivington place. Artists include Simon Fujiwara, Anthony Key, Dave Lewis, Nina Mangalanayagam and Navin Rawanchaikul. Introduction by Tessa Jackson; text by Alice Correira. The exhibition takes a contemporary look at cultural identity in the context of globalisation and cosmopolitanism.
Cultural Identity, Globalisation, Hybridity, Multiculturalism



Global feminisms : new directions in contemporary art  747 GLO
Maura Reilly, Linda Nochlin
New York: Merrel, 2007
Published on the occasion of the exhibition Global Feminisms, organised by the Brooklyn Museum, New York, March 23-July 1 2007.
Feminism, Contemporary art, Painting, Sculpture, Women, Asia, India, Africa, Eastern Europe, Transnational


Sonia Boyce : performance  410.111 INI SON
Mark Crinson
London: Institute of International Visual Arts, 1998
Volume 2 from the "Annotations" series. Records and interprets work produced by Sonia Boyce during her residency at the University of Manchester and published on the occasion of the exhibition at Cornerhouse, Manchester, 1998. With essays by Marcus Verhagen, Nikos Papastergiadis, Paul Bayley and Vicky Charnock. The book also includes an interview between the artist, Christine Woods and Andrea Mackean, extracts from a diary of the residency and artist's pages.
UK, Black artists


Steve Ouditt: Creole in-site    410.111 INI STE
Gilane Tawadros
London: Institute of International Visual Arts, 1998
Volume 4 of the "Annotations" series. Diary writings originally published as part of "Creole in-site", an online diary commissioned by inIVA for its website, plus other writings documenting the artist's work and a residency at the 198 Gallery, Brixton, in 1997 culminating in the exhibition "Works(on process)".
Trinidad, Artists' writings



The hybrid state  747 HYB
Papo Colo
New York: Exit Art, 1992
Catalogue of the exhibition presented at Exit Art in 1991. Contributors include: Cam-nitzer, Luis; Colo, Papo; Decter, Joshua; Durham, Jimmie; Gómez-Peña, Guillermo; Olalquiaga, Celeste; Niesluchowski, Warren; Wodiczko, Krzysztof. Artists include: Ida Applebroog; Luis Camnitzer; Juan Downey; Jimmie Durham; Ming Fay; Guillermo Gómez-Peña; Nancy Grossman; David Hammons; Jerry Kearns; Juan Sanchez; Anton Van Dalen; Cecilia Vicuña; Ursula Von Rydingsvard; Martin Wong; Krzysztof Wodiczko.


Third Eye: struggle for black and third world cinema   410.111 THI
Fatimah Tobing Rony
Durham: NCGLC Race Equality Unit, 1986
Includes: Part I - Third Eye Symposium (31 October - 4 November 1983); Part II - Black film sector: which way forward. Contributors: Mike Phillips; Miguel Littin; N.V.K. Murthy; Haile Gerima; Segun Oyekunle; Tapan K. Bose; Jose Massip; Black Audio Film Collective (Reece Auguste); Sankofa Film and Video Workshop (Isaac Julien); Penumbra Production (H.O. Nazareth); Retake Film and Video Collective (Mahmood Jamal); Star Productions (Raj Patel); Ceddo Film and Video Workshop (Ujebe Masokoane); Community Cable Productions (Claudine Boothe); Parminder Vir. Topics include: The changing face of Indian cinema; Afro-American cinema; The role of cinema in imperialist culture; Representation of women in Third World Cinema.
Black film studies, Cinema, Film, Imperialism, Third World cinema, Women's issues


Transculture : la biennale di Venezia 1995  450.341 BIE 1995
Fumio Nanjo, Dana Friis-Hansen
Tokyo: Japan Foundation, 1995
The Transculture exhibition was on view in Venice at the Palazzo Giustinian Lolin (Fondazione Levi) in conjunction with the 46th Venice Biennale. The exhibition, whose themes were identity and communication between different cultures, presented the work of the following artists: Gordon Bennett; Frédéric Bruly Bouabré; Guo Qiang Cai; Ping Chong; Simryn Gill; Joseph Grigely; Masao Kohmura; Shani Mootoo; Takashi Mu-rakami; Shirin Neshat; Reamillo And Juliet; Technocrat; Adriana Varejão; World Tea Party; Rene Yung. Contributors Include: Guy Brett; Chris Dercon; Paulo Herkenhoff; Kurt Hollander; André Magnin; Fumio Nanjo; Ryuta Imafuku; Ivo Mesquita; Apinan Poshyananda; Joshua Quittner; Dana Friis-Hansen; Shani Mootoo. Country Of Origin Of Artists Includes: Hong Kong; Philippines; Ireland; USA, Brazil; Iran; Japan; Singapore; China; Australia; Canada; Ivory Coast.
Biennials, Multiculturalism, Identity, Venice, Italy



AUDIOVISUAL

Burning an illusion: the story of a black woman's awakening  CD 256
Shabazz Menelik
London: BFI, 1981
Menelik Shabazz's first feature film powerfully evokes the lives of young black londoners in the thatcher era through exploring the growth and transformation of a young couple. Performers include: Cassie McFarlane; Victor Romero.


Changing states: contemporary art and culture in the 21st century  MD 19-20
London: Iniva, 2002
First in the 'Changing States' series recorded in Conway Hall, London on 23 January 2002. This question-style discussion is aimed to chart the state of contemporary art and culture at the beginning of the 21st century. Chaired by Susan Hiller, speakers are Matthew Collings, Adrian Searle, David A. Bailey and Gilane Tawadros. The Changing States series is curated by Niru Ratnam and Gilane Tawadros.


Changing States: Interview with Francesco Bonami  MD 25
London: Iniva, 2002
Gilane Tawadros in conversation with Francesco Bonami, curator of the 2003 Venice Biennale At The CCA (Centre For Contemporary Arts) Glasgow, 19 November 2002. Curated By Niru Ratnam.


Changing states: protest! art and anti-globalisation VD 212
Nils  Norman
London: Iniva, 2002
The third talk in the Changing States series featuring papers from Julian Stallabrass artist Nils Norman. Themes addressed include the appropriation of public space by private interests and the challenge to corporate globalisation by politicised artistic practice and guerilla protest movements. Chaired by Niru Ratnam.


Documenta 11 – Press 2 CD 173
Kassell: Documenta GmbH, 2002
Images, biographical information and press releases of Documenta 11, 2002.


Fatima’s letter VD 202
Alia Syed
1992
Contains 'Fatima's letter' (an account of transcultural experience) and the Watershed' by Alia Syed.


Frantz Fanon: black skin white mask VD 66
Isaac Julien
A film that articulates both the mid-century moment of anti-colonial struggle and the insurgencies and intimacies of our post-colonial position.


I’m British but...
Gurinder Chadha VD 169
London: 1989
Travelling from Manchester to Belfast to the Welsh countryside, the documentary re-flects the diversity of the Asian diaspora in Britain.


Inside and out: Kader Attia and the French Algerian experience CD 202
London: Iniva, 2005
Coinciding with the first UK showing of his work at Sketch Gallery, London in 2005 this conversation explores the work of Algerian-born artist Kader Attia. Contributors are Hélène Hazera and Gilane Tawadros.


Modernity and difference TP 103
London: Iniva , [no date]
Discussion: modernity and difference. It consists of a conversation between Stuart Hall And Sarat Maharaj on modernity, difference and untranslatability, which took place at the Lux Centre, London, at an event organised by the Institute of International Visual Arts.


Paul Gilroy in conversation VD 23
London: ICA, c.2000
Paul Gilroy and Barnor Hesse in conversation. Paul Gilroy presents a synthesis of his arguments against the simplications of Black Nationalism and ethnocentrism and proposes an embracing of more complex alternatives in which routes count for as much roots and displacement is more common than stasis.


Territories VD 90
Isaac Julien, c.2000
An experimental documentary about black culture. Critiques the ways traditional media represent black people and portrays the Notting Hill Carnival as an event about resistance.



PERIODICALS
 

Meridians: feminism, race and transnationalism
Wesleyan University, 2002 to 2012 (incomplete)
A feminist, interdisciplinary journal which make scholarship by and about women of colour central to contemporary definitions of feminisms in the explorations of women's economic conditions, cultures, and sexualities, as well as of the forms and meanings of resistance and activist strategies.


Re-inventing Britain: identity, transnationalism and the arts    410 REI
British Council, 1997
Issue no. 9 of the British Council's international magazine British Studies Now. Includes manifesto for re-inventing Britain by Homi Bhabha and texts by: Naseem Khan; Hou Hanru on Parisien(ne)s; Ghislaine Boddington; Graham Harwood; Keith Khan.


Third text: a critical perspective on contemporary art and culture
Routledge, 1981 to 2012 (incomplete)
Third text is an international scholarly journal providing critical perspectives on art and visual culture. Third text provides a forum for the discussion and reappraisal of the theory and practice of art, art history and criticism, and the work of artists hitherto marginalised through racial, gender, religious and cultural differences.


Transition: an international review
Duke University Press
Holding: 1981 to 2012 (incomplete)
Transition publishes works dealing with race, ethnicity, culture, and politics.
Issue no. 55: “Beyond identity”.


Small axe: a Caribbean journal of criticism
Small axe Collective, 1997 to 2012 (incomplete)
Small axe is an oppositional idiom of criticism that alters the context about sovereignty, self-determination, and ideological forms of possible political futures in the caribbean's modernity. This periodical aim to give a new vocabulary of criticism necessary to understand and address the social, cultural, and political forms of our present

ZINES

Adventures close to home: a zine about the Slits
Melissa Steiner
A zine documenting Melissa's love for the Slits and their influence on music and
Diy feminist communities.


Angry black-white girl
Nia King
A personal account of growing up mixed race in Massachusetts.
Iss 1, 2007


Diy or don't we? A zine about community
Nicki Sabalu
A compilation zine exploring perspectives of community in activism and diy subcul-tures.
Iss 1, 2009


Electra
Sarah Jane
Crtical zines discussing music, popular culture, black issues and feminism.


 
Kiahan (a tale of migration)
Kiahan
Perzine focusing on migration politics and Afghanistan featuring drawings.
2008


No history, no self
Johanna
Perzine with stories on moving to the UK, race, identity, and the problematic definitions of identifying as 'Asian American'.
Iss 1, 2009


Race revolt
Humaira Saeed
Race revolt compiles contributions focusing on race, ethnicity, and identity in queer, feminist, and DIY subcultures. Donated by Humaira Saeed.
Iss 4, 2009 - Iss 5, 2010


Ungrateful black-white girl
Nia King
A perzine examining race and identity and queer gender politics.
Iss 1, 2008


The first 7-inch was better: how I became an ex-punk
Nia King
Perzine by Nia King discussing her personal experiences within the punk scene in terms of class, race, and gender politics.
2009



Charlotte Seegers is an Anthropology graduate from University Bordeaux II in France. Since moving to London two years ago, she has worked as a researcher on two observational documentaries and has completed an internship at Iniva while studying for an MA in Visual Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London.

'My aim is to merge the Visual with Anthropology to open up a whole range of possibilities for conducting and communicating my research. My subject interests range from the Displacement of Identity to Subcultures and the Deconstruction of commonness in visual representation.
All these themes have influenced the research that I was able to carry out during my time at the Stuart Hall Library'.

The Art of Zines: Work in Progress

There are two weeks to go until the Stuart Hall Library launches its latest exhibition, The Art of Zines on 6 October.

The idea for the exhibition and zine swap event came from a meeting with zine writer Fliss Collier offering her zines as donations to the library collection. We really enjoyed reading Fliss' zines, and began to talk about the possibility of collaborating on an event that could be held in the library.

Fliss' specialism is music zines, and Stuart Hall Library's primary focus is international visual arts, politics and diversity - we decided that these seemingly disparate subject areas could coalesce to enable us to showcase the aesthetic vibrancy of zine creativity, and the complexity of different (sub) cultures.

Fliss has been selecting the zines for the exhibition, and together with the library team, working towards an exhibition of a broad representation of the zines currently held in the Stuart Hall Library collection.

By highlighting the zine collection, we are hoping that more zine enthusiasts will visit the library to spend time reading, that visitors who have never heard of zines will be curious, and perhaps  be inspired enough to make their own.

About the Curator

Fliss has been writing and producing ’zines since 1996, mostly about music. Her first 'zine was about Billy Bragg, and she went on to write music 'zines which allowed her to interview The Strokes in their early days, as well as British Sea Power, and later The Brian Jonestown Massacre, amongst scores of others. She made a professional glossy music magazine several years ago, but soon returned to her preferred format: the 'zine. Her current 'zines include The All Thrills No Frills Music Bill, another music 'zine – she also writes passionately about libraries, gardening and vegetarianism. She has sold ’zines through the London ’Zine Symposium, Marching Stars Distro, and independently. She supports and blogs about ’zines, and recently with friends formed the South West London and Surrey Zine Collective, with the intention of putting on events (like picnics, pub meets, ’zine fairs) and bringing ’zine writers together south of the Thames. The collective also have their own ’zine distro, Staple Diet.

The Art of Zines is a free event, but places are limited. To book, email library@iniva.org

Closed Week 2012



Closed Week team: Tom, Katie, Carolina and Giuseppe


Regular users will have noticed that the Library was closed for the week from 3-7 September.

We do this once a year to undertake the library tasks that are difficult to work on when we are open: making sure all the book and periodical sequences are in order, identifying damaged items and caring for them appropriately, hunting for missing items and tidying up our catalogue.

 We were overwhelmed by the generosity of those who offered to volunteer, but could only accept four people (above). Our regular volunteers, Joshua, Ahilan and Charlotte helped too.

Closed Week also enabled us to give more prominent shelf space to two of our special collections: Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s published works, and our collection of dissertations and theses, now available to consult on the open shelves.

It was also good to find time to catalogue zines to add to our ever-growing collection. Again, the generosity of zine makers and collectors knows no bounds! So we are proud to have the majority of our zines now available to library users in time for our Art of Zines / Zine Swap! event on 6 October.

Tom



Giuseppe and Carolina

The Library team would like to thank our regular and Closed Week volunteers, those who offered to help us, and all our library users and visitors who make Stuart Hall Library such a great place to be.

Zines

It seems to be a very zine-tastic time at the moment in the library. Last week Sonia attended the It's Your Write event at the Museum of Childhood organised by The Papered Parlour . Sonia presented a talk along with The Women's Library, to discuss our respective zine collections. It was a fantastic event with extremely positive feedback and it was a great chance to promote our zine collection to fellow zinesters and the uninitiated. Please do check The Papered Parlour website for further information as recordings and documents of the evening will be uploaded shorttly. And continuing our current zine frenzy, we are getting excited about the 2011 London Zine Symposium taking place this Sunday. The event takes place Sunday 17th April 12-6pm at The Rag Factory, Heneage Street, London, E1 5LJ. The full programme of events including workshops, stalls, and the radical history of Brick Lane is now available on their website. With over 60 zine and comix distros on the day we are looking forward to buying lots of new zines for our library collection. We hope to see some of you there!

Race Revolt zine launch

Race Revolt zine launch

On Thursday 27th January we were very excited to launch the new issue of Race Revolt zine in the library. Ever since May last year when we launched our library zine collection, we have been hoping to collaborate in some way with Race Revolt as the zine is a personal favourite of the library team. We wanted to engage with the themes raised in each issue and hoped that the Stuart Hall Library would be a space for discussion and interaction as well as a chance to introduce the zine to new audiences.

Race Revolt compiles contributions on race politics by feminists and queers; the zine began in 2007 'as an intervention into the silences around race in queer, feminist and activist communities.' To launch Issue 5 of Race Revolt we invited editor Humaira Saeed , along with contributors to the zine: Yasmine Brien, Su Real , and Melissa Steiner, to discuss their contributions to the zine.

The evening was a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with one of our favourite zines and to interact with the specific points and issues. Each presentation was also grounded in personal and accessible language which is extremely refreshing and something I've really enjoyed in our series of zine events in the library.While it's not to say that zines and zine culture can't be intellectualised or theorised, it's so much more engaging to hear writers and artsists talk in extremely personal ways, particularly as many attendees at our zine events are new to the world of zine cultures. It was particularly exciting to overhear a member of the audience discussing the event afterwards saying "I didn't know zines were that easy to make. I want to make one now!"

If you weren't able to attend but would like to hear these presentations for yourself then audio recordings from the event are now available here

Thank you to all our guests and to everyone who attended. It's so encouraging to hear all your positive feedback and to see such excitement for zines and zine culture. We hope to continue our series of zine events this year so please stay tuned for further info. And an extra big thanks to Charlotte Cooper for her extremely generous donation of zines for the library collection!

Copies of Race Revolt can be found in the Stuart Hall Library, as well as online via the Race Revolt website.

Our library users might also be interested in the related race Revolt event Towards New Forms of Queer Belonging. This event sees a series of workshops and roundtable discussions challenging the ways in which gay rights are being used in nationalist, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric and ask what an effective form of queer solidarity might look like. For the full schedule of events please visit the Race Revolt website.

Race Revolt zine

The new issue of Race Revolt is out now and is available in the Stuart Hall Library!



Race Revolt is one of our favourite zines in the library and we are hopefully planning a Race Revolt related event sometime in the future. The zine started in 2007 as an intervention into the silences around race in queer, feminist and activist communities that. Although articles may not address activism or queer-feminist politics directly, many of the voices in the 'zine can be located within these concerns.


In the meantime if you would like to catch up on any previous issues of Race Revolt you can now read earlier issues online.

Zines in the library

On Saturday we attended the London Zine Symposium to meet zinesters, chat to those running distro stalls, and to get our hands on the start of our zine collection.

A big thanks to everyone on Saturday who donated zines to our collection, offered recommendations, and expressed infectious enthusiasm about the Stuart Hall Library and our new zine collection. It was an inspiring yet tiring day and thanks to all the other zine librarians on the day who offered vital words of wisdom and were willing to share their expertise and resources. We managed to speak to some wonderful distros and attended some fantastic zine readings by our favourite zinesters including Charlotte Cooper and Patrick Staff (from Ricochet! Ricochet! zines and distro).

We managed to pick up a few new zines to kickstart our collection:



Here are two zines from Other Asias: The Jinah Papers and Tea Journeys which we are pleased to add to our collection. It was fantastic to find out about Other Asias work and connections to publications such as Nonel and Vovel (also available in the Stuart Hall Library). We are hoping to get many more publications by Other Asias in the Stuart Hall Library.


Throughout the day we spoke to zinesters, distros, zine librarians, and zine readers looking for zines to buy or recommended titles of zines specifically in relation to race, ethnicity and identity. Thanks to everyone we spoke to who gave their recommendations and forwarded us details of relevant distros. We are now chasing up these titles. When we asked zinesters and distros for these types of zines, most people recommended Race Revolt...



Here is the latest issue now available in the Stuart Hall Library. We are hoping to work with Race Revolt for their upcoming issue and all previous issues will be made available in the library.

The London Zine Symposium was a great way to mark our initiation into the zine community and to have these discussions regarding zines and identity as we begin to plan our zine collection within the library.

We are still looking for zine donations and probably most importantly we are continuing to ask you for recommendations of zine titles and distros. Our main focus is on zines relating to issues of race, ethnicity, and identity. But our zines will also incorporate themes of gender, sexuality, politics, music, and popular culture. The Stuart Hall Library is considered a specialist arts library so a large portion of our zine collection will also focus on the visual arts, particularly international zines. If you have any titles you would like to recommend to us or if you are interested in donating then please let us know in the comments section of this blog, or let us know by emailing us library@iniva.org

Next stop, Zine Fest at the Women's Library, Saturday 12th June. See you there!