Roma Publications 1998 - 2008
An editorial project by
Roger Willems & Mark Manders
29 July - 29 August 2008
Curated by Warren Taylor and Matt Hinkley
Roma Publications is an independent editorial project founded in 1998 by Dutch graphic designer Roger Willems and artist Mark Manders. Based in Amsterdam, Roma Publications has been expanding in an informal and dynamic way as a platform for the production of autonomous publications, in close collaboration with a growing number of artists, designers, curators & writers.
With Roma Publications, Manders and Willems have defined their own territory, one which fuses art, design and curatorship. Each of the 112 publications to date has its own rule of appearance with meticulous consideration give to content, typography, layout, and production.
This exhibition focuses on the convergence of art and design and will assemble over 100 objects including artist books, newspapers, catalogues, posters, prints, postcards and audio/visual projections.
Accompanying free public events
Forum: Books Make Friends
Autonomous publishing and
collaborations in art & print
held on Tuesday 29 July
This forum brought together artists and graphic designers working across a range of publication formats. From artist-run periodicals to innovative design magazines, the participants in Books Make Friends discussed their own first-hand experiences working with independent publications. With: Yanni Florence, Pataphysics; Jaki Middleton, managing editor, runway; Marcus Piper, art director, Pol Oxygen; Mickie Quick, Big Fag Press. Chaired by Warren Taylor, founder and director of The Narrows and co-curator, Roma Publications 1998-2008.
Film Screening: Helvetica
A documentary by Gary Hustwit
held on Friday 29 August
Images (from top):
1.Roma Publications 104 Cast (Part 4). Sequence of newspaper images collected by Raymond Taudin Chabot as source material for his 'men-in-suit' slow motion video works. Ed. Roger Willems, 2007
2. Roma Publications 100 Parallel Encyclopedia, Ed. Batia Suter, 2007
3-4. Roma Publications 1998-2007, exhibition installation shots, The Narrows, Melbourne 2007.
5. Roma Publications 1998-2008 exhibition poster, designed by Willems & Manders for this exhibition
Courtesy Roma Publications & The Narrows
Supported by The Narrows, Melbourne, the UTS Visual Communication course in the School of Design, the Creativity and Cognition Studios, Sydney and Roma Publications.
Parallel exhibition of the 2008 Biennale of Sydney 
Powerhouse Museum Presents
Sydney Design 08 
