Program
For three days, the Vienna Art Book Fair #3 will offer an accompanying program that includes exhibitions, performances, book presentations, artists’ talks, readings and panels and offsite events.
︎List of Signings and Launches
Gound Floor
︎ Auditorium
︎ Project Room 1 – Ongoing exhibition: S P I N O R A M A
︎ Project Room 2 – Ongoing exhibition: Quotes about Books from Books about Books
︎ Project Room 3 - VABF Talk
︎ Project Room 4 - VABF Talk and exhibition: From a Seed to a Star by Morley House
︎ Project Room 5 - Book bindery workshop by Anna Frey
︎ Offsite Event
Thursday, October 16, 2025
︎ 5-7 PM, Pre Fair Offsite Event
Come to the opening of the Enten pop-up at Softcover
Michelle @finallyfoundagoodusername will be drawing you live as a duck (Ente) – there will also be lots of duck products and, of course, the duck book published by Jaja Verlag.
Duck pop-up: October 16–18, 2025, 12-6 pm
Venue: Softcover, Stumpergasse 53-55, 1060 Vienna
© Michelle Tophinke
Friday, October 17, 2025
︎ 5 PM
The Vienna Art Book Fair #3
opens its doors for the third time.
Free entry!︎ 6 PM, Auditorium
»Sie puppt mit Puppen« (She Dolls With Dollies)
by Karin Fisslthaler
Animation, AT 2024, 3 min., OV
Music: Anna Clementi, Thomas Stern
Text: Kurt Schwitters
»Sie puppt mit Puppen« (She Dolls With Dollies) is a visually and sonically charged collage based on Kurt Schwitters’ 1944 poem. Portraits from vintage films and magazines become anonymized silhouettes filled with spinning tulips and cacti—vivid, pulsating contrasts to the static black-and-white frames of classic glamour and uniformity.
Set to an electronic sound composition by Anna Clementi and Thomas Stern, the fragmented poem dissolves into rhythm before reemerging in full. Through iconic figures like Carole Lombard, Marilyn Monroe, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the work interlaces pop culture, addiction narratives, and cinematic desire. Fisslthaler’s film transforms Schwitters’ linguistic play of repetition and disintegration into a hypnotic audiovisual meditation on identity, decay, and the politics of representation.
(Orig. Text by Charlie Bendisch, Friederike Horstmann; Translation: Eve Heller)
© Sixpackfilm
︎ 7:30 PM, Project Room 4
»Stick(er) it to the man. – A Radical Form of Publishing and the (re)claiming of public space«
Talk: Matt Plezier (MonoRhetorik) and Moritz Grünke (Gloria Glitzer)
Stickers in the urban landscape engage with public spaces in a direct manner. Public space is integral to people's ability to express and claim the right to the city, "not merely a right of access to what already exists, but a right to change it after our heart's desire" (David Harvey, 2003). Stickers are ideal for this task, they are cheap to make, they stick to any surface and are * hard to clean. Many protest stickers are attempts to persuade, to bring attention to urgent themes, or are a form of territorial space-claiming. Whatever the goal, stickers participate in public debates transforming the public space into a bulletin board.
— Matt Plezier
Matt and Moritz’s presentation will provide a glimpse into their extensive collections, reflecting on the cultural and political significance of stickers as a publishing practice while sharing their personal engagement with this expressive medium.
Keynote with the generous support of Wirtschaftsagentur Wien. Ein Fonds der Stadt Wien.
Ongoing exhibition
Project Room 1 / Project Room 2Self-Shelf: private (artists’) book collections made public.
S P I N O R A M A and Quotes about Books from Books about Books are part of the ongoing exhibition series Self-Shelf: private (artists’) book collections made public, curated by Jae Kyung Kim (einBuch.haus).
︎Saturday, October 18, 2025, 4 pm — Tour through the exhibitions with Fraser Muggeridge and Jae Kyung Kim
more Infos ︎ here
S P I N O R A M A
Project Room 1S P I N O R A M A is the first exhibition devoted to the book spine—a crucial yet often overlooked element of book design. Featuring over 100 spines from diverse genres, it reveals the spine’s role as more than a mere structural feature. While books spend most of their lives on shelves with only their spines visible, their design and creative potential have rarely been explored. Historically treated as a utilitarian space for basic information, the spine can instead serve as a site for expression and visual identity. Referencing designers such as Jost Hochuli and Jan Tschichold, the exhibition showcases spines that form images, convey unexpected messages, and transform a functional surface into a space of artistic invention.
The exhibition is curated by Aslak Gurholt and Fraser Muggeridge
Credit: S P I N O R A M A, © Aslak Gurholt, Fraser Muggerdige
Quotes about Books from Books about Books
Project Room 2Quotes about Books from Books about Books is an artist’s book, exhibition, and library project by Sveinn Fannar Jóhannsson. It brings together 148 quotes from his archive of printed matter—periodicals, catalogues, zines, and artists’ books from 1974–2025—that reflect on the book as medium, material, and metaphor. The exhibition invites visitors to access each source publication directly, creating a participatory reading experience.
By recontextualizing excerpts from a wide range of artistic and theoretical texts, the project explores the political, conceptual, and material dimensions of publishing, questioning what a book is—or might be—today.
Exhibition View: Sveinn Fannar Jóhannsson, Quotes about Books from Books about Books, einBuch.haus, 2025 (© Sveinn Fannar Jóhannsson).
more Infos ︎ here
Saturday, October 18, 2025
︎ 2 PM, Project Room 3
Talk: Michelle Tophinke (finallyfoundagoodusername) in conversation with Sebastian Gansrigler (Softcover)
Michelle Tophinke, known as @finallyfoundagoodusername, is an illustrator and comic artist from Münster (Westphalia). She transforms everyday moments into humorous drawings and enjoys playing with language. She particularly likes to use wordplay in her work. In addition to comics, she also creates books, prints, postcards, stickers, and much more. At the end of 2023, her book “Alle meine Enten” (All My Ducks) was published by Jaja Verlag, and she has also published several of her own zines and books. Michelle studied fine art at the Münster Art Academy and illustration at the Münster School of Design. She sells her work through her online shop and regularly presents it at markets, events, and pop-ups. (Deutsch)
© Hanna Neander
© Michelle Tophinke
︎ 2:30 PM, Project Room 4
»Von der Idee zur Form. 3 Buchprojekte, aufgeblättert«
Mara Scherzer, Helena Valasaki und Julia Jesella
Drei Alumni des Universitätslehrgangs Buchgestaltung der New Design University (NDU) präsentieren ihre Abschlussarbeiten, die kaum unterschiedlicher sein könnten: Vom bereits publizierten Buch zu Friederike Mayröcker über einen Leitfaden zu barrierefreier Gestaltung sowie eine Publikation bestehend aus Zines zur weiblichen Wut. Es sind Buchgestaltungen, die im Laufe des einjährigen berufsbegleitenden Lehrgangs entstanden sind. Die Buchdesignerinnen stellen damit die Fähigkeit zum konzeptionellen Denken und Gestalten unter Beweis, um Inhalt, Struktur und Form aufeinander abzustimmen. Zudem braucht es nicht zuletzt Kompetenz im Projektmanagement, um Publikationen effizient umsetzen zu können.
Mara Scherzer, »vielleicht ist es so, dasz man weiter Gespräche führen kann. friederike mayröcker zum 100. geburtstag«
Helena Valasaki, »Trotzdem vielen Dank. Ein Leitfaden für barrierefreie Gestaltung«
Julia Jesella, »calm down, dear. Experiment des Publizierens als Praxis des Widerstands«
︎ 3:30 PM, Project Room 3
»Inside C/O Vienna Magazine Beautiful & tough: A short lecture about Indie Publishing«
mit Antje Salvi (Chefredakteurin des C/O VIENNA MAGAZINE)
Antje Salvi hält am Samstag eine Lecture über Independent Publishing und die Geschichte des Magazins und teilt Anekdoten aus dem Redaktionsalltag.
(Deutsch)
︎ 4 PM, Project Room 1+2
Tour through the exhibitions S P I N O R A M A and
Quotes about Books from Books about Books with
Fraser Muggeridge and Jae Kyung Kim (einBuch.haus)
more Infos ︎ here
︎ 4 PM, Auditorium
»Smoke, Birds, Pun, Crisis«
Magdalena Kreinecker und Simon Nagy, Spielenachmittag mit Yemo Park: Game On!
Auf Einladung von Magdalena Kreinecker hat die Künstlerin Yemo Park ein eigenes Spiel für das Künstler*innenbuch »Smoke, Birds, Pun, Crisis« entwickelt. Das Spiel, in einer limitierten Auflage von 26 mehrfarbigen Siebdrucken, gestaltet von Theresa Hattinger, wird im Rahmen der Vienna Art Book Fair präsentiert. Es ist Teil des Buchs, das als dialogisches Glossar von Magdalena Kreinecker und Simon Nagy am 8. Dezember 2025 im Hamburger Verlag Textem erscheinen wird. Textem lädt auf der Messe ein, das Spiel zum ersten Mal und gemeinsam mit Yemo Park – die als Spielemeisterin durch den Nachmittag führen wird – zu spielen.
more Infos ︎ here
︎ 5 PM, Project Room 3
*Lady Liberty Library Reader*
A book trailer screening with videography by Jennifer Gelardo & Nina Prader in conversation with SCHLEBRÜGGE.EDITOR
Celebrate 10 years of Nina Prader’s artistic practice and activities on printed matters under the label and artist name @ladylibertypress & @ladylibertylibrary with the *Lady Liberty Library Reader*, published by SCHLEBRÜGGE.EDITOR.
Credit: © Nina Prader
︎ 5:30 PM, Project Room 4
»The Multiple: Artists' Books and the Redistribution of Art«
Morley House
This talk focuses on artists’ books and art book fairs as influential tools for empowering a multiplicity of voices in art.
From Morley House professional experience to our recent interviews with emerging and established artists who engage in publishing practices (Michalis Pichler, Chris Neophytou, etc.), we address and celebrate the potential of artists’ books to redistribute power and highlight a vibrant multitude of voices and viewpoints: at present and in the future.
Morley House (Dinara Asadulina & Christos Kakouros) is an artist duo working at the crossroads of visual art and literature. They make artists' books, paintings, installations, and performances, and see them as vessels, depositories for narratives, comprised of textual and physical elements. The in-between is their meeting point.
@morley.house
︎ Ongoing exhibition by Morley House, From a Seed to a Star in Project Room 4
︎ 6:00 PM, Project Room 3
»Read Frame Type Film: Or Written on the Screen«
Caitlin Quinlan (MUBI Editions) in conversation with Savina Petkova
Join Caitlin Quinlan, Editorial and Publishing Manager, and film writer and critic Savina Petkova for a deep dive into Read Frame Type Film: Or Written on the Screen, the debut release from MUBI Editions—a new publisher dedicated to cinema and the arts. Created in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou, Read Frame Type Film examines the intricate relationship between film and typography. Featuring 24 hand-picked films from the museum’s collection, the book blends design, archival imagery, and critical writing to explore how text lives on screen. The talk will delve into editorial vision, collaborative process, and how the materiality of cinema can be reimagined on the page.
︎ 7 PM, Project Room 4
»CI – centum unus«
Künstlergespräch Bernhard Cella und Josef Schweiger
Im Mittelpunkt steht Schweigers Künstlerbuch und Werkkatalog CI – centum unus. Die Publikation, durchgehend im Handsiebdruck realisiert, dokumentiert und reflektiert die zentralen Gesten, motorischen Muster und formalen Identifikationsmerkmale seiner malerischen Praxis. „CI“ kann als visuelles Handbuch zur „Corporate Identity“ von Schweigers Bildproduktion verstanden werden und eröffnet zugleich Raum für ästhetische Befragung und Interpretation.
Josef Schweiger ist bildender Künstler und Professor an der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien. In seiner Arbeit verbindet er Malerei, Handsiebdruck und Künstlerpublikationen, wobei er wiederkehrende Gesten, Materialexperimente und formale Strukturen systematisch untersucht und in künstlerische Werke überführt.
Bernhard Cella ist Konzeptkünstler, Kurator und Gründer des Salon für Kunstbuch in Wien. Er realisiert internationale Künstlerpublikationen, initiierte das Projekt No ISBN für selbstverlegte Künstlerbücher und zeigte seine Arbeiten zuletzt im Kolumba, Köln (2025) und im MAK, Wien (2025).
︎ 7:15 PM, Offsite Event
Lady Liberty Library Reader After-hour & Vitrine Showcase
Celebrate 10 years of Nina Prader’s artistic practice and activities on printed matters under the label and artist name @ladylibertypress & @ladylibertylibrary with the *Lady Liberty Library Reader* & a Showcase Vitrine!
With Shirley Temples at Vienna’s culture & foodie kiosk Ausgabe (@ausgabe.wien) in Freud’s former district. Bring a publication donation for Ausgabe’s future library.
Venue: Ausgabe, Porzellangasse 1, 1090 Vienna
︎ 7-9 PM, Offsite Event
Till Megerle, Limb Loosener
Performance by Till Megerle and Artjom Astrov
Venue: SCHLEUSE, Schelleingasse 26, 1040 Vienna
Till Megerle, Limb LoosenerPublished by Westphalie Verlag, 2025
16 pages, 22.5 × 31 cm, 120 numbered ex.
Image credit:
Till Megerle, Untitled, 2025
Ink pen on Post-It, 149x200 mm
Sunday, October 19, 2025
︎ 12-2 PM, Project Room 5
»Mini-Bookbinding Workshop«
with Anna Frey
In this hands-on workshop you will learn how two bind your own (mini) books. We will recycle riso-prints by Soybot to add various flashy colors and patterns to our books. To warm up you will learn about the most important tools and materials and create a pamphlet. The next step will be a multi-layered book with an open spine. In the end, you will have two mini-books made of colorful Riso paper.
Costs: 48 € per Person (all Materials included)
Max. 10 pax, Registration here
Credit: © Anna Frey
︎ 12:30 PM, Project Room 3
»It’s the Hottest Day of the Year and Everyone is Fucking Upset«
Accidental Interest Books
Reading with Jonathan Blaschke, Bruno Jacoby and Johanna Schäfer
A tour de force through screen-shot Hollywood classics turned European teenage fan fiction of American dreams.” A shortstory gradually expanding into a novella. This reading will include new work-in-progress material and a slide show.
Credit: © Accidental Interest Books
︎ 1:30 PM, Project Room 4
»e-flux Index«
Talk with George MacBeth (Editor of e-flux index)
e-flux Index is a new print journal surveying the breadth of contemporary culture through e-flux's publishing on art, theory, architecture, film, criticism, and art education.
is a quarterly print publication that brings together contemporary art, theory, architecture, philosophy, and criticism within one expansive platform. Each 560-page issue features commissioned essays, reviews, and articles from across e-flux’s five sections: Architecture, Criticism, Education, Journal, and Notes—each with its own editorial focus. From long-form writing on art and theory to short, timely reflections on culture and politics, Index creates a dialogue between disciplines and ideas shaping the present.
© e-flux
︎ 2 PM, Project Room 3
«10 years of discussing independent publishing in various settings and formats. Paper News and Drucken Heften Laden«
Janine Sack (EECLECTIC) mit Moritz Grünke (Gloria Glitzer) und Kathrin Wildner (adocs)
Seit 2015 diskutiert und analysiert Drucken Heften Laden (eine kleine Gruppe von hauptsächlich in Berlin ansässigen Produzent*innen und Verleger*innen) die Bedingungen und Möglichkeiten für unabhängiges Publizieren im Kontext von Kunst und Stadt (Politik). Seitdem erscheint auch Paper News, unser Newsletter über Aktivitäten, Publikationen und verwandte Themen, der sowohl gedruckt erscheint, als auch als Pdf in einem Blog zu finden ist. Wir tauschen uns über Produktionsmethoden und -werte, sowie über den Vertrieb von Büchern, E-Books, Broschüren und anderen Publikationen, aus und führen Gespräche mit weiteren Expert*innen. Die heutige Medienvielfalt fördert hybride Formate zwischen Analogem und Digitalem. Wir sind daran interessiert, unsere Vorstellung davon, was „unabhängiges“ und „selbstständiges“ Publizieren heute bedeutet, zu verhandeln und zu schärfen.
© Paper News︎ 3 PM, Project Room 4
Exchange - Theoretical workshop with artist J.J. Zana (Bleu.)
It seems clear that contemporary art, rather than being a simple chronological evolution, constitutes a fundamental break with classical and modern practices. Multiplicity of mediums, non-linear methods of composition, preeminence of space, decentralized relationship to audiences and institutions: Exchange is an open discussion intended to those who wish to better understand the new paradigm of contemporary art, and therefore participate in its construction.
Open to all audiences
︎ 3:30 PM, Project Room 3
»Stimmige Irrtümer – Leseperformance von Gundi Feyrer«
mit Gundi Feyrer, Autorin
Karin Hochstatter/Thomas Wallraff, Moderation (INTERVALLVERLAG)
Die in Wien lebende (Sprach-)Künstlerin Gundi Feyrer liest performativ aus ihrem aktuellen, im Kölner INTERVALLVERLAG erschienenen Buch »Stimmige Irrtümer«.
