BOSTON ART BOOK FAIR
Presented by Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) and Boston Art Review2026
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Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) and Boston Art Review team up again to present the Boston Art Book Fair held in BCA’s historic Cyclorama. As one of the largest Art Book Fairs on the East Coast, this curated event features over 140 exhibitors, artists and publishers.
With art installations, publishers, workshops, panels, and a chance to mingle with innovative artists and creatives, this year’s fair invites audiences of all ages to engage in an art-filled weekend to expand their ideas about print.
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SATURDAY
NOV. 14, 2026
BCA Cyclorama
Noon-6pm
Noon-6pm
Outside Plaza
Noon-6pm
Noon-6pm
Directangle Press Mobile library.
Programs Salon
1pm-5pm
1pm-5pm
Talking in the Back
Organized by Ujima Press
Ujima Press brings together publishers whose work documents and participates in the systems we desire—for how we eat, remember, design, or live. Four conversations will be organized around four themes: publishing foodways and local ecosystems, publishing as community building, publishing our values, and publishing radical Black thought. Each exchange builds bridges to the others: Forty-minute sessions pair two or three publishing practices to explore these themes and invite the BosABF community into the conversation.
Sponsored by
Organized by Ujima Press
Ujima Press brings together publishers whose work documents and participates in the systems we desire—for how we eat, remember, design, or live. Four conversations will be organized around four themes: publishing foodways and local ecosystems, publishing as community building, publishing our values, and publishing radical Black thought. Each exchange builds bridges to the others: Forty-minute sessions pair two or three publishing practices to explore these themes and invite the BosABF community into the conversation.
Sponsored by
1pm
Common Tables: Neighborhood, Food, & Publishing
Recipe-collecting and food-writing facilitate the slow unwinding of ecosystems and economies that undergird daily provisioning, reminding us of the effort, history, and cultivation that mold our foodways and livelihoods.
LinYee Yuan (Field Meridians, MOLD) and Alula Hunsen (Ujima Press) will reflect on narrative organizing, local interventions, and how writing through food systems permits connection, sustenance, and the emergence of right relationships (in work, place, and politics).
LinYee Yuan is an educator, editor, and cultural organizer living on the unceded land of Brooklyn in Lenapehoking. Her practice is rooted in conspiring with human and more-than-human neighbors to build relational architectures for liberation.
Alula Hunsen is an essayist, editor, and publisher with Ujima Press at the Boston Ujima Project. His specific intrigues lie in Black cultural production and theory, and in economies and lifeways that support self-determination. His poems and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Transition Magazine, Technology Review, Boston Art Review, Hobart Pulp, Nonprofit Quarterly, Noema Magazine, and in Ujima’s various publications. He is the editorial manager at Boston Ujima Project, Inc.
Recipe-collecting and food-writing facilitate the slow unwinding of ecosystems and economies that undergird daily provisioning, reminding us of the effort, history, and cultivation that mold our foodways and livelihoods.
LinYee Yuan (Field Meridians, MOLD) and Alula Hunsen (Ujima Press) will reflect on narrative organizing, local interventions, and how writing through food systems permits connection, sustenance, and the emergence of right relationships (in work, place, and politics).
LinYee Yuan is an educator, editor, and cultural organizer living on the unceded land of Brooklyn in Lenapehoking. Her practice is rooted in conspiring with human and more-than-human neighbors to build relational architectures for liberation.
Alula Hunsen is an essayist, editor, and publisher with Ujima Press at the Boston Ujima Project. His specific intrigues lie in Black cultural production and theory, and in economies and lifeways that support self-determination. His poems and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Transition Magazine, Technology Review, Boston Art Review, Hobart Pulp, Nonprofit Quarterly, Noema Magazine, and in Ujima’s various publications. He is the editorial manager at Boston Ujima Project, Inc.
2pm
Publishing as Community-Building
Publication is, of course, an opportunity to gather together a public—but who is included? What merit remains in coming together to print something?
In this panel, ñ press’s Gabriel Sosa and Binch Press / Queer.Archive.Work’s Marius Keo Marjolin talk through risograph printing and publishing as a mechanism to protest, to gather, and to invite printmakers, print-agnostics, and everyday community members to say something for, about, or with the communities we inhabit.
Moderated by Rene Zhang
Gabriel Sosa is a Cuban American artist, educator, and cultural worker. His work has been shown at the Boston Public Art Triennial; Fábrica de Arte Cubano, Havana, Cuba; and Tufts University Art Galleries, among others. As part of the 2025 Triennial, Gabriel launched ñ press, a community print studio and publishing platform centered on connection, activism, and shared learning. ñ press continues to operate in East Boston at Maverick Landing Community Services.
Marius Keo Marjolin (they/them) is a mixed Khmerican printmaker, cartoonist and illustrator, currently based in Providence, RI.
Publication is, of course, an opportunity to gather together a public—but who is included? What merit remains in coming together to print something?
In this panel, ñ press’s Gabriel Sosa and Binch Press / Queer.Archive.Work’s Marius Keo Marjolin talk through risograph printing and publishing as a mechanism to protest, to gather, and to invite printmakers, print-agnostics, and everyday community members to say something for, about, or with the communities we inhabit.
Moderated by Rene Zhang
Gabriel Sosa is a Cuban American artist, educator, and cultural worker. His work has been shown at the Boston Public Art Triennial; Fábrica de Arte Cubano, Havana, Cuba; and Tufts University Art Galleries, among others. As part of the 2025 Triennial, Gabriel launched ñ press, a community print studio and publishing platform centered on connection, activism, and shared learning. ñ press continues to operate in East Boston at Maverick Landing Community Services.
Marius Keo Marjolin (they/them) is a mixed Khmerican printmaker, cartoonist and illustrator, currently based in Providence, RI.
3pm
Printing & Prefiguring
Traditional publishing and modes of making books abound with hierarchies and exploitation; the advent of large language models threatens to collapse the industry entirely. We need to publish differently, now: to publish slowly, in conjunction with our politics, in league with our comrades.
We invite Thick Press’s Erin Segal to converse with us on aligning how we publish and collect publics with how we want to live against domination and scarcity, toward thickness and solidarity.
Moderated by Aparna Sridaran (Ujima Press)
Erin Segal works at the intersection of social work, design, and hybrid nonfiction. She co-founded Thick Press (with designer Julie Cho), an independent publisher of unusual books related to care work. She currently practices group work with senior citizens.
Aparna Sridaran is a writer, poet, researcher, and editor based in Boston and Metro Detroit. Her work envisions alternative futures in spaces of belonging, including foodways, fashion, relationships, and spirituality.
Traditional publishing and modes of making books abound with hierarchies and exploitation; the advent of large language models threatens to collapse the industry entirely. We need to publish differently, now: to publish slowly, in conjunction with our politics, in league with our comrades.
We invite Thick Press’s Erin Segal to converse with us on aligning how we publish and collect publics with how we want to live against domination and scarcity, toward thickness and solidarity.
Moderated by Aparna Sridaran (Ujima Press)
Erin Segal works at the intersection of social work, design, and hybrid nonfiction. She co-founded Thick Press (with designer Julie Cho), an independent publisher of unusual books related to care work. She currently practices group work with senior citizens.
Aparna Sridaran is a writer, poet, researcher, and editor based in Boston and Metro Detroit. Her work envisions alternative futures in spaces of belonging, including foodways, fashion, relationships, and spirituality.
4pm
Making Black Trust
The making of a book is as much a political and collective practice as it is an editorial and aesthetic one. How might questions of form and production shape the ways Black histories are interpreted and preserved? How does publishing extend the intellectual and cultural traditions of a political organization, giving old ideals a path to enter into the world for new audiences?
In this conversation, artist-designers Jaamal Benjamin (StudioGrand) and Cierra Peters (Ujima Press), reflect on the making of Ujima Press’s first book series, Black Trust. Published on the eve of the Boston Ujima Project, Inc.’s tenth anniversary, Black Trust documents the organization’s longest-running program, the Black Trust: Chuck Turner Arts & Lecture Series.
Moderated by Jovanna Walker
Jaamal Benjamin is a graphic designer, artist, and educator. His independent design practice, StudioGrand, is a visual communication studio which synthesizes craft, culture, and graphic design to broadcast ideas.
Cierra Peters is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and cultural worker. Her work spans video, installation, writing, and experimental publishing. She is the director of communications, culture & enfranchisement at the Boston Ujima Project, Inc., a cooperative business and investment ecosystem supporting communities of color.
Jovanna Walker is a Black queer museum educator, curator, and organizer born and raised in Boston, MA. Her curatorial practice is rooted in an undying love for African diasporic people and a prioritization of knowledge produced with/in counterpublics.
The making of a book is as much a political and collective practice as it is an editorial and aesthetic one. How might questions of form and production shape the ways Black histories are interpreted and preserved? How does publishing extend the intellectual and cultural traditions of a political organization, giving old ideals a path to enter into the world for new audiences?
In this conversation, artist-designers Jaamal Benjamin (StudioGrand) and Cierra Peters (Ujima Press), reflect on the making of Ujima Press’s first book series, Black Trust. Published on the eve of the Boston Ujima Project, Inc.’s tenth anniversary, Black Trust documents the organization’s longest-running program, the Black Trust: Chuck Turner Arts & Lecture Series.
Moderated by Jovanna Walker
Jaamal Benjamin is a graphic designer, artist, and educator. His independent design practice, StudioGrand, is a visual communication studio which synthesizes craft, culture, and graphic design to broadcast ideas.
Cierra Peters is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and cultural worker. Her work spans video, installation, writing, and experimental publishing. She is the director of communications, culture & enfranchisement at the Boston Ujima Project, Inc., a cooperative business and investment ecosystem supporting communities of color.
Jovanna Walker is a Black queer museum educator, curator, and organizer born and raised in Boston, MA. Her curatorial practice is rooted in an undying love for African diasporic people and a prioritization of knowledge produced with/in counterpublics.
SUNDAY
NOV. 15, 2026
Off-Site
10:00-11:30am
10:00-11:30am
RISO Demo by ñ press
Join ñ press for a live Risograph demo and community building over coffee ahead of Sunday’s Boston Art Book Fair.
Maverick Landing Community Services
31 Liverpool St. East Boston, MA 02128
Join ñ press for a live Risograph demo and community building over coffee ahead of Sunday’s Boston Art Book Fair.
Maverick Landing Community Services
31 Liverpool St. East Boston, MA 02128
BCA Cyclorama
Noon-5pm
Noon-5pm
Outside Plaza
Noon-5pm
Noon-5pm
Directangle Press Mobile library.
Lounge
Noon-5pm
Noon-5pm
BIG INK Woodblock Printmaking Station
Come learn about woodblock printmaking with BIG INK! Learn about what they do, the workshops they run, and experience their relief printing demos live at the fair.
Come learn about woodblock printmaking with BIG INK! Learn about what they do, the workshops they run, and experience their relief printing demos live at the fair.
Programs Salon
1pm-5pm
1pm-5pm
Talking in the Back
Organized by Boston Art Review
Boston Art Review presents conversations with publishers and artists whose practices center craft, materiality, and the handmade. Through conversations and demonstrations, the programming considers what it means to publish slowly and intentionally rather than at speed or scale. Conversations will explore the tools, materials, labor, and processes behind books and printed matter—from letterpress and printmaking to binding and artist-made editions.
Organized by Boston Art Review
Boston Art Review presents conversations with publishers and artists whose practices center craft, materiality, and the handmade. Through conversations and demonstrations, the programming considers what it means to publish slowly and intentionally rather than at speed or scale. Conversations will explore the tools, materials, labor, and processes behind books and printed matter—from letterpress and printmaking to binding and artist-made editions.
1pm
Fighting with Lines of Type
The practice of publishing requires careful consideration of process. How is the process shaped by everything from the typefaces and printing presses used to the needs of collaborators and contributors to the political crises that compel us to take action?
In this panel, Emily Larned and Dan Wood reflect on how their processes respond to urgency, the archive, current events, and the means of production.
Moderated by Jameson Johnson
Emily Larned is an artist, educator, and cultural worker who prints and publishes as a socially engaged art practice under the platforms Alder & Frankia and Impractical Labor.
Dan Wood is an artist and printer in Providence, RI, where he teaches, casts type, makes prints, and runs his letterpress shop DWRI Letterpress.
Jameson Johnson is the founder and executive director at Boston Art Review. Her work has been published in Artnet, Artsy, The Boston Globe, Culture, and isthisit.
The practice of publishing requires careful consideration of process. How is the process shaped by everything from the typefaces and printing presses used to the needs of collaborators and contributors to the political crises that compel us to take action?
In this panel, Emily Larned and Dan Wood reflect on how their processes respond to urgency, the archive, current events, and the means of production.
Moderated by Jameson Johnson
Emily Larned is an artist, educator, and cultural worker who prints and publishes as a socially engaged art practice under the platforms Alder & Frankia and Impractical Labor.
Dan Wood is an artist and printer in Providence, RI, where he teaches, casts type, makes prints, and runs his letterpress shop DWRI Letterpress.
Jameson Johnson is the founder and executive director at Boston Art Review. Her work has been published in Artnet, Artsy, The Boston Globe, Culture, and isthisit.
2pm
Book Arts and Cultural Memory
Books are a crucial technology for the storage and transmission of memory. However, the codex as a form often falls short when attempting to embody the rich experience of shared cultural memory. That is why we are excited to hear from an incredible group of book artists about how they reimagine books in form, function, and spirit.
Moderated by Ruchika Nambiar
Rachel TonThat is an interdisciplinary artist and writer exploring climate change, technological futures, and collective memory through narrative structures and constructed space.
Irene Lyla Lee is a writer, educator, and book artist dedicated to storytelling and the places where land and imagination meet.
Andre Lee Bassuet (she/her) is an artist, educator, and creative director of Roots: Korean Diaspora, and a member of the Korean American Artist Collective.
Ruchika Nambiar is a book artist, designer, writer, and educator who produces experimental books and stories. She also teaches at RISD.
Books are a crucial technology for the storage and transmission of memory. However, the codex as a form often falls short when attempting to embody the rich experience of shared cultural memory. That is why we are excited to hear from an incredible group of book artists about how they reimagine books in form, function, and spirit.
Moderated by Ruchika Nambiar
Rachel TonThat is an interdisciplinary artist and writer exploring climate change, technological futures, and collective memory through narrative structures and constructed space.
Irene Lyla Lee is a writer, educator, and book artist dedicated to storytelling and the places where land and imagination meet.
Andre Lee Bassuet (she/her) is an artist, educator, and creative director of Roots: Korean Diaspora, and a member of the Korean American Artist Collective.
Ruchika Nambiar is a book artist, designer, writer, and educator who produces experimental books and stories. She also teaches at RISD.
3pm
Publishing in Liminal Space
Publishers traverse many borders—not only national borders, but also the equally policed thresholds of institutions, archives, and languages. Having papers, credentials, and access determines who can participate in the production and circulation of knowledge.
In this discussion, Pouya Ahmadi and Gianca Huapaya reflect on how their publishing practices renegotiate the very terms of “belonging,” seeking out solidarities and counter-mappings in these spaces of proximity and distance.
Moderated by Germán Pallares Avitia
Pouya Ahmadi is the founding editor of Amalgam—a press, journal, and design-adjacent practice.
Gianca Huapaya is an editor, poet, curator, educational facilitator, and co-founder of Cardboard House Press and Future Document.
Germán Pallares Avitia is an associate professor and graduate program director at RISD. His interdisciplinary research draws on architectural history, border studies, and decolonial theory to examine how architecture and urbanism shape identity, nationalism, and migration in the México–US borderlands.
Publishers traverse many borders—not only national borders, but also the equally policed thresholds of institutions, archives, and languages. Having papers, credentials, and access determines who can participate in the production and circulation of knowledge.
In this discussion, Pouya Ahmadi and Gianca Huapaya reflect on how their publishing practices renegotiate the very terms of “belonging,” seeking out solidarities and counter-mappings in these spaces of proximity and distance.
Moderated by Germán Pallares Avitia
Pouya Ahmadi is the founding editor of Amalgam—a press, journal, and design-adjacent practice.
Gianca Huapaya is an editor, poet, curator, educational facilitator, and co-founder of Cardboard House Press and Future Document.
Germán Pallares Avitia is an associate professor and graduate program director at RISD. His interdisciplinary research draws on architectural history, border studies, and decolonial theory to examine how architecture and urbanism shape identity, nationalism, and migration in the México–US borderlands.
4pm
New Directions in Illustration
Illustrators are pushing the field into new and exciting directions, expanding into the vibrant worlds of DIY community papers, custom apparel, events, sculpture, and beyond. We hear from a panel of multidisciplinary artists about what motivates and inspires them to make work and push the limits of illustration.
Moderated by Cathy G. Johnson
Mithsuca Berry is a multidisciplinary artist and storyteller.
Jules Kang Sharpe is a cartoonist and experimental publisher based in Providence, RI.
Cathy G. Johnson (she/they) is an award-winning cartoonist, printmaker, and educator from Providence, RI.
Illustrators are pushing the field into new and exciting directions, expanding into the vibrant worlds of DIY community papers, custom apparel, events, sculpture, and beyond. We hear from a panel of multidisciplinary artists about what motivates and inspires them to make work and push the limits of illustration.
Moderated by Cathy G. Johnson
Mithsuca Berry is a multidisciplinary artist and storyteller.
Jules Kang Sharpe is a cartoonist and experimental publisher based in Providence, RI.
Cathy G. Johnson (she/they) is an award-winning cartoonist, printmaker, and educator from Providence, RI.
About Our Sponsor:
To celebrate its arrival in Boston, British lifestyle brand TOAST is pleased to support Talking in the Back, a programming series organized by Ujima Press and Boston Art Review for the 2026 Boston Art Book Fair.
Located on Newbury Street, the TOAST Boston store brings together simple, modern, and functional pieces rooted in craftsmanship and designed to be lived in every day. Each piece has been made with care, using natural materials where possible, to ensure they can be worn and loved for a lifetime.
To celebrate its arrival in Boston, British lifestyle brand TOAST is pleased to support Talking in the Back, a programming series organized by Ujima Press and Boston Art Review for the 2026 Boston Art Book Fair.
Located on Newbury Street, the TOAST Boston store brings together simple, modern, and functional pieces rooted in craftsmanship and designed to be lived in every day. Each piece has been made with care, using natural materials where possible, to ensure they can be worn and loved for a lifetime.