Architecture Print is Dead, Long Live Architecture Print was an exhibition curated by Arshia Eghbali as a part of the first Tehran Architecture Biennial. It ran from 12th of May until 13th of July 2016.
The exhibition illustrated a mini-history of alternative architecture publication parallel to the story of science-fiction fanzines, punk zines, underground press and artists’ indie publications; and showcased a number of contemporary architecture zines from around the world. “Architecture Print is Dead, Long Live Architecture Print!” celebrated and defined the architecture zine culture. Some of the zines in the exhibition were: NAAM (Iran), San Rocco (Italy), 2ha (Ireland), Camenzind (Switzerland), The Modernist (England), Kamenzind (Serbia), Anza (Tanzania), Paper (Denmark), Too Much (Japan), Criticat (France).
The exhibition set the ground for promotion, review, critique and recognition of indie publication in the field of architecture, while providing a framework for understanding this new phenomenon in terms of recognizing young voices in architecture today.
Statement
With the non-stop expansion and development of the web, and the attractiveness of virtual platforms, mainstream architecture magazines – like their comrades in other fields – are facing sales fall, and many long-standing titles are shutting down or going paper-free. Surprisingly, in the meantime, there is a vivid and growing scene of indie alternative zine publication. In today’s consumerist world of advertisement and marketing, zines take the opposite path; instead of trying to fatten their body of readers/buyers, they crave being ‘discovered’. Focusing on special interests and exceptions, these zines are created by the interested for the interested – aesthetic objects to be collected.
