Halifax Art Book Fair (HABF) and conference will take place on August 22nd and August 23rd, 2025 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Halifax Art Book Fair is a gathering for art publishers and art book enthusiasts. There is a significant art book history in Halifax that has largely gone unnoticed - HABF wants to bring Atlantic art books out in the open and foster a space for new friendships, connections and ideas.
The fair is book focused. Our mandate prioritizes artists' books, catalogues, monographs, periodicals, zines, or related printed material. Visitors can also expect programming about the art book and its surrounding concepts.
The co-directors of the fair are Andrew Hill & Marite Kuus, who can be contacted through email and Instagram. The board of the HABF is comprised of Alex Turgeon, Bryne McLaughlin Craig Leonard, and Rebecca Young.
The fair takes place in Mi'kma'ki, on the unceded and stolen territory of the Mi'kmaq people. We are grateful to live, work, learn and play on these lands.
Exhibitors
Folly House
Combos Press
Conundrum Press
Copy Shop Books
Dalhousie Art Gallery
DesiredFX
Emma Allain
Eyelevel Artist Run Centre & Bookstore
Micah Lexier
Municipal Geographic.
Nothing Else Press
Seed & Spark Bookstore Co-operative
Special Characters
SpekWork Studio
Struts Gallery / Owens Art Gallery
Susan Mills Artist Books
Tel # Publishing
Visual Arts News
Wonder’neath
10:30 — 11:30
Poetry reading
Andrew Neville will read from his collection Outside Graceland, published by Folly House in 2023.
Members of the Halifax-based poetry collective Po3ms will read from their selection of chapbooks and zines.
11:30 — 12:30
everyone you know: Conversation on Art Photography and Photobook Making in the Age of Selfie
Fanny Desroches is an artist interested in the mundane, visual imperfection, and the practices humans engage in when observing others, in the virtual and analog worlds. Dr. Anton Lee specializes in the history and theory of photography, focusing on the geopolitical contexts of European and Anglo-American countries from the early 20th century to the present. In conversation, they will explore selfhood through the selfie.
12:30 — 1:00
Some Signs
Joe Cobden is an actor and filmmaker based in Montreal and Halifax. His presentation invites us to celebrate the disappearing small business signage in our country. These are the jewels of our cities, literal signposts throughout our evolving lives. These are the signs of the times.
2:30 — 3:30
Found Film Binder
Nico B. Young is an artist based in Los Angeles. Found Film Binder is a documentary project about his discovery of a stranger’s personal photo archive. Young scanned hundreds of 35mm film negatives from a binder he found in a second hand store to uncover the story of a young person’s life from 1993-2002.
3:30 — 4:30
The Artist Multiple as Unbound Book
Dave Dyment is an artist and curator based in Sackville, NB. He runs a daily blog on the subject of artists’ editions: artists’ records, bookworks, multiples, ephemera, et cetera.
4:30 — 5:30
DIY Print Culture and Mobile Art
Onya Hogan-Finlay is an interdisciplinary artist and co-founder of OK Sea Salt based in Mi’kma’ki.
Clare Lagomarsino runs Combos Press based in Hudson Valley, publishing books and zines on LGBTQ+ communities and food.
Michael McCormack is an intermedia artist, curator and educator based in Kjipuktuk. He created The Suitcase Art Gallery Space Research Institute (SAGSRI) and The McCleave Gallery of Fine Art in the early 2000s.
In conversation they will discuss DIY mobile art and zine/print culture.
5:30 — 6:30
$10 holes and other multiples
Micah Lexier is a Winnipeg-born, Halifax-educated visual artist now based in Toronto. About his talk, the artist offers, “I’ve made a lot of multiples over the years, too many for me to count, but if you come to the talk I’ll show you a few of my favourites. And if you stick around after, I’m selling holes for $10.”
7:30 — 8:30
Listening Session
Dr. David Barclay is Associate Professor at the Department of Oceanography at Dalhousie University. Join him on a guided listening session of his recordings from the Mariana Trench.