Takin’ It To The Streets: La Cartonera Exhibit and launch

Taking cues from the cartonera movement, a grass roots publishing endeavour originating in Argentina in the early 2000s, Professor Tara Cooper’s Fine 204 class have created their own artist books, which will be on display in the Dana Porter Library lobby until February 13.

Exhibition launch 

Join us in the Dana Porter Library lobby on February 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. to celebrate the opening of the exhibit and try your hand at creating your own artist's book!

The cartonera movement

Using recycled cartonera (cardboard in English) to make books, cartonero figures (aka “cardboarders”) turned to waste streams in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as a source of income following the 2001 economic crisis, which saw high levels of unemployment. It was a collaborative effort engaging writers, waste-collectors, and artists. The practice has since spread to more than 250 cartonera publishers. The making of the cardboard covers is often produced through community-based workshops.

Image: Cartonera examples from the collection of the University of Wisconsin-Madison