The Book Society is a project devoted to the most experimental forms of production in publishing, which Peep-Hole is organizing in collaboration with the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Villa Croce in Genova. The third reading room is dedicated to Archive Books, which will present a selection of their publications including artists’ books, monographs, readers and magazines such as Archive Journal and The Exhibitionist.

Archive Books is an organisation for cultural research, debate and self-education. Archive brings together editors, writers, scholars, graphic designers and artists in a an adaptable structure in an attempt to create and foster a space for discussion and exchange.

On December 5-6, starting from 11 am, Archive Books will organize Inventory a two-days workshop and a public presentation. Inventory is a representation of a research journey in the form of an archive of publications and printed matter initiated by Archive Books back in 2011. Starting from a central position in Europe (Berlin), Archive’s team undertook a research trip toward Eastern and Middle Eastern regions through cities like Poznan, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, Sofia, Thessaloniki and Istanbul. In this journey Archive took under consideration the changes and movements taking place in these regions, seeing their impact on cultural, economical, political and social structures as a possibility to question European cultural establishments and their archives. In Genova, the workshop will focus on the Italian context, thanks also to the collaboration with the “Archivio dei Movimenti”.

The reading room is set up with original recently restored furnitures designed in 1934-1935 by rationalist architect Mario Labò for the University Library in Genova. The Book Society is part of a bigger project, “Shrinking World”, conducted with the contribution of the Fondazione Cariplo.