International Conference coordinated by Océane Delleaux (University of Lille/CEAC) and Sofiane Laghouati (Royal Museum of Mariemont/Catholic University of Louvain). With the assistance of Corentin Lahouste (Catholic University of Louvain/FNRS) and Carlijn Juste (University of Groningen/ICOG; University of Lille/CEAC).

The domain of contemporary artists publishing (books, series, posters, records, digital productions, etc.) is in constant evolution. Since the 1960-1970s, the idea of democratizing art by means of reproduction has deeply changed due to technological and socioeconomic challenges.
The 1990s, marked by globalization and the rise of digital technologies, redefined publishing. The increased circulation of books and the emergence of a global market have encouraged the art community to reconsider their economic models, which reconcile “symbolic” and “economic capital.”
The digital ubiquity causes hybrid editorial practices: augmented books, audio editions, mobile applications. By redefining the concept of publishing, this development blurred boundaries between authors and publishers. Physical books remain central, but they how have to be compatible with the digital rules and codes. Some artists transform the book into a “relic” from a changing world, while others invent “neoliteratures,” which escape market logic. At the same time, the “platformization” of publishing –with the rise of digital and self-publishing platforms –redesigns the creation, production and distribution process.

This international conference will examine these transformations following six lines of questioning:
1. Digital Materiality: How can a dialogue be organized between physical and digital publications?
2. Collaborations and networks: What new models of collaboration have been appearing through the Internet?
3. Editorial independence: How does self-publishing transform creation?
4. How to exhibit works and editorialize: What are the new curatorial approaches?
5. Archives and libraries: How can artist editions be preserved and distributed?
6. Sharing and property: What are the issues concerning copyright and interactive collaboration?

Bringing together artists, designers, writers, and researchers, this international conference studies how artist publishing, a genuine living laboratory, is constantly reinventing our relationship to art and books in the digital age.

Bibliographic positioning:
- BURY (Stephen), Artists’ Multiples, 1935-2000, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2001, 208 p.
- DELLEAUX (Océane), Le multiple d'artiste. Histoire d'une mutation artistique (1985 à nos jours), Europe et Amérique du Nord, Paris, L'Harmattan, coll. «Histoire et idées des Arts», 2010, 268 p.
- Design-A-Book. Recherches et créations en Belgique, catalogue d’exposition par Jan Baetens, Nadia Corazzini, Géraldine David, Sofiane Laghouatiet al., Bruxelles, Wittockiana, 2023, 126 p.
- EPRON (Benoît), VITALI-ROSATI (Marcelo), L’édition à l’ère numérique, Paris, La Découverte, coll. “Repères”, 2018, 127 p.
- LUDOVICO (Alessandro), Post-Digital-Print. The Mutation of Publishing since 1984, Eindhoven, Onomatopee, 2012, 190 p.
- LAHOUSTE (Corentin), AUDET (René), “S’affranchir du rapport médusant des œuvres littéraires : balises critiques sur la performativité et la réception des arts littéraires”, RELIEF. Revue électronique de littérature française, vol. 17, n° 1, 2023, p. 183-194 https://revue-relief.org/article/view/17717 [consulté le 6 septembre 2024].
- LEGENDRE (Bertrand), Ce que le numérique fait aux livres, Grenoble, Presses universitaires de Grenoble, coll. “Communication, médias et société”, 2019, 144 p.
- NACHTERGAEL (Magali), “Poet against the machine”. Une histoire technopolitique de la littérature, Marseille, Le Mot et le reste, 2020, 198 p.
- One for Me and One to Share: Artists’ Multiples and Editions, Dave Dyment et Gregory Elgstrand (eds), Toronto, YYZBOOKS, 2012, 204 p.
- Sciences du Design, n° 8 (“Editions numériques”), sous la direction de Lucile Haute, Renée Bourassa et Gilles Rouffineau, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 2018.

Submission procedures:
Submissions in English or in French should be sent before 4th of April 2025 to Océane Delleaux (oceane.delleauxuniv-lille.fr) and Sofiane Laghouati (sofiane.laghouatimusee-mariemont.be).

Submissions should include:
- A title and an abstract of around 400 words (please specify which line of questioning your proposition relates to);
- A short biography.
Please indicate the following subject line of your e-mail: “Submission-International conference Creation and Publishing”.
Papers will be selected by a scientific committee.

Calendar:
4th of April 2025: deadline for the submissions of abstracts.
15th of May 2025: notification to participants.
12th, 13th, 14th of November 2025: international conference.
2026: publication of the accepted articles.