Print Pomona Art Book Fair’s Inaugural Returned to the Benton Museum After a Two Year Hiatus Due to the Global Issue

By Kevin Green
Published 4-7-2022 10:22Am PST

Visual art book lovers throughout Southern California were able to finally enjoy an art book fair. Print Pomona Art Book Fair took over the city of trees and PhDs last weekend, while other art book fairs and book markets did not open as usually scheduled this year within Los Angeles county. Book lovers were able to travel to East Los Angeles County to Claremont, CA, just on the border of the Inland Empire. There were four days of art books with lectures and book signings included. With the guidance of Justine Bea Bias, the communications and engagement manager at The Benton Museum at Pomona College, hosted its first artists’ book fair, which included zines and other forms of printed materials.

Founder Julian Lucas said, "This is not a reinvention of the wheel - there are book fairs throughout California and across the globe. However, I was able to recognize there was a need and I took initiative to create a platform for independent publishers, zine makers, and print artists right here. - It’s an opportunity to introduce something new, dope, and exciting right here."

Print Pomona Art Book Fair is sponsored by The Arts Area as a fiscal sponsor and has an open submissions call welcoming those who would like to apply for a table. PPABF will also look to expand in other ways by offering other types of book-related

The Inaugural Print Pomona Art Book Fair Will Open in Claremont, CA

The Pomonan
Published March 29,2022 5:50Am PST
Updated 3-31-22 4:49Am PST

Claremont, CA—The Benton Museum at Pomona College will host the inaugural Print Pomona Art Book Fair (PPABF) sponsored by The Arts Area on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 at Pomona College’s Edmunds Ballroom in the Smith Campus Center. PPABF will bring up to 50 national and international publishers to the Pomona College campus for the first time, where they will be exhibiting artists’ books, art catalogues, photography monographs, drawings, zines, and other print material. The fair, which is free and open to the public, runs from 11 am to 7 pm on Saturday, April 3, and from 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday, April 3. PPABF steps into the breach left by the LA Art Book Fair, offering LA-area residents the opportunity to engage with avant-garde publishing, book art, and creative expression in print.

“As we all understand there are books about art and photography, but in this case, the book is the art because of how it is designed and constructed. In specific, a photo book is a distinct kind of art, analogous to sculpture, theater, or cinema. As part of a dramatic experience known as a book, the images no longer identifies as a photograph but objects in themselves and are turned into published work of art. So I am in a sense expanding the reach by introducing a new species to this region, founder and Project manager Julian Lucas describes. Julian also co-founded Mirrored Society Bookstore, an online bookstore specializing in artists’ books and zines which was physically nestled in Claremont, CA of 2015.

PPABF officially kicks off at the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College on Thursday, March 31 a Q&A with the PPABF founder Julian Lucas about all things related to art books, publishing, and organizing the 1st-ever art book fair at the Claremont Colleges and in the region, the Benton will host an artist talk and book signing by internationally celebrated photographer and director—and one of Netflix’s LA Originals—Estevan Oriol. These two events are also free and open to the public.