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.