Symposium ‘Book Manifest’

The Allard Pierson manages a comprehensive collection of graphic design, amongst which the ‘living archive’ of Queen of Books Irma Boom. Following a retrospective exhibition in 2010, the Allard Pierson now shows an exhibition highlighting her design process (on view until 25 September 2022). Irma Boom: Book Manifest focuses on the experiment and the search for the ultimate form.

Partly to mark the current exhibition, the Allard Pierson organizes an in-depth symposium at the UvA Oudemanhuispoort site on 10 September, foregrounding several typologies of the book. Irma Boom respectively discusses the architectural book, the artists’ monograph, the photo book and the fashion book with five of her clients. Afterwards, you are invited to view the exhibition at the Allard Pierson and join us for drinks. The language of the symposium is English.

The symposium was partly made possible by the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and the Netwerk Archieven Design en Digitale Cultuur (Network Archives Design and Digital Culture, NADD).

Preliminary programme

Doors open at 12:30; start 13:00.

Irma Boom + Rem Koolhaas: the architectural book

Panel chair: Stephan Petermann, architect and architectural historian

Irma Boom + Berend Strik: the artists’ monograph

Panel chair: Michiel Nijhoff, head of Library and Collection Registration, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Coffee/tea break

Irma Boom + Rineke Dijkstra: the photo book

Panel chair: Mattie Boom, photography curator, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Irma Boom + Viktor & Rolf: the fashion book

Panel chair: Gert Jonkers, co-founder and editor-in-chief of style magazine ‘Fantastic Man’

End: 16:45, followed by a drinks reception and exhibition viewing at the Allard Pierson, Oude Turfmarkt 127.

Anouk Heeres