Our fourth annual Independent Publisher Panel brings into conversation the creative individuals behind two Asia-related publishing platforms. For the 2020 edition, we were thrilled to have Beatrix Pang (Small Tune Press and ZINE COOP) and Xen Nhà (Red Pocket Press) share their work and experiences with us.

Following short introductions on the history and mission of their respective projects, Beatrix and Xen joined moderator Chang Yuchen to reflect on  the current state of artist book and independent zine publishing, particularly in response to the pandemic, protest movements, and the financial challenges their public, including artists, are experiencing globally.

Beatrix Pang is a visual artist and an independent publisher. They founded Small Tune Press to produce art publications for Hong Kong art and cultural creatives. In addition, they are a cultural producer who organizes various community exchanges and educational programs. Pang also founded the artist collective ZINE COOP in 2017, with a focus on introducing Hong Kong zine culture to broader audiences, and in 2018, initiated Queer Reads Library, a reading platform to create space for multi-gendered inclusivity and visibility. See here for Pang’s notes from her presentation.

Xen Nhà is a documentary maker and artist who has grown up on unceded Kulin Lands (Melbourne) Australia. Their first self-published zine series, mình vol.i and vol.ii, explores the fluidity of the Vietnamese body; where the core of the body is not the heart but the stomach. They are also the creator of Red Pocket Press, a publishing project for queer Asians honoring the Lunar New Year through zines, food and gatherings.

Chang Yuchen is an artist based in New York. She works in an interdisciplinary manner – writing as weaving, drawing as translation, teaching as hospitality and commerce as everyday revolution (see Use Value). Yuchen has been an artist in residence at MASS MoCA (North Adams), Offshore (Sabah), MAD Museum (New York), Bananafish Books (Shanghai) and Textile Art Center (Brooklyn). She has shown/performed her works at UCCA Dune, Taikwun Contemporary, Abrons Art Center, Para Site, Salt Projects, and Assembly Room, among others. Yuchen teaches through Center for Book Arts, Printed Matter, Asia Art Archive in America, CUE Art Foundation and more.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.