Experimentation #2: Cartoneras
"Cartoneras: Writing Anthropology Otherwise" workshop
Inspired by the Cartoneras* publishing movement we organized an ethnographic writing workshop. We invited undergraduate and graduate students of Social Anthropology or other interested members of our community to participate in the production and publication of a cartoneras issue aiming to capture and transmit ethnographic observations and reflections outside academia, thus making social anthropology more visible in the public sphere.
From April 2020 to January 2021 we would meet on a weekly basis via Skype with Tasos Makris, Penny Paspali, Christina Roubou, Vasso Tasia, Electra Naoum, sharing our thoughts and texts and becoming the writing group "AKAMatres". In February 2021 we published our first cartoneras.
Reflecting our shared sense of suffocation, after a year that we experienced losses -not only because of the emergence of Covid 19- and political decisions that aimed not only at our bodily control and limited action, but at creating dystopian prescriptions for our future, we decided to talk about "Breaths".
Breaths squeezed into cramped homes, into one size patterns, fading under gray skies and the logic of profit, struggling against patriarchal regimes, violently cut off, standing suspended between "here" and "there", silent and conformed; about our breaths that we count down, everywhere and always, consciously or not.
Due to the health restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic, our cartoneras did not have crumpled pages nor was it painted with pastel colors or made out of cardboard. It was not handed out in stores, cafe shops and schools. Instead, it was uploaded and distributed online, waiting for the time when we can carve our thoughts on cardboard.
From April 2020 to January 2021 we would meet on a weekly basis via Skype with Tasos Makris, Penny Paspali, Christina Roubou, Vasso Tasia, Electra Naoum, sharing our thoughts and texts and becoming the writing group "AKAMatres". In February 2021 we published our first cartoneras.
Reflecting our shared sense of suffocation, after a year that we experienced losses -not only because of the emergence of Covid 19- and political decisions that aimed not only at our bodily control and limited action, but at creating dystopian prescriptions for our future, we decided to talk about "Breaths".
Breaths squeezed into cramped homes, into one size patterns, fading under gray skies and the logic of profit, struggling against patriarchal regimes, violently cut off, standing suspended between "here" and "there", silent and conformed; about our breaths that we count down, everywhere and always, consciously or not.
Due to the health restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic, our cartoneras did not have crumpled pages nor was it painted with pastel colors or made out of cardboard. It was not handed out in stores, cafe shops and schools. Instead, it was uploaded and distributed online, waiting for the time when we can carve our thoughts on cardboard.
You can download Breaths here
*Cartoneras
Cartoneras are handmade books of prose or poetry that were first published in Argentina in 2003 during the economic crisis, giving rise to a social, political and artistic publishing movement. The covers of cartoneras are made out of cardboard bought from cartoneros, people in Latin America who make their living collecting and selling salvaged materials to recycling plants. In this way, the founders -writers, poets and other artists- of the Cartoneras movement could produce and sell books at low prices, promoting democratization of publishing and providing access to literature for people with low income, as well as opportunities for unknown authors to be published. Each cartoneras is a unique piece of art, as the book cover is hand painted by artists. Today there are cartoneras initiatives all over Latin America, the USA and in countries in Europe and Africa, which, in addition to publishing, organize book fairs and workshops in neighbourhoods and schools.
Cartoneras are handmade books of prose or poetry that were first published in Argentina in 2003 during the economic crisis, giving rise to a social, political and artistic publishing movement. The covers of cartoneras are made out of cardboard bought from cartoneros, people in Latin America who make their living collecting and selling salvaged materials to recycling plants. In this way, the founders -writers, poets and other artists- of the Cartoneras movement could produce and sell books at low prices, promoting democratization of publishing and providing access to literature for people with low income, as well as opportunities for unknown authors to be published. Each cartoneras is a unique piece of art, as the book cover is hand painted by artists. Today there are cartoneras initiatives all over Latin America, the USA and in countries in Europe and Africa, which, in addition to publishing, organize book fairs and workshops in neighbourhoods and schools.
