PrivatePrint

In conversation with Ivana Mirchevska, Gjorgji Despodov, Klelija Zhivkovikj, Jovan Josifovski, Viktorija Poposka, Dzemiliana Abdulova, Hristina Krsteska, Viktorija Machkovska, and Hana Korneti, Ivana Chaloska and Dimitar Samardjiev.

In this book, curators Ilija Prokopiev and Marija Hristova invite readers into a rich and reflective exploration of emerging art practices within the cultural landscape of North Macedonia. A Book of Nine Books is the culmination of a three-year journey of collaboration, dialogue, and creative experimentation with a new generation of artists and cultural workers—those who defy easy classification, resist imposed systems, and move fluidly between disciplines and identities.
Drawing from curatorial encounters, artistic collaborations, and nine unique art book projects developed during the Alternative Narratives program supported by the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, the authors examine how counter-narratives arise not in opposition alone, but from a desire to inhabit the in-between: the personal, the local, and the socially urgent.

Through fieldwork, studio visits, and close-knit collaborations, A Book of Nine Books reveals a growing ecology of artists rethinking authorship, identity, and social engagement. From queer memory work in small towns to feminist archaeology, from permaculture storytelling to Roma cultural resurgence, the featured projects refuse static definitions, embracing experimentation and uncertainty as vital tools for cultural transformation.

With contributions by Moreshin Allahyari, Yosu Arangüena and Sebastián Arrechedera, Imani Jacqueline Brown, Decolonize This Place, Xokonoschtletl Gómora, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Chao Tayiana Maina and Molemo Moiloa, Sylvie Njobati, Anuraag Saxena, Ana Sladojević, Dima Srouji

"Within this book, we amplify voices that acknowledge theft as a central technology and scaffolding composing the vaults and vitrines of many modern institutions. These voices challenge standard narratives of preservation and access, exposing the violence, oppression, and exploitation concealed within them.

This publication serves as a constellation of documents, instances, and encounters catalyzed by our research, as well as an engagement with the broader, persistent problem that demands our collective attention: the imperial legacy ossified within cultural institutions. Through this collection, we invite readers to join us in the process of unlearning: to question the presumed factuality of institutional claims, to imagine and enact alternative realities, and to participate in the ongoing work of dismantling imperial legacies in cultural institutions and beyond. This is not a neutral endeavor, but a necessary step towards cultural liberation and the realization of the future."

Essential Services (Enar de Dios Rodríguez, Andrea Steves)

In 2025, PrivatePrint celebrates 10 years as an independent publisher and curatorial studio. By the end of 2024, we have published a total of 30 books with authors from most diverse backgrounds, generations, and disciplines.