Candor Arts : July 10, 2015 - August 31, 2021
Candor Arts
December 11th, 2021 - March 6th, 2022
‘Candor Arts: July 10, 2015–August 31, 2021’ is a retrospective exhibition showcasing every major book project that was carried out within those years. Candor Arts was a publishing imprint and hand-made book bindery that began unofficially in a spare bedroom in Los Angeles in July of 2015, and became a registered LLC in the State of Illinois in August of 2016. At its height, Candor Arts was run by Matt Austin, Melanie Teresa Bohrer, Katie Chung, and Hannah Batsel. Throughout the years, we received generous support from many peers—without their skills, guidance, and support for our vision, many of our projects would not have been possible. In five years, we published and funded 52 editions—providing over $600,000.00 in production cost funds, and paying over $300,000.00 in cash payments to the contributing authors. These editions have been collected by over 150 institutions worldwide. Candor Arts officially closed in August of 2021. Since, we have been building the structure of the Candor Collective—a holistic support system for arts workers.
Matt Austin designs, produces, and publishes projects motivated by systems of care. He is currently a founding member of the Candor Collective, a designer with Em Design Studio, and maintains a consistent newsletter about his work. Formerly he was a co-owner of Candor Arts, part of the founding group of LATITUDE, and taught many courses on artist books and photography at SAIC and other institutions around Chicago.
Melanie Teresa Bohrer grew up in Munich, Germany. She received her MFA in Studio from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and previously her BFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design. She co-owned and co-ran Candor Arts, a publishing company based in Chicago, IL that specializes in handmade artists books. She is a co-founder of the next iteration of the project, the Candor Collective. She also co-runs Em Design Studio, a book centric design studio based in Berlin, Germany.
Press:
Forthcoming Systems of Care: 062 Stages Candor Arts Retrospective
— Joan Roach, Newcity