Ei Mainoksia, Kiitos! – an independent publishing initiative

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

Ei Mainoksia, Kiitos! is an independent art publishing initiative. EiM,K! aims to rethink publishing practices from a feminist and capitalist-resistant perspective. We want to prioritize care and highlight the time and labor behind the act of publishing. With this grant, we want to set up the basis for a longer-term publishing project, experiment with new ways of working in collaboration with others, and create a publication plan that showcases the multifaceted voices and artistic perspectives of Finnish and Finland-based artists, writers, illustrators, photographers, designers. As an ironic reference to the Finnish door signs that read Ei mainoksia, kiitos!, we strive to publish the opposite of disposable ads: books with the best editorial quality and graphic design, and cutting-edge contents created in Finland. During this grant period, we will work on two main areas: 1. Setting up the project. Establishing EiM,K! as a publisher in Finland. Research on potential collaborators (authors/artists, graphic designers) and establish work agreements with them. 2. Edit and design two publications in collaboration with Finland-based artists. Explore what a publication can be and the many forms editorial content can take. Additionally, we will create a longer-term publication plan for the future of EiM,K!, after testing and workshopping our internal artistic and administrative processes. The project will be launched in a public event by the end of the year. Living in what seems like a never-ending pandemic, book publishing feels, more than ever, like the best place to showcase art locally and internationally, as well as a space to experiment with new ways of doing art and connecting with others.

Ei Mainoksia, Kiitos! (EiM,K!) is a platform to reflect, rethink, and experiment with publishing. As an ironic reference to Finnish door signs that read “Ei mainoksia, kiitos!”, we want to publish the opposite of disposable ads—printed matter so special, you want to keep it at home forever.

Initiated by Paola Jalili in 2022 to visibilise the time and labour behind publishing as an artistic practice, EiM,K! launched its first publication in September 2023, featuring the work of 7 Finnish & Finland-based practitioners working at the intersections of publishing, art, design, writing, and research.

Interested in publishing as an ecofeminist and decolonial practice, Ei Mainoksia, Kiitos! aims to be a platform to create experimental, bold, and unconventional publications and book-objects that defy traditional ways of making (and distributing) books. It strives to promote the multifaceted voices and artistic perspectives of Finnish and Finland-based practitioners.