Kooperativa THD: Labour and Book Production

The exhibition Labour and Book Production brings forth theoretical books from the humanities and social sciences. It provides visitors with a direct and systematic overview of scientific research and professional literature that addresses the concept of work in a multifaceted and in-depth way through the analysis of different historical and cultural forms of work, labour relations, the paradoxes of work, the processes of globalisation, and the various historical and social forms of exploitation of workers.
 
We would like to draw attention to the dual aspect of the book, since the book is understood not only as a written linguistic creation that conveys ideas, knowledge, and the rounded research products of authors, but also as an object of material publishing production. In the current situation of non-profit publishing, this takes place predominantly under the conditions of subsidised programme and project work, which requires the maximum possible share of invisible, unpaid and precarious work and the coordination of production time, always caught in the grip of contractual deadlines and the processes of cultural and promotional management. Such entrapment is often at odds with the aspiration and need for top quality to which humanities publishing houses aspire from the very foundations of their activity and existence. We would also like to draw attention to the fact that most, if not all, of the operational work of non-profit humanities publishers is done by women, which, according to sociologist Primož Krašovec, is no coincidence.
 
The exhibition Labour and Book Production features books by the five non-profit publishing houses of the THD Cooperative (DTP/Analecta, Založba /*cf., Založba Krtina, Založba Sophia, Založba Studia humanitatis). The exhibition is curated by the philosopher and creative editor Magdalena Germek.

Let’s Work! (2022–2023) deals with the problem of work. It invites us, through various artistic situations set in specific environments, to reflect on the meaning and value of work, the ways in which we experience work in everyday life, and how art is at work. In the first chapter (2022), artworks are contextualized in locations that play a constructive role in society in terms of the formulation of labor policies, and more specifically the formulation of strategies in the field of cultural labor, in public services that respond to labor problems, in institutions that educate the upcoming workforce, and in spaces that play a role in contemporary art practices. The spatial and temporal positioning of works for (re)viewing by both institutional staff and invited and casual visitors aims to widen the field of visibility of the artwork and its reception. In the second chapter (2023), the artworks will be presented in their entirety in exhibition and performance formats.