Good news to Book Fair fans, publications from a wide range of artistic disciplines are on display and for sale at the KL Art Book Fair 2022 (KLABF), which takes place over the course of several days. The goal of the KLABF is to increase awareness of the value of art books as a form of expression and a portal to new cultures, ideas, and experiences.
KL Art Book Fair 2022
Starting December 2nd till December 4th, artist groups, independent publishers, galleries, bookstores, and more will all be in attendance at the second annual KLABF in 2022. Publications from exhibitors from Malaysia and throughout the world, as well as events including book launches, seminars, panel discussions, and special showcases will be available to attendees.
Entry Tickets
Entry ticket is RM10/pax and for each talks, it costs RM35/pax.
Babies and children under 12 enter for free. Visitors may re-enter the fair within the same day by joining the back of the queue.
When And Where
| Dates and Days | 2 December – 4 December 2022 (Friday – Sunday) |
| Hours | 12pm – 8pm |
| Address | The Godown Arts Centre11, Lorong Ampang 750250 Kuala Lumpur. |
How To Get There
Nearest LRT: Masjid Jamek Station by Kelana Jaya Line (KJ22)
Nearest Bus Stop: KL 29 Amanah Raya along Jalan Ampang
Car / Taxi: The Godown is situated between several landmarks, including Cathedral of St. John’s and the Telekom Museum. Several private parking facilities are available around The Godown, including Menara Olympia.
Do note that the roads and alleys around The Godown are narrow at times. Visitors are advised to familiarise themselves with the roads and pay attention to any one-way streets. Visitors shall park at their own risk. Following this, visitors are highly encouraged to carpool or take public transport.
Programs On December 2nd, Friday
1. Book Nomad By ABC Art Book Fair
For its latest visit, the Kl Art Book Fair 2022, the travelling showcase has chosen a selection of cutting-edge, independent art books under the subject “Nomadic and Imagined,” which focuses on Asian identity.
Anyone with a valid admissions ticket can enter Book Nomad.
Time: 12 pm till 8pm.
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur. (Mezzani Floor, Main Hall)
Entrance fee: Free by Entry Ticket Holders. No registration required. Please arrive early to secure your seats.
For more info visit KL Art Book Fair’s official website.
Do take note that Book Nomad is also available on December 3rd and 4th at the same time and venue.
2. Workshop: Coptic Stitch Binding Workshop By Little Sham
Christians in Egypt, known as Copts, created the first examples of the Coptic stitch binding in the second century AD. The open binding reveals the book’s inside structure. The Coptic binding is favoured because, in addition to looking nice, it allows the book to lie completely open.
The RM150/person workshop charge covers all supplies, tools, and a completion certificate. Sessions are capped at a maximum of 10 participants. First-come, first-served is the rule while registering.
Time: 10.30am till 1.30pm.
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur. (Level 2 of the Open-Air Building)
Entrance fee: RM150
For more info visit KL Art Book Fair’s official website.
3. Talk: Age Of Wanders By Po Hung Design Lab
Hung Man Po, a graphic designer, visual artist, and illustrator based in Hong Kong, discusses his life and work over the past few years. His projects range from illustrations of Hong Kong’s vernacular culture to brand designs for radio stations to animated projections at concerts to key visuals at arts festivals. Just like on his iMac, Po is charming, intelligent, and deliciously off-kilter in person. (Both Cantonese and English will be used throughout this talk at KL Art Book Fair 2022.)
Time: 3pm till 4pm.
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur. (Mezzanine floor of the Main Hall.)
Entrance fee: RM35/pax, on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Secure your seats HERE.
4. Book Launch 01: Black Rainbow Volume 1 By Kamboja Press
There may be some ambiguity in the name. The unremarkable idea originated in a colouring book that Robonggo’s nephew had at home. The rainbow in black and white was just a boring outline. However, at long last, all the blanks of every colour have been filled in. Maybe that’s how Kriyanto of Jamrud felt when the wall clock mocked him for being unable to describe the rainbow’s splendour in words.
Time: 5pm till 5.30pm.
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Entrance fee: Free by Entry Ticket Holders. No registration required. Please arrive early to secure your seats.
For more info visit KL Art Book Fair’s official website.
5. Book Launch 02: Good Humour Folks By Jentwo & Patchwork of Emotions by Wunmoon
Good Humour Folks by Jentwo:
Bright, colourful drawings of random people and things that are intentionally tacky. This small art book is perfect for brightening up any day.
Patchwork of Emotions by Wunmoon:
A collection of three short, intimate stories written by “Wunmoon,” which provide an insight into the challenges she faces as a result of having a mood disorder.
Time: 6pm till 6.30pm.
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Entrance fee: Free by Entry Ticket Holders. No registration required. Please arrive early to secure your seats.
For more info visit KL Art Book Fair’s official website.
6. Book Launch 03 By Come Come Come
To participate in KL Art Book Fair 2022, visual artist CC Kua, writer Ellen Lee, and graphic designer Kenta Chai have banded together as Come Come Come. They’ve all made unique pieces for KLABF that they’re excited to show you.
Learn how an artist, a writer, and a graphic designer can come up with fantastic ideas together, how they met in the KL art scene, and how they supported each other as they developed their separate works for KLABF. They’ll discuss the connections between their works and other projects they’ve been working on, as well as the freedom from the expectations of galleries, clients, and regular occupations that KLABF provided.
Time: 7pm till 7.30pm.
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Entrance fee: Free by Entry Ticket Holders. No registration required. Please arrive early to secure your seats.
For more info visit KL Art Book Fair’s official website.
Programs On December 3rd, Saturday
1. Talk: Still Typing By Huruf
Huruf is a group of Malaysian designers and typeface enthusiasts that want to raise the profile of typography and facilitate discussions about it. Huruf uses this meeting to reflect on how the group’s individual members have continued to make and think about typography despite the endemic’s consequences. Current feelings can be summed up as a continual sense of uncertainty, expectation, and unease. This presentation gives us a glimpse into their cognitive processes; it enables them to accept ambiguity and make peace with the future. Like someone waiting for a response from an unrequited love affair, Huruf is still typing…
Time: 1pm till 2pm.
Location:The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur. (Mezzanine floor of the Main Hall)
Entrance fee: RM35/pax, on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Secure your seats HERE.
2. Talk: (KL/SG) Art Book Fair: A Dialogue Between… By Renée Ting (SGABF) & Sam Chia (KLABF)
In addition to launching the first ever online art bookshop, Thing Books, Renée Ting also founded and directs the Singapore Art Book Fair (2013–present). The discussion will feature a conversation between her and Sam Chia, the festival director of the KL Art Book Fair 2022, where the two will discuss the highs and lows of putting on such an event.
Time: 3pm till 4pm.
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur. (Mezzanine floor of the Main Hall)
Entrance fee: RM35/pax, on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Secure your seats HERE.
3. Book Launch 04: The Slow Press Vol. 5: BITTERSWEET By The Slow Press
Stories on eating with an emphasis on the bittersweet flavour profile are collected in The Slow Press, Volume 5: BITTERSWEET. It’s a compilation of nine tales that the team and our amazing contributors will craft over the year 2022 and then photograph, illustrate, and design for publication.
Life, like food, comes in a diverse, chaotic platter containing everything from acrid bitterness to sugary sweetness. In this volume, you’ll find our attempts to capture that range of possibility – with everything from a personal essay about eating out alone, to an exploration of the relationship between sexuality and fruits, to a search for the origins of an infamous nightlife cocktail – amongst other stories.
Time: 5pm till 5.30pm
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Entrance fee: Free by Entry Ticket Holders. No registration required. Please arrive early to secure your seats
For more info visit KL Art Book Fair’s official website.
4. Book Launch 05: Minority Blues By Shuren Press
This is the first collection of fresh minority accounts from Shuren Press, and it’s titled Minority Blues. It was conceived as a zinebook with the help of Fynn Teo @doboki and features the work of emerging writers who have contributed essays, poems, and stories about people on the margins of society. Diversity in race, class, orientation, and gender expression are all represented in these stories. These people have opinions that aren’t widely shared, may be suffering from mental illness, or are simply outsiders in their adopted country. The author hopes that by encouraging readers to set aside and forget their preconceived notions about minorities, this book will shed light on the fact that the minority story is not the narrative of the victim.
Time: 6pm till 6.30pm
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Entrance fee: Free by Entry Ticket Holders. No registration required. Please arrive early to secure your seats
For more info visit KL Art Book Fair’s official website.
5. Book Launch 06: Lucid Dreams Issue No.3 By Draf.
Draf. will talk about how they came up with the idea for the magazine, how the concept evolved, how the art for the issue spreads was created, and what challenges they had as a first-time magazine creator.
Their third issue, told in a cinematic style, is an honest portrayal of young people’s anxiety as seen through the eyes of three main characters with wildly different personalities who are navigating the challenges of adulthood in the city, such as housing leasing, navigating public transportation, searching for love, and giving up on reality. The language of this discussion will be Mandarin.
Time: 7pm till 7.30pm
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Entrance fee: Free by Entry Ticket Holders. No registration required. Please arrive early to secure your seats
For more info visit KL Art Book Fair’s official website.
Programs On December 4th, Sunday
1. Talk: Self-Writing, Self-Designing, Self-Publishing By Thinking*Room
Words, in the eyes of Thinking*Room, are just as essential to the process as visuals. That’s what makes a book worth reading. They will discuss the process of self-publishing their books and prints, including how they came up with the idea and how they used concept, words, and design to create an interesting read.
Time: 1pm till 2pm.
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur. (Mezzanine floor of the Main Hall,he Godown Arts Centre)
Entrance fee: RM35/pax, on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Secure your seats HERE.
2. Talk: Print Media & Autonomous Knowledge Production In The Digital Era By Further Reading Press
In this talk of KL Art Book Fair 2022, Further Reading Press editor-in-chief Januar Rianto will discuss the press’s various editorial programmes and approaches, the history of the Jakarta Art Book Fair, his own experiences in the field of print media, and the work that has gone into encouraging critical reflection and dialogue on the topic of design in the Southeast Asian region.
Time: 3pm till 4pm.
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur. (Mezzanine floor of the Main Hall)
Entrance fee: RM35/pax, on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Secure your seats HERE.
3. Live DJ Session: Sunday Vinyl Session By Fono
Time to celebrate one last day at Godown in grand fashion of KL Art Book Fair 2022, for all good things must eventually end. In keeping with our shared appreciation for analogue media, fono has arranged for us to spend our Sunday listening to records. Get your groove on as you listen to some of Klang Valley’s most knowledgeable vinyl collectors spin funk, soul, and jazz recordings.
Time: 4pm till 7pm
Location: The Godown Arts Centre, 11, Lorong Ampang 7, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Entrance fee: Free by Entry Ticket Holders. No registration required. Please arrive early to secure your seats
For more info visit KL Art Book Fair’s official website.
Visitor FAQs
1. Do we need to pick a time slot to visit KLABF 2022?
For KL Art Book Fair 2022, visitors only need to purchase an entry ticket and show up on their selected Fair day. Do note that Main Hall has a capacity limit, and there may be a queue to enter. Please follow the instructions by the crew.
2. Am I allowed to re-enter the fair within the same day?
Yes. If you have exited the Main Hall and wish to re-enter within the same day, you may do so if there is no queue. If there is a queue, you will be kindly asked to join the back of the line. Kindly present your wristband to our crew upon re-entry.
3. Are food and drinks allowed inside the fair?
Food and drinks (except for drinking water) are strictly NOT allowed inside the Main Hall.
4. Do babies and children below 12 years require entry tickets?
No, babies and children below 12 years enter for free. Please make sure they are always attended by an adult.
5. Is there a time limit for visitors?
There is no time limit. However, visitors are encouraged NOT to linger too long inside the Main Hall. This is to ensure everyone has a chance to enjoy the fair and browse comfortably. Do note that last entry to the fair is 7:30PM daily.
6. What kind of payment methods are accepted at KLABF 2022?
Both cash and cashless payments are accepted.
7. Do I need to wear a mask to enter?
All visitors in the Main Hall MUST keep their masks on at all times. Visitors are also encouraged to continue wearing their masks throughout the venue.
For further enquiries and questions that haven’t been answered on this page, you may direct them to [email protected] and don’t forget to visit their Instagram and Facebook. For ticket purchase, click here.
