Maintenance methods moves vol. 1

MMM is a zine series about the exploration of independent publishing by Asian practitioners, particularly under transcultural experience shaped by international migration. Maintenance, Methods, Moves – these three elements calibrate our perspective into the sites and relations of knowledge production and examine issues like survival tactics, operation, care, relearning, sociopolitical engagement, and activism. It is a contextual adaptation of Hannah Arendt’s definition of vita activa – labour, work, and action. As a means of knowledge and aesthetic production, publishing is both about making publication (artefacts) and making the public (relations). In this understanding, Vol. 1 features artists behind three resilient self-publishing projects – Prickly Paper, Nomad Papaya Books, and Reading My Panties / Not Just A Collective. Vol. 2 features organisers behind three distinctive publishing events and spaces – Outland Publishing Fair, encounters, and Limestone Books. Together, they offer us a close look into how they navigate the Western cultural systems to build soft infrastructures for the incredibly diverse practices related to the Asian context.