Guides
What Is the Beirut Art Book Fair and Why Should You Know About It?
A widely overlooked aspect of publishing is the creative work that goes into making a book beyond its written content. Its illustrations, photography, typography, layout, and physical design make a book an artistic project in its own right. That’s where the Fall for Print: Beirut Art Book Fair comes in.
Unlike traditional book fairs, which mostly bring together publishing houses and bookstores, art book fairs focus on independent publishing, visual storytelling, and experimental print. Returning to Beirut Art Center for its second edition from November 20 to 22, 2026, the fair will bring together artists, publishers, printers, collectives, and independent practitioners from across SWANA and the Global South.
The purpose is to showcase work that often falls outside mainstream publishing. Visitors can expect to find all kinds of printed work, including art books, zines, prints, limited editions, archives, exhibition catalogues, and pamphlets. It’s also a chance to get a closer look at independent publishing practices and creative projects that you might not come across in regular bookstores.
What to expect
There’s more to look forward to than browsing publications, too. Last year’s first edition featured a public program called “Un/bind”, with writing workshops, discussions, book signings, and a live music performance. While this year’s program has yet to be announced, we hope to see a similar lineup of activities.
One of this year’s projects is a photo-only newspaper being developed in collaboration with Wide Open. The project explores what happens to digital images when they’re taken out of their original context and translated into print. It looks at the traces, fragments, and afterlives of images.
Photographers based in Lebanon are invited to submit their work for consideration. Selected photographs will form part of this special publication!
Are you into illustration, photography, graphic design, independent magazines, or simply enjoy finding publications you wouldn’t normally come across? The Beirut Art Book Fair is worth adding to your cultural calendar.
In a world full of AI-generated art, this fair reminds us how necessary human elements behind every creative project are. For more information, make sure to follow Beirut Art Center on Instagram!
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