Adele Patrick has over three decades of involvement in commissioning, curating, creating, and editing feminist and equality-focused publications. She has worked as an independent writer, researcher, and designer, and is a co-founder and co Director of Glasgow Women’s Library. Her relationship with the world of creation, archiving, and collaboration with readers and writers spans from the pre-digital era.
In her upcoming talk at esea contemporary, Adele will delve into the purpose of publishing, both in the past and the present, while also looking to the future. Drawing from her extensive experience of collaborative and cross-disciplinary work with writers, designers, architects, and other creatives, she will discuss her contributions to and co-designing of publications; this includes a wide spectrum, from artists' books to academic journals, from zines to manifestos, all while exploring the enduring drive to publish.
Following her talk, Adele will be in conversation with Xiaowen Zhu, Director of esea contemporary.
Adele has held a leadership role in establishing a counter-cultural library, archive, and museum. She collaborates with local, national, and international communities and partners, including a network of independent publishers and feminist and queer resources where counter-cultural publishing thrives. Her talk will champion the significance of 'Real Spaces' for reading.
In her exploration and highlighting of how publishing can change lives, communities, and the world, Adele's discussion will shed light on various forms of activism, storytelling, the recovery of lost voices, and the crafting of visions for the future. Additionally, she will share a selection of groundbreaking, inspiring, and beloved books from her personal collection for the audience to peruse and engage with.
Adele Patrick has been developing innovative cultural projects rooted in equalities and in academic research and community learning and teaching for over 30 years. Adele co-founded Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL) in 1991 and is currently a Co-Director. She has had a key leadership role in GWL which has grown from a grassroots project led by volunteers into a Recognised Collection of National Significance, the sole accredited museum dedicated to women’s history in the UK and an influential, change making organisation in the Museums, Library and wider cultural sectors. Trained as a designer at Glasgow School of Art (where she subsequently taught Gender, Art and Culture) Adele has been active in many projects as a curator, programmer, co-producer at GWL and in independent work as a facilitator, writer and creative activist most recently with ArtSchoolPlus, London and Raising the Roof, an eco-housing group run by elders.
A collaborator with writers, visual artists, filmmakers, architects and performers, Adele was awarded an Engage Scholarship for Excellence in Gallery Education in 2016. She writes for academic, professional and popular journals and publications and regularly speaks at national and international conferences. After her Clore Leadership Fellowship in 2018/2019, and Post Fellowship research, she has been involved in work including a book project on Intersectional Feminist Leadership and what we can learn from countercultural resources.
‘Publishing Otherwise: A Slow Book Fair for Coexistence’ is a reimagination of the book fair model, offering an alternative approach that diverges from the pressure of high-functioning, profit-driven transactions and embraces a slower, more intentional form of exchange.
Taking place at esea contemporary's Communal Project Space, the programme brings together two months of free talks, book launches, displays, and workshops led by collaborators from a diverse range of collectives, disciplines, and practises.
