Authors: Edited by Multistory. Contains writing by Marley Starskey Butler, Polly Brant, Amelia Fox, Neoliberalizard, Rupinder Kaur Waraich, Rachel Magdeburg and Leah Hickey
From Where I Speak is the first issue of The Printing Room, a yearly journal that publishes art writing from Sandwell and the Black Country. Seven artists were commissioned to write pieces for this inaugural issue; Marley Starskey Butler, Polly Brant, Amelia Fox, Neoliberalizard, Rupinder Kaur Waraich, Rachel Magdeburg and Leah Hickey. Writers explored the Black Country’s stories and socio-political conditions, and their own experiences of forging an arts practice within an area that has historically been underfunded. In this issue, the reader will find love letters to various aspects of the Black Country including its canal walls and underpasses; its dialect and interconnected, supportive communities; Sandwell Valley Park; and a resolution to forging a practice through alternative means through spirituality, walking or gleaning.
The Printing Room is published as part of Multistory’s artist development programme BCN, and provides commissions for local emerging artists to experiment with their writing. The journal aims to support the publishing of new experimental and creative writing outside of academic contexts.
The journal has been designed, printed and bound by The Holodeck, a printmaking and design studio founded in 2013 in Birmingham, specialising in Risograph, Letterpress, and traditional printmaking techniques. Printed in fluo orange and blue risograph.