All Inked Up was a UCA Research funded programme and event, its principal function and outcome was an enquiry into the notion of the artist book. It composed of an international artist book and print event spread over two venues: the Herbert Read Gallery, UCA Canterbury, and The Brewery Tap Gallery, Folkestone.
The event comprised of over 100 artists, universities, studios and galleries, including internationally recognised book artists from Japan, South Korea, Spain, Norway, Holland, Germany, Portugal, Ireland, as well as the UK. It included work of staff and students from European universities who have a research programme involving the artist book: University Barcelona, E.I.N.A Barcelona, Lljota Barcelona, Limerick and Cork Ireland, Camberwell, Glasgow, Dundee and University of Leeds; as well as local galleries, studios and artists within the South East: Resort Studios, Open School East, Limbo, and Folkestone Creative Foundation.
A symposium was held at The Cragg Lecture Theatre on Friday 13 October 2017 to coincide with the book fair and again promoted through the Canterbury Festival. Ten artists, practitioners and academics were invited to debate and talk about their practice and what constitutes the artist book; McDonald's main objective for the event, symposium and subsequent exhibition was one of exploring and debating the notion of the artist book. The symposium provided the opportunity to ask what the function of the 'artists' book' is within an artist's and a designer's practice.
The exhibition (Unbound) featured five internationally acclaimed artists including McDonald himself.
The event's purpose was to build the audience's awareness of the artist book as a primary medium and method in artistic practice and introduce the broad possibilities that the book format covers, from illustrative narrative to sculptural forms through to digital audio / video and performance work. The book can be in the shape of a more personal artefact held and played with, to digital environments that nurture or engulf the audience.
