MONDO Books
The Arctic Art Book Fair organized by MONDO, co-run by Tanya Busse and Marion Bouvier, in Tromsø in 2020. The AABF will have its next edition in 2025 in Nuuk, Kalaallit Nunaat, and in Dawson City, Yukon in 2027.
Mondo Books (Tromsø) is an independent book platform that mediates artists’́ publications through publishing projects, distribution, exhibitions, book fairs, workshops, launches and other events. We also pursue research-based projects around topics of printed matter and its relationship to social movements, in particular in the Barents region.
Recently they hosted the first edition of the Arctic Art Book Fair, and will continue to support works of arctic content, with a focus on indigenous perspectives, under-represented voices and cross-border collaborations. Mondo plays an important role in both the local scene as well as on the national level, since it is the only independent art book platform and distributor in the Northern region.
We are currently located in the front space at the Tromsø Kunstforening (Tromsø Center of Contemporary Art) on Mellomvegen 82, and we also have a small satellite site at Nord Norsk Kunstnersenter in Svolvær, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Mondo is currently run by Tanya Busse and Marion Bouvier.
The Arctic Art Book Fair is organized by Mondo Books and is the first art book fair to our knowledge that brings together producers from all over the circumpolar north; Alaska, Northern Canada, Greenland, Northern Scandinavia and Russia. The
fair hopes to provide a sustainable meeting place and exhibition venue for arctic artistic communities and local audiences from the Barents region. It is also committed to arctic content, with a focus on indigenous perspectives, under-represented voices and emphasizes cross-border collaborations.
The first edition of the Arctic Art Book Fair took place November 13-15, 2020, in Tromsø, Norway. The second edition will take place in Nuuk, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) on 23th - 26th October 2025 in collaboration with Nuuk Nordic Culture festival, and in 2027 in Dawson City, Yukon.
Riso Printing
Leading a Riso-printing workshop within the exhibition “Power to the Pealtands”, curated by Karolin Tampere at Tromsø Kunstforening, 2024
I have started Riso printing in 2020 when I decided to learn using the Riso to re-print some publications for the Arctic Art Book Fair. I immediately loved using the medium for its hands-on, sustainable, artistic approach to printing. I have since then printed zines, posters, postcards, booklets, pamphlets and much more.
In Autumn 2024, I had the opportunity to do a 2-month apprenticeship at Risofort Studio (Hamburg), which allowed me to deepen my knowledge of Riso printing.
Riso (short for “Risograph”) printing is a printing technique that originated in Japan in the middle of the 1940s, after the war. It was invented by Noboru Hayama, who started by mixing inks in his kitchen sink. A Risograph printer looks like a photocopier, but the process is very similar to silk-screen printing: we print each color separately, and layer them on top of one another. The mechanical process is the following: we scan a picture on the machine’s scanner or send it digitally to the machine, then the machine makes a “master” by making tiny holes in the master paper; once the mas- ter is ready, the paper is taken in by the machine, and the ink is pushed through the master, making the pattern where the tiny holes have been made.
Over the decades since it has been invented, Riso has been used as a social and political tool to reproduce pamphlets, manifestos, DIY publications, posters, and more recently, artists have really tapped in the unique look of Riso-printed, and it has been very popular.
I offer Riso printing workshops to all ages, from beginners to artists and designers who want to print their own materials. Contact me if you want to know more!
All photos below and above: PC Tanya Busse, Marion Bouvier / MONDO Books
MONDO Books organized the Arctic Art Book Fair in Tromsø in 2020 in the old Alfheim swimming pool. Despite the pandemic, the public was able to access books and to watch live-streamed talks around the topics of self-publishing amongst others
During a research trip in Nuuk (Greenland) in October 2024 ahead of the Arctic Art Book Fair 2025
MONDO's book selection on display at KIN (Kiruna Museum of Contemporary Art), February 2024
Demonstrating how to change a master during a Riso printing workshop, September 2024
Printing tests during the "Power to the Peatlands" Riso printing workshop, 2024
More re-printing tests and examples!
MONDO published Mary Somby's Beaivvás Mánát / Leve blant reptiler in 2020. The book and its author went on to win many prizes. The book is a poetry collection that chronicles the Norwegianization and colonization of Sámi people in Norway.
In 2025, MONDO Books co-published “The Pleasure Report” by duo New Mineral Collective, Emilija Skarnulytė and Tanya Busse. Co-published with Information Office and edited by Jayne Wilkinson, it accompanies their exhibition of the same name currently on view at Mercer Union, Toronto.
ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒧᑦ / Ruovttu Guvlui / Towards Home is a co-publication between Mondo Books, Canadian Center for Architecture and Valiz, Amsterdam. The book is edited by Joar Nango, Taqralik Partridge, Jocelyn Piirainen, and Rafico Ruiz.