By: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer
From July 4–6, 2025, the Vancouver Arts Book Fair (VABF) returns to the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, bringing you not just knowledge transfer, but also many visions of what a publication can be. It is not just “Canada’s longest-running international art book fair,” but one of the most persistent, having been an annual Vancouver staple since 2012.
Kay Higgins, board chair at VABF and professional development coordinator at SFU School for the Contemporary Arts, attributes this longevity to “stubbornness.” Higgins has been attending art book fairs with her partner since the early 2000s. For her, this work is more than just making and selling books; it is about the intimacy inherent in this physical exchange. “It’s something that has gone from my hands to a stranger’s hands,” she says.
For Higgins, it is also about self-expression and resistance. Art publishing “can be very, very political,” she notes. “It’s got the potential for you to express ideas that wouldn’t be very viable to express even through a small press.” And yet here they are in our hands: zines, risograph editions, photocopies, hand-stitched booklets, even envelopes.
“There is so much variety in what we do,” Higgins continues, her passion for publishing evident in her voice. “A book is not just a vessel to put things in. It is a thing in itself,” she quotes from Ulises Carrión’s The New Art of Making Books. As beautiful objects, these publications have a life of their own, and book fairs are vital spaces for this culture of appreciating books to be made and passed along.
However, Higgins is keenly aware of the limits of space, time, and funding. “We need to be able to do things we haven’t done yet,” she says. Imagining a future where arts book fairs can create broader networks of solidarity with Indigenous artists, those from the Global South, or those making art under oppressive regimes, she admits, “We are still in the infancy of working with Indigenous artists, including artists from the host nations.” This decolonization is not uncomplicated, as some might find even the book a colonial form.
However, her work is ongoing. “My vision is that we manage to get everybody a living to produce work that creates meaning,” she shares. Mindful of the tension between these independent cultural spaces and her more institutional roles, she recognizes the limited power we hold as artists and scholars. Yet, she believes learning to work with institutions is a way to triangulate power, to make space for work that would otherwise be impossible. It is personal and political. And it has a cost.
Yet, artist-publishers from all over the world show up: Brooklyn, Seattle, Tokyo, Eindhoven, Shanghai, Hong Kong. From established names like Art Metropole and Emily Carr/Libby Leshgold, to some of Kay’s personal favourites like Brick Press, Cathy Busby Projects, HOMOCATS, Wendy’s Subway, and more, the fair is packed with diversity. The best part? It is also free to attend and open to all. The books are often affordable, and most exhibitors accept debit and credit payments.
Higgins first learned about art publishing in her twenties, with creative projects like File magazine by General Idea, which parodied fashion and culture, and Aspen magazine, which came in a box. It was a revelation to her then, that “anything made public is a publication.” That same wonder and sense of possibility is what VABF is about.
Wander in. Stay awhile. Witness what happens when strangers gather around ideas made tactile. And take something home — a sense of community but also a book or two — a reminder of the long, invisible chain that connects us. No special equipment or knowledge required. Just curiosity and some time. So, head out to Yaletown to see the fair for yourself!
