Primary Information is a non-profit organization based in New York City that publishes artists’ books and editions, new books of artists’ writings, and facsimile editions of books that are out of print. In the past decade, it has established an international reputation for its publishing program, particularly its reprints of important historical material. Primary Information’s program involves three distinct components: the publication of out-of-print or unavailable material that is still vital to the contemporary art conversation; the publication of writing by contemporary artists; and the commissioning of artist editions and books. Primary Information believes that books can function as exhibitions, making the work of artists distributable to a global audience. As a central tenant of its mission, the organization prices all books at cost so that they are affordable and accessible to the largest possible audience.
Primary Information
"Black Phoenix: Third World Perspective on Contemporary Art and Culture". Book cover. Courtesy of Primary Information.
Mary Heilmann "The All Night Movie". Book cover. Courtesy of Primary Information.
Steffani Jemison,
"A Rock, A River, A Street". Book cover. Courtesy of Primary Information.
William Wegman
"Writing by Artist". Book cover, Courtesy of Primary Information.
Mel Chin and Helen Nagge "Primetime Contemporary Art: Art by the GALA Committee as Seen on Melrose Place". Book cover. Courtesy of Primary Information.
Various Artists "Newspaper". Book cover. Courtesy of Primary Information.
Trinh T. Minh-ha
"The Twofold Commitment". Book cover. Courtesy of Primary Information.
David Wojnarowicz
"Dear Jean Pierre". Book cover. Courtesy of Primary Information.
“The terrific range of project proposals we receive each year speaks to the mobile and porous disciplinary boundaries of contemporary art practice, and to the rich and inventive ways writers approach art today. They are alert to the urgent need to expand the conventions of art history and criticism with ideas from other discourses, such as black studies, transnational and diaspora studies, gender and women’s studies, and LGBT studies. The work of lesser known and overlooked artists and art communities continues to be mined, with writers articulating new ways to counter the striking imbalances of race, class and gender that continue to affect the arts and the culture industry.”