Natalia Silberleib
Statement
Although I loved books since I was a child and I put together my own library, when I finished high school in 1984 I decided to study History at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (yes, "Filo", yes "Puán"). Before finishing my degree I went to live in Italy, worked in a nursery and in a bookstore and when I returned in 1993, the Editing Technician degree (Filo!) had just been created. I looked at the curriculum and it was as if it had been designed for me. I completed the degree with great passion and began to cultivate my taste for the book object, for paper restoration and for the social history of books and reading. Years later I continued my training and obtained my Master's degree in Cultural Administration (obivo, Filo, 2005). I completed my training in seminars and conferences on museum publications in the United States and acquired extensive experience both in the editing of art books and artist books and in university teaching and research.
I am currently a regular professor of Editorial Curatorship in the Master's Degree in Curatorship in Visual Arts (UNTREF) and an academic consultant. I teach courses and seminars at universities in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and the United States. I have also given talks at different universities and institutions in Argentina and abroad. I have published texts on museum publications and artist books in Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico, and Germany. I have participated in various publications and co-wrote Libro de artista, Objeto de Sísimo (2023) with the Argentine artist Matilde Marín. I am the author of the chapter “Hacia una historia de las publicaciónes de artistas en la Argentina” (Towards a history of artist publications in Argentina) for the National Academy of Fine Arts of Argentina (2024).
In my teaching work I also collaborate with the PUPI Foundation in its reading promotion program under the concept of "promoting reading through the object." As a researcher, I work on "editorial practices in the field of art," the history of the artist's book and new trends in this field. I obtained the "Boris Spivacow" research grants awarded by the National Library to study the publications of the exhibitions they held and "Investiga Cultura" from the Ministry of Culture of the Nation where I worked on publications as a heritage strategy. I am currently focused on the project A book is a book, which is based on the training, research and dissemination of publications in the field of contemporary arts. My current research is based on the relationships between editorial practices and the arts.
Books as an editor
These are some of the books I worked on as an editor. The range is wide, from art and museum catalogues to official publications.
Muntref,
Buenos Aires, 2012
Muntref,
Buenos Aires, 2013
Muntref,
Buenos Aires, 2014
Muntref,
Buenos Aires, 2012
Golden Company,
Buenos Aires, 2015
Author's edition, Buenos Aires,
2022
New World Foundation,
Buenos Aires, 2007
Itaú Foundation (ebook)
Buenos Aires, 2015
Muntref,
Buenos Aires, 2011
Muntref,
Buenos Aires, 2013
New World Foundation,
Buenos Aires, 2006
Texts as an author
Texts with which I participated in various publications, both as a guest and in conferences and seminars.
Matilde Marin and Natalia Silberleib.
Author's edition. Buenos Aires, 2024.
"The photobook and editorial practices
in the field of arts"
Expanded photography , artexarte, Buenos Aires, 2023
"Editing and images of violence in Latin America. The Silhouette and its photographic stories"
Visualities of violence and death. Practices and representations , UNAM, Mexico, 2021
"Editing Practices"
Idea Pool , Miss Read, Berlin, 2021
"Editing Practices"
Idea Pool , Miss Read, Berlin, 2021
A book is a book
This project started in 2015 with the idea of offering a broad training in artist publications. I had studied Editing and was dedicated to editing museum catalogues but I wanted to get closer to the world of artist publications. At that time, I was working with the Argentine artist Eduardo Stupía who recommended that I call on the artist Paula Landoni to complement me on art topics. Paula and I were interested in the same things and at that moment the name "A book is a book" came up. Then, my friend and illustrator, Jimena Tello, knew how to interpret the soul of this project and designed the logo.
After a while, in 2020, the pandemic prompted me to resume the project and I started with virtual classes, now without Paula, focused on her artistic work. Participants from Argentina and also from Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil and Spain joined the courses. Then another need arose: how to communicate and disseminate the courses? I called Marina Rainis, a designer and friend, who has since been in charge of graphic communication, which added a lot of visibility. The networks (instagram) began to grow and I opened a channel on YouTube where I interview artists or people from the artistic and editorial field: Una charla es una charla (youtube) .
In 2022, after a very revealing walk through archives, museums and bookstores in Europe, I began to think about the "school project" with the aim of generating a space to talk about the derivations of the genre but also to do more practices and support. Today, " School A book is a book" is the first comprehensive project in training in artist publications and has wide recognition from artists, editors and academics. It is an independent and self-managed project but it lives thanks to the interest of artists, colleagues and loved ones.
In A Book is a Book, I start with "what is an artist's publication" and then go on to the how, why and for whom of this type of work. Both at the School and in workshops or networks, I seek to combine information and knowledge with "creative training" to generate triggers and ideas.
Currently, I can say that people have enthusiastically joined these proposals. Hundreds of students have already attended and I will continue to expand the proposals that, between art and publications, require and demand theoretical and critical training. Therefore, what follows is to offer more activities on art, creative techniques (editorial and artistic), talks by publishers and artists and to expand the idea of editorial practices with a social and solidarity purpose.