Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Artists' Books Collection, 2007-2015

Summary Information

At a Glance

Bib ID:
15498023 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Beausoleil, Beau, 1941-; Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition; Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Artists' Books Collection (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
278 Volumes (approximately 278 artists' books)
Language(s):
Primarily in English, with some Arabic.
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

All books in this collection are cataloged, and should be requested individually in CLIO. This record is for informational purposes only.

Description

Scope and content

Collection of artists' books created by artists participating in the Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition; donated by the founder of the coalition Beau Beausoleil between December 2019 and March 2020. Each participating book artist was asked to complete three books over the course of a year that reflected both the strength and fragility of books, but also showed the endurance of the ideas within them.

General Note

See also individual catalog records for titles in the collection. This collection uses a special classification system with call numbers consisting of the numbers 1-280, which were previously assigned as order numbers and reflect alphabetical arrangement by artist's last name; sublocation code ALMUTANABBI precedes the call number

Collection title devised by curator. Alternate titles for collection are Al-Mutanabbi Street Artists' Books Collection and Al-Mutanabbi Artists' Books Collection.

Arrangement

Collection arranged and classed alphabetically by last name of book artist.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

All books in this collection are cataloged, and should be requested individually in CLIO. This record is for informational purposes only.

Related Archival Materials

The Al Mutanabbi Street Starts Here collection is a separate archival collection at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library that contains prints, broadsides, and photographs. https://clio.columbia.edu/archives/14363895

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Beau Beausoleil. Method of acquisition--Gift. Date of acquisition--2019-2020.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Biographical / Historical

In 2007, Beau Beausoleil, poet and bookseller, founded the Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition as a response to the bombing of Al-Mutanabbi Street, the center of bookselling in Baghdad, Iraq. Coalition members include poets, writers, and artists from many countries, and projects have included broadsides, artists' books, prints, bookmarks, music, photography, and more. The mission of the coalition focuses on the lasting power of the written word and the arts in support of the free expression of ideas and the preservation of shared cultural spaces.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Artists' books (books) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Place
Iraq -- In art. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Iraq -- Intellectual life -- 21st century. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Iraq -- Social conditions -- 21st century. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Artists' books -- Specimens. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Bombings -- Iraq -- Baghdad -- 21st century. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Books and reading in art -- 21st century. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Booksellers and bookselling -- Iraq -- Baghdad -- 21st century. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Censorship -- Iraq -- Baghdad -- 21st century. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Cultural property -- Destruction and pillage. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Protest movements. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Terrorism in art -- 21st century. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Vehicle bombs -- Iraq -- Baghdad. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Violence -- Iraq -- Baghdad -- 21st century. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Visual literature -- Specimens. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
War and civilization -- Iraq. CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID