In a first-of-its-kind anthology, 30 emerging and established voices of science-fiction, fantasy, and horror tell fresh new narratives of environmental and social transformation set in the American Midwest!

Corn-fueled rocket ships! A jungle in Minneapolis! A Kansas City on Mars!
Marshy suburbs! Tourist-trap family farms! A popcorn apocalypse!

With insight and empathy, each creator offers responses to the turbulence of 21st century life, work, environment, and place. Through considerations of real-world challenges—including climate change, drought, wildfire, flood, and social isolation—they provide stories of resilience and growth.

“The best anthologies result in a collaborative act of magic and alchemy—writers become a generative hive-mind of possibilities,” writes anthology editor Randy Brown. “Our contributors cultivated new visions and interpretations of the American Midwest’s character, population, and landscape. By winnowing the chaff of old geographic and cultural stereotypes, they achieved a bumper crop of narrative prospects!”

To inspire and motivate further explorations, the anthology includes a special bonus section of 7 discussion-starters and prompts, for use in workshops, book clubs, classrooms, and other gatherings. Each prompt is based on a selection of stories and poems found in the anthology!

Emmy-nominated artist and writer Molly Crabapple’s piece “The Great American Bubble Machine” is Maintenant 18’s official cover art. Releasing on July 16, Maintenant 18 is contemporary dada writers and artists from around the world redistributing a wealth of new ideas, to shape public opinion using the theme of PLUTOCRAZY.
Crabapple’s piece is inspired by Goldman Sachs, particularly Matt Taibbi’s Rolling Stone article about Goldman Sachs. It was the first of many pieces of hers exploring illustrative journalism, combining her passion for activism with her art skills. She sketched on the front lines for The Wall Street Journal for many years, detailing anything from Occupy Wall Street to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She is a versatile artist, describing her art as from “nightclubs and warzones.”  

“It perfectly encapsulates the spirit of capitalism and greed,” said Arden Gray, 3RP associate. “It’s precisely what plutocrazy is trying to combat.”
Maintenant 18 features artists and creatives from all across the globe, from every class and every walk of life.
“I have my vampire squid whore-goddess of the market inflating,” Crabapple told Fast Company about the piece, “and then popping bubbles while my little banker cats wield their machines.” 
Story courtesy of MollyCrabapple.com

BABE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS*
Bristol Artist’s Book Event at Bower Ashton will take place over the weekend of 29th and 30th June 2024, 11am – 5pm each day. Free event. All welcome.
The first Bristol Artist’s Book Event (BABE) was organised by Sarah Bodman and Tom Sowden in collaboration with Peter Begen, Julian Warren and Snoozie Claiden at Arnolfini in 2007. It has since grown into an international event showcasing artists’ books to the public over a weekend every two years. In 2022 BABE moved to our Bower Ashton campus to create space for a larger event with talks, displays, performances and workshops alongside 100 exhibitor stands. Since its first outing, BABE has established a great reputation as a relaxed and friendly event to meet and talk to book artists about their work and buy works of art.
We have 100+ exhibitors coming from all over the UK and Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden and the USA and books arriving from Australia, Poland and the USA.
Free onsite parking, no need to book or pay for a ticket, just turn up and park. Cycle racks on site. Buses and all other travel information can be downloaded here.
BABE takes place over A, B, C and D blocks at UWE’s Bower Ashton campus, you can download a map of the campus here, room guides are available at the event or download from the link below.
Qtd at BABE website, 2024

In exploring what commemoration should look like in the 21st century, Niall has undertaken groundbreaking work as part of a major project. In collaboration with Professor Kate McLoughlin and Dr Catherine Gilbert from the University of Oxford, the ‘Post-War’ project brought together more than 1,200 participants and audience members from at least 24 countries, including artists, writers, composers, lawyers, academics, theologians and war veterans."
​Qtd at Oxford Brookes Website, 2024

The Cornerstone of our Art & Design EducationTo Educate & Inspire
These are the two main goals of Liberal Studies & Art History at Paris College of Art. The courses we share with you ensure that you are confident in your written expression, critical thinking, and can communicate clearly about your work, and we also assure that your creativity and imagination find grand space for interpretation and expansion.
Our courses offer students a strong grasp of the creative world and history of the chosen focus of study. We provide the context needed with interdisciplinary Liberal Studies in general humanities – history, philosophy, languages and literatures as well as sciences, ensuring that navigating the complexities of contemporary culture are second nature. A multicultural and global perspective characterizes all our courses and allows students to engage in stimulating class discussions with their peers and instructors.
You will develop analytical prowess in comprehension and composition, shaping yourself into an articulate, effective, creative academic and professional. 
In addition to a set of core courses in the history of art and design for the specific majors and degrees, a wide selection of Liberal Studies electives enables students to broaden their knowledge and sharpen their capacity for analytical inquiry. Courses cover an extensive range of disciplines, with a changing selection of electives ranging from cognitive psychology or semiotics to queer literature and dance/ theater studies. Through a large selection of art history courses, students also have the opportunity to expand the knowledge acquired in the core courses. Topics range from global design and history of fashion, to performance, video and digital art. Natural science courses such as Optics, Biology, and Botany complete our rich offering in general education.
French classes are offered over four levels. The French content course (advanced level) allows students to take an elective in French on various inspiring subjects such as sustainability, gastronomy, hip-hop culture, and French cinema.
PCA takes special advantage of its campus and location as an ideal environment for observing and exploring the social and cultural variety that is typical of a European and multicultural metropolis in the 21st century. Courses often include visits to a large variety of venues – museums and galleries, cultural events and urban sites. Senior level seminars and guest speakers address timely and provocative issues that help students develop ideas and make the choices that will enhance their own careers."
Qtd at website, 2024

In MAINTENANT 18, contemporary dada writers and artists from around the world redistribute a wealth of new ideas, to shape public opinion using the theme of PLUTOCRAZY. "Timely and relevant." --Tribe LA Magazine. "Proof that dada is not dead." --MADJAN Magazine (Serbia)

Creativity is the currency here and the amount has no limit. In nearly 250 pages of full color art and incisive writing, MAINTENANT 18 separates Merch and State by forging a non-monetary vision which exposes strategies to achieve socio-political and economic equality and serves against the military-industrialist complex linking warfare with capitalism, shining a light through every crack for "we the people." Features the work of artist and writers from around the world, including cover art by Molly Crabapple.
A fascinating collection of contemporary dada art and writing from around the world that proves dada continues to be a pertinent artistic response to the madness of modern society. As author Richard Loranger (Mammal) notes: "Three Rooms Press, which has been producing Maintenant since 2008, calls this a journal, but it's more like a series of pageants, or more to the point, anti-pageants, glorious protest parades that fill the streets with punk and jazz and graffiti and wry ire, pausing before the grandstand only to burn flags, fling mirrors, and enact human realness. And what better time for it!"
The Maintenant series, established in 2008, explores themes of politics, humanity, philosophy, and current concerns from an antiwar, anarchic (and often eye-opening) perspective. Past issues include work by artists Mark Kostabi, Raymond Pettibon, Joel Hubaut, Heide Hatry, Avelino de Araujo, Pawel Kuczynski, Inas Al-Soqi, Giovanni Fontana, Nicole Eisenmann, Syporca Whandal, and Kazunori Murakami; past writers have included Gerard Malanga, Charles Plymell, Andrei Codrescu, Harry E. Northup, Malik Crumpler, Maw Shein Win, and more, with a strong contingent of artist-writers from the world of punk rock, including Thurston Moore, Mike Watt, Bibbe Hansen and more."
Qtd. in 3RoomsPress website, 2024

Bibbe Hansen, born in New York City, 1953, to Fluxus artist Al Hansen and actress Audrey Hansen, began performing professionally at age eleven playing leading child and ingenue roles in prestigious east coast summer stock companies. In New York City, concurrently, she regularly performed in her father's avant-garde theater pieces called "Happenings" and participated in the presentations of his contemporaries at such historical venues as La Mama, Circle in the Square and Judson Church. She studied dance with Phoebe Neville and Lucinda Childs, sang in an Elizabethan music group and was filmed by underground cinema champion Jonas Mekas.

A chance meeting with a record producer at age 13, led to her recording a single for Laurie records with her friends Janet Kerouac (daughter of Jack) and Charlotte Rosenthal. They were called "The Whippets" and their hastily recorded single hit the pop charts in Canada.

After a stint as a delinquent street kid, runaway and truant she became a "guest" of the State of New York at the infamous Spofford Street Youth House and several other NY institutions for child criminals where she was able to refine her survival skills and work on her freestyle group dancing techniques.

Directly following her release, Bibbe met Andy Warhol who suggested they collaborate on a film about her recent experiences. The film was called Prison and stars Bibbe Hansen, Marie Mencken and Edie Sedgwick. Bibbe also made three other films with Warhol and danced briefly with the Velvet Underground.

A random late-60's sojourn brought Bibbe to Los Angeles where she founded a theater company, acted in "B" movies and participated in the local punk scene as musician, and documenteur. She is the mother of three wonderful children, Beck, Channing and Rain; a pop musician, fine artist and poet respectively. From 1990 -1995 she operated Troy Cafe. The café became the center of a multicultural renaissance in downtown Los Angeles and was home to a generation of musicians, comedians, artists and filmmakers.

Following the death of Al Hansen in 1995, Bibbe and husband Sean Carrillo created the Al Hansen Archive, and continued exhibitions of her father's work, while performing and lecturing at museums, galleries and universities around the world.

Today Bibbe creates artwork and is represented by Gracie Mansion Gallery in New York City. She recently completed the first draft of her memoirs and she lectures frequently on art and the creative process."
​Qtd from website, 2024

Dennis Linn retired from the United States Air Force. He has a wide range of experience in academia and was a Professor of Art at the Air Force Academy. He has held positions as Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies, teaching Air Force ROTC at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, was the Director of the Journalism Department at the Defense Information School., has been the Director of Public Affairs at Ellsworth AFB, SD and at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, and was the Chief of Plans and Policy for Public Affairs at Headquarters European Command in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany. His last assignments were Inspector General at Ellsworth and Chief of Protocol at Osan, Korea.
Dennis holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art and Art Education from Ohio University, and a Master of Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from Bowling Green State University, Ohio. He has won many regional and national art awards dating from 1970 to present. He has been featured in American Artist’s Magazine as an American Emerging Artist and won First Place Sculpture, in Artist’s Magazine’s All Media Competition. Dennis Linn and his wife, Carolyn, are from South Dakota. They have five children, twins Michael and Marc, Eric, and twins Nicholas and Carrie. They have seven grandchildren including identical twin girls."