Presented by LATITUDE in conjunction with the 2026 Chicago Art Book Fair

OPEN BOOK features artists and publishers from Latitude’s community and projects that are also featured at the 2026 Chicago Art Book Fair.

Featuring Jason Reblando, Cecil McDonald, Jackie Furtado and Jennifer Haare, Naomi Liechty / Light Press, and Louisa Zheng / LMRM , the lecture series brings together distinct approaches to the artist book, spanning archival photography, moving images, independent publishing, and textile-based experimentation. In each lecture, the artists will explore how books can transform, preserve, and recontextualize images and ideas, and the possibilities that emerge through the process of making them.

The series will take place after the Chicago Art Book Fair’s operating hours.

FRIDAY NOV 13  6:00 - 8:30 PM 

SATURDAY NOV 14 6:00 - 8:30 PM

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FEATURING

Jason Reblando

“This Is Captured Paper “

In This Is Captured Paper (For the Birds Trapped in Airports (2006)), I create photocollages sourced from U.S. colonial photography made in the Philippines. By physically cutting, pasting, and rearranging elements of the images, I aim to disrupt and critique the colonial gaze, while attempting to reclaim the photographic narrative. In some collages, the cut patterns reference textile-makers across the Philippine archipelago, while in other collages, shapes and silhouettes allude to a problematic colonial past. By weaving historical photographs into my own contemporary art practice, I interrogate the lasting influence of imagery that codified colonial power dynamics between the United States and the Philippines.

About the artist

Jason Reblando is an artist and photographer based in Normal, Illinois. He received his MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago, and a BA in Sociology from Boston College. He is the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the Philippines, two Artist Fellowship Awards from the Illinois Arts Council, and a Community Arts Assistance Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. His work has been published in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Financial Times, Politico, Camera Austria, MAS Context, Chicago Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Reader. His photographs are collected in the Library of Congress, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography. He is an Associate Professor of Photography in the Wonsook Kim School of Art and Design at Illinois State University.

Cecil McDonald

“The Heat of The Cool”

The Heat of the Cool, emerged from a theory that espouses the idea that cool or coolness is a West African phenomenon where its inhabitants mask a deep wellspring of intensity, stress, or pleasure with serenity, calmness, or spirituality. Believing in the transformative power of dance I create, parties, dances, and occurrences of movement, where participants (dancers) and collaborators (DJs, still and motion photographers) converge. From these events, I create large-scale photographs and time-based imagery that renders the moving, dancing body as a symbol of freedom, with the ability to express the ownership of one’s time, space, labor, and self.

This multidiscipline project places at its center the photograph and the depiction of the moving, dancing body, as a divine symbol of freedom, with its own understanding of time, sometimes improvised, sometimes instructive. The body in motion is a lexicon of communication. The ecstatic experiences found in music and dance can be considered a momentary connection to the divine.

About the Artist 

Cecil McDonald, Jr. is most interested in the intersections of masculinity, familial relations, and Black culture's artistic and intellectual pursuits, particularly as this culture intersects with and informs the larger culture. Through photography, video, and dance/performance, he investigates and questions the norms and customs governing our understanding of each other, our families, and the myriad of societal struggles and triumphs. McDonald studied fashion, house music, and dance club culture before receiving an MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago. He currently serves as a lecturer at the School of the Art Institute and as an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago.

Jackie Furtado and Jennifer Haare

“KEEP LOOKING”

In KEEP LOOKING, Jackie Furtado and Jennifer Haare present a performance lecture exploring the relationship between moving images and the printed page through their artist book TORNADO (Luhz Press, 2025). Developed from thousands of still frames extracted from their experimental film Valley Fever, the book transforms cinematic time into a photographic sequence, investigating repetition, rhythm, and illusion. Learn more about the book at 

Pairing projected images with spoken text, the artists reflect on the bookmaking process and ways in which images shape our understanding of what we see. Featuring performance and moderated Q+A by  Margaret Crowley. 

About the artists

Jackie Furtado is based in New York and Jennifer Haare in Los Angeles. Their collaborative practice spans experimental film, photography, and artist publications, including the short film Valley Fever (2025), artist book TORNADO (Luhz Press, 2025) and an exhibition at Photo Saint Germain Festival in Paris. Their work has been presented in France and California, including a 2026 performance of KEEP LOOKING at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel-by-the-Sea. A forthcoming solo exhibition will be held at Vassar College in January 2027. 

Margaret Crowley (b. 1987, Ottawa, Illinois) is a Chicago-based artist. Recent solo shows include Hazard at University Galleries at Illinois State University, and Birthday at the Epiphany Center for the Arts. Her work has been exhibited at Ditch Projects in Springfield, Oregon; Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; Chicago Artists Coalition; Cue Foundation, New York; and Área: Lugar de Proyectos, Caguas, Puerto Rico. Crowley has received the Jarislowsky Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award, which included a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Canada. She has also been awarded multiple individual artist grants from the Illinois Arts Council and a residency at Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Chicago, M.A. from Eastern Illinois University, and B.S. from Illinois State University. 

Naomi Liechty

“A book is a world to fall into” 

In tandem with the Chicago Art Book Fair, come join an interactive talk with artist and bookmaker Naomi Liechty. Highlighting seven years of making, this talk will start with artist books Naomi self-published, and continue onto work made more recently under the banner of Light Press. Founded in 2025 by Naomi, Light Press showcases work that investigates our earthly experiences with light, nature, play, emotion, and pain. Attendees are invited to interact with the provided books while Naomi speaks on process, DIY publishing, and their influences. Naomi hand-makes each edition, utilizing photography, zines, and traditional book-making materials to facilitate an intimate relationship between artist and viewer. Together, we will explore books as portals– and worlds to fall into. In conjunction, visit Naomi and Light Press at the Chicago Art Book Fair, November 13-15 at the Chicago Cultural Center. Table twelve!

About the artist

Naomi Liechty (b. Chicago, IL) is the founder and working artist behind Light Press. Founded in 2025, Light Press showcases work that investigates our earthly experiences with light, nature, play, emotion, and pain. Naomi hand-makes each edition, utilizing photography, zines, and traditional book-making materials to facilitate an intimate relationship between artist and viewer, passed along through dynamic colors and playful forms. Just like art, a book is a world to fall into. Naomi has exhibited at Lubov Gallery in New York, NY, Epiphany Center for the Arts in Chicago, IL, and the Chicago Art Book Fair, among other venues. Naomi holds a BFA in Photography from Parsons School of Design and a BA in Literary Studies from The New School. They were an inaugural Artist-in-Residence at The Lost and Found Lab in Cos Cob, CT, and a past LATITUDE Lab Assistant. See more at naomiliechty.com.

Louisa Zheng

“The file is just the beginning” 

LMRM's Warp Library: A compilation of scores and compositions by previous weavers was Zheng’s first book project to completion. It celebrates the creative warps designed and put on by LMRM, each volume showcasing a Risograph-printed, 1:1 representation of the warp in an accordion booklet that unfolds to the length of the 4-Wide Thread Controller 2 digital jacquard loom. The book archives 40×60 pixel excerpts of contributing artists’ files they used to weave on that warp cycle. A person holds the unfurled book like a weaver at the loom. Zheng will talk about the book’s use of scale, her meticulous file design approach, and how bookmaking and Risograph printing threw it all out the window. The file looks nothing like the weaving. The file looks nothing like the book.

About the artist

Louisa Zheng (she/her) is often carrying too many things and loves containers of all sorts. She also designs and creates containers: books, events, and buildings all similarly containing meaning, connection, and stories in different ways. Outside of her role as an architectural designer, Zheng has participated in various Chicago-based artist-run initiatives since 2018. She has acted in an advisory role for LMRM since its preconception and is invested in more creative organizations participating in and advocating for a more equitable arts economy. Her present part-time role as Development Assistant with LMRM focuses on building and documenting their trajectory toward sustainability.

@louisazheng

WHEN: Saturday, November 14th, 2026 at 11:00AM

WHERE: LATITUDE, 2003 W Fulton St. Suite 211

COST: $80 General Admission , $65 Student Pricing (email info@latitudechicago.org)

INSTRUCTOR: Amanda Thomas

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Join us for this introductory course covering the basics of printing on Canon printers with a color-managed workflow. This session is designed to help you feel confident printing independently and certify you on the Canon 2600, 4000 and our Epson 4900, 9000 printers at LATITUDE. 

During our time together, we will cover:
✰ Paper types (matte, glossy, and specialty options) and how to choose between them
✰ How to make an appointment through our online booking system
✰ How to track and calculate your printing costs
✰ Printer settings and file prep basics, including resizing and adding borders
✰ Trimming techniques

✰ Packaging best practices for safely transporting your prints

You will leave with two ~ 8x10 prints

Preparing for Class

✰ Please bring two high-resolution images roughly sized to 8x10 inches at 300 dpi.

✰ Bring your files on a USB drive, external hard drive, or be prepared to AirDrop if you’re using an iPhone.

This session will be approximately an hour and a half of tutoring, you will then have the workstation and printer for an additional hour and a half to continue printing. Any prints beyond the (2) 8×10’s will be charged at our regular DIY fee.

Space is limited to 4 participants total so grab your spot early!

WHEN: Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at 6:00PM

WHERE: LATITUDE, 2003 W Fulton St. Suite 211

COST: $80 General Admission , $65 Student Pricing (email info@latitudechicago.org)

INSTRUCTOR: Matilda Brumbaugh

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Join us for this introductory course covering the basics of printing on Canon printers with a color-managed workflow. This session is designed to help you feel confident printing independently and certify you on the Canon 2600, 4000 and our Epson 4900, 9000 printers at LATITUDE. 

During our time together, we will cover:
✰ Paper types (matte, glossy, and specialty options) and how to choose between them
✰ How to make an appointment through our online booking system
✰ How to track and calculate your printing costs
✰ Printer settings and file prep basics, including resizing and adding borders
✰ Trimming techniques

✰ Packaging best practices for safely transporting your prints

You will leave with two ~ 8x10 prints

Preparing for Class

✰ Please bring two high-resolution images roughly sized to 8x10 inches at 300 dpi.

✰ Bring your files on a USB drive, external hard drive, or be prepared to AirDrop if you’re using an iPhone.

This session will be approximately an hour and a half of tutoring, you will then have the workstation and printer for an additional hour and a half to continue printing. Any prints beyond the (2) 8×10’s will be charged at our regular DIY fee.

Space is limited to 4 participants total so grab your spot early!