05.02.26, 18:00, Sébastien Bovie, Jessica Gysel, Ward Heirwegh

Sébastien Bovie

copyshop— is an independent artist book publisher, founded in 2023 by Sébastien Bovie and Tseu Ying Tang. Working in small, mostly hand-made editions, the platform treats publishing as a space for experiment, critical engagement, and dialogue. Its methodology develops through close collaboration with artists and writers, treating the book as a medium in its own right rather than solely a vehicle for content. Positioning publishing as a social and local practice, Copyshop— focuses on supporting disruptive and experimental approaches to bookmaking. By prioritising the social over profit, it aims to challenge the institutional framing of the artist’s book and ask how care and collaboration might reshape an object-based landscape.

Jessica Gysel

Jessica Gysel is a Belgian writer, editor, and cultural organiser based in Brussels. She writes about feminist, queer, and collective art practices developing on the margins of the contemporary art world. Gysel is an editor at GLEAN, where she contributes essays and interviews on artists and cultural practitioners. She is the co-founder of several queer feminist initiatives, including the magazine Girls Like Us, the event platform Girls Heart Brussels, and the ephemeral bar project Mothers & Daughters. She recently became coordinator for Team Publiek at Kaaitheater and co-edited Love & Lightning: A Collection of Queer and Feminist Manifestos, published by Valiz.

Ward Heirwegh

Ward Heirwegh is a designer and publisher based in Antwerp, Belgium. He graduated from Sint-Lucas Ghent in 2007, after which he established an independent practice as a graphic designer and art director within the cultural sector. Since 2013, he has been a faculty member at Sint Lucas Antwerpen (KdG) and has conducted workshops in Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania, and Canada. He is the founder of the now-defunct Sleeperhold Publications and currently pursues small-scale publishing and various artistic projects under the name Verantwoordelijke Uitgever.