March 28-29, 2025
Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, Ottawa

Featuring 50+ artists and publishers, programming, and more in Canada’s capital.


INFORMATION



Possible Worlds is pleased to present Object//Project Art Book Fair, a new multiday gathering in Canada’s capital which celebrates diverse and boundary-pushing artists’ publishing.



Object//Project Art Book Fair (OPABF) 2025 takes place March 28-29 at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, Carleton University’s arts, learning and performance venue in downtown Ottawa.

This inaugural edition of OPABF will spotlight the vibrant Canadian art publishing scene.

Free and open to the public, our goal is to bring together artists, publishers, curators, collectors, educators, cultural workers and the community-at-large to connect, critically reflect, share knowledge and be inspired.

Fair visitors will have the opportunity to discover the work of some of the most exciting artists and publishers in Canada, including:
  • 50+ exhibitors in multiple rooms, from Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and beyond;
  • A dynamic lineup of talks, workshops and artists’ projects focused on the theme of cultural memory and documentation;
  • Electronic and experimental music performances and DJ sets across two floors; and
  • Offsite programming with partners across the Ottawa-Gatineau region.


VISIT

Object//Project Art Book Fair is committed to creating an accessible and safe environment for all visitors, participants, and fair team members.



Location


Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, Ottawa

290 Lisgar Street (main entrance)
355 Cooper Street (municipal address)

CDCC is Carleton University’s arts, performance and learning Centre in downtown Ottawa. Read more here about the Centre and its history.




Fair Hours

March 28, 2025: Opening Night
6-9 PM // Exhibitors
6-10 PM // Music Performances
Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre

March 29, 2025: Art Book Fair
12-6 PM // Exhibitors + Artist Programming
Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre

March 29, 2025: After Party
7-11 PM //  Ten Toes,  837 Somerset Street West



Entry and Ticket Fees

Object//Project and associated off-site programming are free to attend and welcome to all. To ensure a safe and enjoyable environment, visitor crowd flow will be regulated at the entrance.

As a volunteer-run, community-funded event, we welcome donations of pay what you can (PWYC) ticket fees (suggested $5-20) in advance of the event or upon entry. 100% of donations go towards the costs of the fair. Thank you.

Pay-what-you can here



Getting to CDCC/Parking



Public Transit
CDCC is a 10-minute walk from Parliament station and a 15-minute walk from Rideau Centre/Arts Court. Buses #6, 7, and 11 run along Bank Street. Plan your travel to and from other Ottawa destinations by using the OC Transport travel planner.

Bicycle
Use one of the various City of Ottawa or CDCC bike racks available at and around the venue.

Driving
There is a paid parking lot on the north side of the building.  Parking is limited in this lot and is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Overflow parking (paid, street or otherwise) available nearby along Cooper, Lisgar and O’Connor Streets. Two accessible parking spots are located on the south/west corner of the lot. 

Visit CDCC’s website for more info.



Location Accessibility

The main accessible entrance and ramp is at 290 Lisgar Street on the north side of the building. A second emergency exit and accessible ramp is located at 355 Cooper Street on the south side of the building.

There is elevator access to all four levels of the building.

Please call ahead to 613-520-4401 to make any inquiries about accessibility in the building.




Low Stimulation/ Chillout Room

The Library room at CDCC will be available Saturday 12-6 PM for those individuals looking for a quiet and comfortable environment, or want to take a break from the fair. Room capacity is 9 people.



Service Animals

CDCC welcomes guests and their service animals. Guests with service animals are requested to check in with the front desk staff upon arrival to the building. Unfortunately, no other pets or animals are authorized in the building.


Scent-Free Environment



Visitors and fair participants are encouraged to wear or use non-scented products while at the fair.


Visitor Health and Safety



Face masks are strongly encouraged to be worn throughout the event. Free masks will be available at the fair entrance while supplies last.

Before attending the event, we encourage you to do a self-assessment of your health. In case you are experiencing flu symptoms, please stay home.

CDCC continues to encourage safety with: hand sanitization stations, increased fresh air circulation schedules, and MERV13 filters in all air handling units.


Documentation

Object//Project will be documented by authorized photographers. Photos and videos of the event may be shared publicy e.g. on our websites, social media.  Artist-led dialogues may also be recorded and shared. 


EXHIBITORS

Alicia's Klassic Kool Shoppe (Toronto, ON)
Amy Vaillancourt (Wakefield, QC)
Art Metropole (Toronto, ON)
Bird Lips Zine (Ottawa, ON)
Bookburner Press (Ottawa, ON)
CBBAG (Ottawa, ON)
Chaos Collective (Ottawa, ON)
Colour Code (Toronto, ON)
Copy Shop Books (Lunenburg, NS)
Émilie KLEMM (Ottawa, ON)
Emily Neufeld (Ottawa, ON)
Esse arts + opinions (Montréal, QC)
Ethel Milford (Montréal, QC)
Feels (Toronto, ON)
Gabi Benitez (Gatineau, QC)
Gart Darley (Toronto, ON)
Gia-Waihan (Toronto, ON)
Good Golly Zines (Ottawa, ON)
habi habi po (Toronto, ON)
James Hewitt (Ottawa, ON)
Jessica Bebenek Studio (Montréal, QC)
Keenan Poloncsak (Montréal, QC)
L'abricot / Grilled Cheese Magazine (Montréal, QC)
Late Bloomer Press (Ottawa, ON)
Laughing Radish (Ottawa, ON)
Lilith’s Eye (Montréal, QC)
Linh VH Nguyen (Ottawa, ON)
Mille Putois (Dunham, QC)
Mitch Lohmeier (Toronto, ON)
Noeuds Éditions (Montréal, QC)
Noka Palm Trees (Montréal, QC)
Nosy Mag (Ottawa, ON)
Nothing New (Ottawa, ON)
O Underworld! Press (Havelock, ON)
O. Dennis (Ottawa, ON)
Ottawa Public Library
Ottawa Trans Library
Phantomtits (Ottawa , ON)
Philip Rose (Ottawa, ON)
photoED magazine (Toronto, ON)
Possible Worlds (Ottawa, ON)
Reflex Editions (Toronto, ON)
Reid Urchison (Montréal, QC)
roylu (Gatineau, QC)
Sebastien Sunstrum (Montréal, QC)
Sheer Spite Press (Montréal, QC)
Shop Cold Pizza (Ottawa, ON)
SPAO: Photographic Arts Centre (Ottawa, ON)
Susan Mills Artist Books (Saskatoon, SK)
Tales from Behind the Counter (Ottawa, ON)
TEL # (Montréal, QC)
Wardah Malik (Toronto, ON)
Wyrdsmyth Press(Ottawa, ON)

PUBLIC PROGRAMMING

Fair visitors will have the opportunity to engage with a dynamic line-up of free talks, performances and artists’ projects throughout the site. The program also includes an Opening Night celebration as well as offsite programs at partnering institutions in downtown Ottawa and surrounding neighbourhoods.




MARCH 28, 2025
Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre



The official kick-off event of Object//Project Art Book Fair and first opportunity to visit the Fair!

The evening will feature special music performances, DJ sets, and the launch of new fundraising artist editions.

6-9 PM // Fellowside Hall
Opening Night of the Fair
DJ sets

6-10 PM // Parlour
Music Performances
6:30 PM textcurious
7:15 PM AnumaLei
8:00 PM Transmit
8:45 PM Daggers Every Breath
9:15 PM Dimitri Georgaras


MARCH 29, 2025
Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre


Artist-Led Dialogues, Jean Teron Room

Please note that capacity in Jean Teron Room is limited to 50 people


*Talk/panel details to be announced shortly


12:15-12:25 PM
Welcome and Land Acknowledgement

Carmel Whittle, No Borders Art Festival


12:30-1:00

//Talk//
Exhibition: Echoes from this Land

Carmel Whittle, No Borders Art Festival



1:15-2:15 PM

//Workshop//
Memory Workers Lab: Preserving Your Personal and Community History

Ben Compton, Everyone Archives



2:30-2:55 PM

//Talk//
Community and Preserving Textile Practices Through Zines

Maria Patricia Abuel, habihabi po



3:00-3:40 PM

//Talk//
Sustaining A Risograph Small Press in Canada
 
Jesjit Gill and Jenny Gitman, Colour Code



3:50-4:50 PM

//Panel//
Libraries as Sites of Resistance and Creation

Moderator: Cara Tierney

Panelists:
  • Ottawa Trans Library
  • Alicia Nauta


5:00-6:00 PM

//Panel//
Cultural Documentation and Collections in Canada 

Panelists:
  • Tess Davey, Art Metropole
  • Louis Rastelli, ARCMTL



Exhibitor Projects



12:00-6:00 PM, Woodside Hall


//Exhibition//
Echoes from this Land




1:00-4:00 PM, Parlour
//Workshop//
Make Your Own Zines

In collaboration with
  • Tales from Behind the Counter
  • Ottawa Trans Library




1:00-4:00 PM, Parlour
//Performance//
die psychokinetische perfopopart therapie

roylu



DJs


1:00-6:00 PM Woodside Hall and Parlour
Boogie Baron
Bucko
Garfield
Lana Violette
ohjay



After Party


7:00-11:00 PM
Ten Toes Coffee House & Laundry
837 Somerset Street West

OPABF After Party
Exhibitors, volunteers and fairgoers are invited to celebrate the end of the fair. 


OFFSITE PROGRAMMING



March 12, 2025
5:00 PM

galerie UQO
Pavillon Lucien-Brault
101, rue Saint-Jean-Bosco
Entrée portes 6 & 17 Local A-0115


//Vernissage//
Exhibition: Archives by Artists

On view March 12-April 12, 2025



March 20, 2025
6:00 PM

Ottawa Public Library
Rosemount Branch
18 Rosemount Avenue

//Meetup//
Zine Club with Possible Worlds
In collaboration with Ottawa Public Library
REGISTER




March 28, 2025
1:00 PM start
2:00 PM start

National Gallery of Canada
380 Sussex Drive
//Tour//
Conservation Labs Tour
Prints, Drawings & Photography
With Ainsley Walton, Senior Conservator

Registration opening soon



March 30, 2025
1:00-3:00 PM

Arts Court
2 Daly Avenue
//Exhibition Tour//
Bucko Art Machine, SAW Gallery
With Jason St-Laurent, Curator
Registration opening soon


//Exhibition Visit//
Grotto, Ottawa Art Gallery

//Visit//
Possible Worlds
With Melanie Yugo and Jason Pelletier, Co-Directors 

SUPPORT



Call for Volunteers



Volunteering at OPABF 2025 is an opportunity to meet inspiring exhibitors, artists and other community members while being part of a collaborative and creative team.

Sign up here


Fundraising Editions



New limited edition artworks will be launched as fundraising editions for Object//Project. More information to be announced soon.


Ticket Fee Donations



As a volunteer-run, community-funded event, we welcome donations of pay-what-you-can (PWYC) ticket fees (suggested $5-20). 100% of donations go towards the costs of the fair. Thank you.

Pay-what-you can here

ABOUT



Launched in 2025 by Possible Worlds, Object//Project Art Book Fair (OPABF) is a new multi-day gathering in Ottawa which celebrates diverse and boundary-pushing artists’ publishing.

OPABF offers fair visitors the unique opportunity to discover the work of forward-thinking artists and publishers, and engage with a dynamic program that explores art publishing at its fullest.  

Set against the backdrop of Canada’s capital city, OPABF pays particular attention to art publishing as an act of “making public”, as well as a medium for responding to today’s challenging social, cultural and political landscape.

OPABF aims to be a vital platform for exhibitors and programs that is rooted in knowledge sharing, community and expression. We believe in the power of publishing to amplify and connect underrepresented and emerging voices, as a democratic discipline that transcends physical spaces and time, and as a catalyst to reshape longstanding narratives and worldviews.



Land Acknowledgement



We humbly acknowledge that Possible Worlds is located on unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.



Press Release


@objectprojectartbookfair
#OBABF2025
objectprojectartbookfair@gmail.com

objectprojectartbookfair.com
possibleworldsshop.com





Possible Worlds is an independent platform specializing in graphic art, electronic music and publishing. Based in Ottawa, we present and produce works and programming that amplify the voices of underrepresented, emerging and experimental artists from Canada and internationally.  Through our outreach arm, we operate a physical studio and shop, as well as design community-driven art and music programming at different sites in Ottawa and beyond. Possible Worlds celebrates its 10-year anniversary in 2025.



Programming Partners and Supporters




   



Object//Project Art Book Fair 2025 Team




Fair Directors
Melanie Yugo and Jason Pelletier

Team Leads (Day of Fair)
Alex Brovkin, Simone (Coco) Finken,  Joe Gibson-King 
+ our fabulous volunteers