Countless times, I’ve stood in front of my library, searching through the shelves only to come up empty-handed, unable to find the books needed to create and discuss typography and design in my mother tongue, Western Armenian.
Missing Books was born from this vision. It’s a mobile installation, a conceptual space that makes room for underrepresented and often “invisible” scripts. This travelling project functions as a toolbox, filled with evolving multilingual resources, stories, and voices long left out. It moves within and beyond institutions, through different diasporas, languages, and times, bringing together thinkers and designers to foster a community that shares ideas, co-creates and inspires one another.
In a world where contemporary typography design standards have become the norm, how do we unlearn and reshape our way of thinking while working with underrepresented scripts? How can we build a contemporary Armenian visual culture without simply mimicking dominant ones? Should we catch up or create our own temporality?
The installation will feature voices like Naïma Ben Ayed, envisioning collective spaces for archiving and letter-making, and Nina Paim, whose role as a “Greek Doulē” helps me guide these books into existence.