Juan de la Cosa is a Mexico City-based independent, artist-led publisher that explores the possibility of text and speech at the intersection of contemporary art and experimental writing.
Looking at publishing as the equivalent of an art practice, we strive to create a flexible space for bringing together different and inspiring approaches to written and oral language.
A collaboration between artists Francesco Pedraglio (Italy) and Tania Pérez Córdova (Mexico), Juan de la Cosa started in 2016 with bilingual books (English/Spanish) and a specific focus on translation.
Over the years, the focus has consolidated on the performative nature of certain writing practices proposed by visual artists, poets, and experimental writers. A clear focus on speech and the live quality of language brought us to curate a selection of titles designed to experiment with the performativity of writing freed from structural or formal limitations.
Thanks to our interest in curating live events – with our ongoing series of performances and pamphlets titled Spoken Word Gallery – our effort is now focused on reimagining publishing as a direct result of speech, with each step of the production (from commissioning to writing, from editing to translating, publishing and launching) finding its roots in a collaborative narrative voice.
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