Artist Member – Publications Committee
WebAffairs, 2000-2005
Chantal Zakari (published under the pseudonym show-n-tell)
Hard cover book, 9.75 x 13.25″, 144 pages
offset lithography, edition of 2000
Defunct Colleges, 2019
Chantal Zakari
Etched wood cover, coil bound, 8.5 x 6”, 18 pages
Risography on acid free paper, edition of 8
The Came To Baghdad, 2012
Chantal Zakari & Mike Mandel
Hard cover book, 6 x 9 “, 100 pages
Print on demand, edition of 250
Chantal Zakari 
BIO
Chantal Zakari is an interdisciplinary artist, designer and art educator; a Turkish-Levantine, and a US citizen, residing in the Boston area. She is a Professor of the Practice at the SMFA at Tufts University and also a member and the current Director at Kingston Gallery in Boston’s SOWA neighborhood. She also practices as a graphic designer developing identity packages and collateral material for non-profit organizations. Her work is in the collection of Yale University, The Addison Gallery of American Art, Getty Research Institute Library and many other artist’s books libraries. She has had solo shows, book readings and performances nationally and internationally.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
In my work, I access contemporary social issues by making connections with personal narratives, history, and popular culture. I am inspired by social phenomena and constantly try to position myself in relationship to a public or a sub-culture. My training has been in an interdisciplinary art school and therefore I freely combine research methodologies and artistic strategies borrowed from various disciplines such as photography, documentary, graphic design, performance, storytelling, installation, and social interventions.
As I approach my work from a conceptual frame, the form is wide ranging; from fabric banners, to ceramic plates, oil paintings produced in China, resin cast sculptures and news media ads. Often the project culminates in an artist’s publication. Educated as a designer I’ve used the computer since the mid-80s and was actively participating in the digital revolution that came through image manipulation software, desktop publishing, internet communication, web publishing and more recently mass customization.
Text and language is an inherent part of my work; interviews, personal narrative, found text, all have the potential to contextualize the imagery. The book format allows me to develop an idea in much greater detail and create dialogues outside art establishments where it can reach a wider audience.
As Eighteen Publications, my collaborator (and husband) Mike Mandel and I have self-published several artist’s books. Our combined skills in photo, design, printing and publishing enables us the artistic freedom from the industry and thus we are able to produce books at a much lower cost. We both are committed to create works of art that are cheap and accessible to a wider audience. As my studio practice evolves, I have embraced the rapid changes in technology and in recent years I’ve also used print-on-demand technology to produce and distribute my work.