Event date: 25 Nov 2024, Camberwell
Words by Luise Vormittag
From left to right: AOI Newsletter, Dec 1976, illustration by Angela Landers; Illustrators, 1977, illustration by Dan Fern; Varoom, Issue 3, 2007, design by Non-Format, illustration by Sophie Rusniak; Varoom, Issue 16, 2011, design by Fernando Gutierrez, illustration by George Hardie; Varoom, Issue 39, 2019, design by Fraser Muggeridge studio, illustration by Manshen Lo.
It was fantastic to co-host an evening exploring some of the many histories contained in the publishing archive of the Association of Illustrators (AOI).
The AOI is the UK’s professional body for illustration. In addition to promoting the business interests of illustrators, the AOI has since its inception in 1973 also regularly published magazines, journals and newsletters that capture the rich histories, changing concerns and varied debates surrounding illustration in the UK and beyond.
Over the last 50+ years their publications such as ‘Illustrators’ and ‘Varoom’ have struck a balance between providing an opportunity to reflect on the role of illustration in contemporary society, while also addressing the business concerns of working illustrators. The AOI’s publication manager Derek Brazell gives an overview of these publications in an article on the AOI website.
At ISH we had been talking about how illustration histories in the UK are not researched and appreciated as much as they could be. We decided on a very simple event idea: dust off some of these publications and lay them out on a long table for students, staff and friends to have a browse. We also got in touch with some of the key people involved in producing these magazines and invited them to speak about their work on these titles.
On the evening we heard from Derek Brazell himself, Adrian Shaughnessy, who helped launch ‘Varoom’ in 2006, and John O’Reilly and Olivia Ahmad (who edited ‘Varoom’ from 2009 – 2017 and 2018 – 2021 respectively) about all the thought and effort that went into these magazines.
Currently the printed publication archive in its complete form (1973-2021) is held in the offices of the AOI and remains under-explored. This lively event prompted the outpouring of memories of those who contributed to these rich publications and sparked the curiosity of others, who were perhaps only dimly aware of its existence. Noting the many exchanges and animated conversations, ISH is now pursuing possibilities to transform this publishing back-catalogue into an accessible and living illustration archive, contributing to the future understanding of illustration histories. Watch this space!
