Last month marked the opening of Ulises, an independent artists’ book store, which  features a reading room and event space. Located near the intersection of Front and Columbia,Ulises exclusively carries independent art titles that can’t be found anywhere else in the city.

  Named for Ulises Carrión, a Mexican conceptual artist who pioneered the artists’ book genre, the impetus for the project was born out of a perceived lack of resources for such work in Philadelphia. The founders noticed these spaces in other cities they had travelled to: Ooga Booga in Los Angeles, Printed Matter in New York, World Food Books in Melbourne. All of these stores served their communities as a resource for rare and independent media, connecting their patrons with information they might not have been able to access on their own. But Philadelphia, despite its numerous art institutions and thriving community of makers, had no answer to these spaces. Ulises came about as part of a desire to change this.

  To someone accustomed to more conventional bookstores with shelves upon shelves of books, the collection at Ulises may seem sparse. The number of titles carried is limited and the run size (the number of copies of each title carried at one time) is capped at no more than four. However, this speaks not to a deficiency of content, but instead to a careful curation process. Every single title sold at Ulises was specifically selected by the founders as a publication they feel is deserving of attention.

  “We’re trying to be a resource for things that are hard to find,” said co-founder Lauren Downing. “There are standard and essential art publications, especially in terms of periodicals like Artforum, but you can go to a Barnes and Noble and get that.  We want to prioritize things that are new and interesting.”

  Ulises was founded by Downing, Nerissa Cooney, Kayla Romberger, Gee Wesley, Ricky Yanas and Joel Evey. They began planning for the project about a year ago and raised funding for it through Indiegogo, a crowdfunding web service. The campaign raised around $11,000. The garage space that houses the bookstore is rented from artist Timothy Belknap, co-director of Icebox, a gallery in the Crane Arts Building.

  Wesley maintains that the local angle is important, which means featuring a diverse range of Philadelphia artists alongside nationally and internationally recognized names.

  “We do want it to be centered on our location,” he said. “And we feel that focus will expand with exposure. Fortunately, people are reaching out to us to carry their stuff. Our collection will grow and change.”

  Ulises is looking forward to working with other art and design spaces in the neighborhood such as High Tide, Pilot Projects, and Kamihira. “These places are important to me because they represent a group of people who are responding to the current landscape and creating a new dialogue,” said Wesley.

  It’s important to note that Ulises is not simply a retail space. Books featured there are for sale, but there are also “floor copies” of each title available. Visitors are encouraged to peruse these works in the store’s reading area. Among the shelves and tables, there are also more traditional gallery displays by featured artists. These exhibitions are supplemented periodically by live events.

  The opening quarter of Ulises programming, which runs from November 12th to January 22nd, focuses on the theme of “Active Voice,” considering “the voice in relation to listening, language and political agency through a series of programs, artworks, readings, events and curated publications.” Contributors to this exhibit include Mark Beasley (reading list), Hannah Black (video) and Steffani Jemison (audio). Works from all three artists can be found on display at Ulises through the end of the quarter. The next programming event in this series will feature a reading and conversation with Hannah Black. This event will take place on December 18th at 4PM.

  After January 22nd, the programming will focus on themes of “Intimacy.” Details on contributing artists, works, and events will be released closer to the date. There are plans to change the space physically every quarter and document this change through the durational video piece.

  “That depends on our contributors though,” said Downing. “The artists and what kind of medium they’re using. We want to keep things new though, so every time you come there’s something else to check out.”

  More information about the store and featured exhibitions can be found at ulises.us •