Haricha Abdaal
Qańtar Artbook
A debut artbook from Kazakh artist Qańtar, showcasing their work which naturally features Kazakh culture and LGBTQ+ in Kazakhstan. Featuring information about traditional Kazakh culture such as clothes and folklore, their artwork process from sketches to finished illustrations.
“I didn’t distance myself from my ethnic and queer identities. And because of that, each drawing that united these two parts of me became a manifesto in itself.” – Qańtar Samal, Global Fund for Women article.
Market
Primary – people with an interest in 1) art, 2) Central Asia/Kazakhstan, 3) queer/LGBTQ+ in Central Asia
Secondary – people who want coffee table books / gift books
Other – ….
Competitors/Complimentary Titles
‘The Sketchbook of Loish – art in progress’ – Lois van Baarle (Dutch artist) – 3dtotal Publishing
‘The Art of Heikala’: Works and Thoughts’ – Heikala (Finnish artist) – 3dtotal Publishing
‘Komorebi’ – the Art of Djamila Knopf (artist based in Germany) – 3dtotal Publishing
The Space Between: The Modern in Korean Art, etc…
Tate Publishing titles…
Central Asia in Art: From Soviet Orientalism to the New Republics by Alya Abykayeva-Tiesenhausen
P&L
My Research
Twitter / Instagram
A good stating point – a clear idea. Now you need to explore how these sorts of sketchbooks sit in a bookshop and define the market. you need to pitch the balance between the artist and the culture – is this an artist’s book first and foremost (and happens their art focuses on the kazakh culture or something else – you need to articulate that to us). You will also need to be selective on the artworks to be able to afford to do this. Lovely to see the pictures.
Thank you for your comment Frania! Yes, it is an artist’s book first and foremost (and Kazakh culture etc is intrinsic to their artwork – they are Kazakh after all). Yes! They are beautiful, aren’t they? 🙂
Yes, Tell us more about who would want to buy the book and why. what is special about this artist? Has anything been written about their work before? What kind of book would this be – a hardback, full colour one? etc
Thank you for your comment Liz! I’d say an audience interested in art (for example, when I went to the book talk/signing of the Dutch artist Lois van Baarle, most of the visitors were artists/interested in art). Nothing has been written about their work so far and that’s really a missed opportunity. This book would be a strong paperback and full colour. Definitely better than hardback which would just be more expensive to buy in general and ship worldwide.
There is this article about their artwork! https://www.globalfundforwomen.org/what-we-do/voice/campaigns/artist-changemaker-program/qantar-samal/
I think their work featuring LGBTQ+ Kazakh people is very poignant too, especially since they faced censorship/backlash over it and their identity last year.