ADA cordially invites you to join us in celebrating the Rotterdam launch of our publication Pick up this book. With this publication we seek to address questions that emerged in the periphery of our collective practice, but became a pivotal interest, concerning hospitality and the documentation of our often ephemeral research based projects.

During the book launch youll have the opportunity to have a look at the book in our reading room. We will also screen the video a pottery produced by five potters at once (silent attempt), by Koki Tanaka, a work dealing with the topic of collective production. A masseur will be present for instant relief of muscle tension.

Pick up this book contains six texts written by ADAs members; focusing on a breakfast discussion we organised in Berlin, we set ourselves the task of writing from memory what happened on that day, resulting in completely different reports. These texts are complemented by the writer and artist Maria Barnas, whom we invited to respond to the event. The publication also includes work by two thinkers who have provided us with ideas, which profoundly shaped our thinking and formed a continuous presence during our working period in Berlin: the text Hostipitality by Jacques Derrida and Unbounded, Limit’s Possibilities, a lecture by Irit Rogoff, of which a transcription is included.

Pick up this book is thoughtfully designed by Dongyoung Lee. Throughout the book the reader will find instructional sentences on welcoming the guest and a series of bookmarks that can direct the use of the book as an object.