»›A Book about Hair‹ is about our hair, Black hair, and being Black«, says Elfi Handina Murandu, describing her publication. »I wanted to create a book about experiences, about life in a white majority society, about entanglements and knots, about rebelliousness, despair, realisations, evolving and becoming, about tenderness, (self-)love, family, community, and about the many, diverse stories that are hidden behind our locks.«

The prestigious award from the Stiftung Buchkunst includes a 2,000 euro prize and highlights the author’s extraordinary achievement. »The title of the book deliberately does not mention that the book is about the hair of individuals who read as Black. The associations with ›Black Hair‹ play a unique role in the concept of identity: It is stubborn, difficult to tame, it twists, is irregular, and has a life of its own«, said the competition jury in its explanatory statement. »The dust jacket is nearly impossible to describe without relying on these associations. The words making up the title are crowded together and form a compact font vignette. Irregular curls grow out of it. When one zooms in, braids can be seen winding across the cover as delicate strands and abstract surfaces.«

Hair has always played a pivotal role in Black communities. The racialisation of Black bodies during colonialism and slavery made Black hair a focus of social struggles. How is this colonial continuity manifested today? What is the role of »Black Hair« in everyday life? The book explores these questions and others in the form of a collection. The collection also includes nine dialogues, a group discussion, a glossary, and 17 submissions ranging from poetry, prose, essays, and three artistic contributions (a film, a performance and an installation), representing the perspectives of 30 Black and biracial individuals. 

All three of the winning publications will be presented in an exhibition at Berlin’s »einBuch.haus« starting on Thursday, 7 July 2024.

About the »Förderpreis für junge Buchgestaltung«
The »Förderpreis für junge Buchgestaltung« has been awarded by the Stiftung Buchkunst annually since 1989. This competition is not focussed on the final product, but rather on the concept. Innovative, future-oriented concepts that support the creative development of the book medium are especially sought out. This year, over 160 entries competed for the three prizes, each worth 2,000 euros. This competition organised by the Stiftung Buchkunst honours particularly brave and future-oriented projects that promote the medium of the book conceptually. The focus is on the idea rather than on technical perfection.

»A Book about Hair«
Author: Elfi Handina Murandu
Publisher: Lucia Verlag, Weimar
Format: 11,5 x 18,5 cm
Volume: 352 Pages
Edition: 300 Copies
Price: 15 Euros
ISBN: 978-3-945301-61-6 
Binding: thread-bound brochure
Cover Material: 300 g/m² Munken Print Cream 15 (cover), 90 g/m² Munken Print Cream 15 (dust jacket)
Paper: 300 g/m² Munken Print Cream 15 (cover), 90 g/m² Munken Print Cream 15 (inside), 90 g/m² Fedrigoni Arena Extra White Smooth 1.15 (inside), 135 g/m² OKASTAR Glossy(inside)
Font: Freight und Halyard (Darden Studios / Joshua Darden)
Photography/ Installation Images/ Film Stills: Arthur Osiris, Esther Abiona Ojo, Mona Okulla Obua
Production, Print and Binding: Gutenberg Beuys Feindruckerei / Stefan Müller

The Bachelor's thesis »A Book about Hair« was created in the Visuelle Kommunikation (Visual Communication) degree programme and supervised by Prof. Markus Weisbeck, Katrin Steiger and Adrian Palko.

Questions can be directed to Romy Weinhold, Press and Public Relations Officer for the Faculty of Art and Design by phone at  +49 / 36 43 / 58 11 86 or by e-mail at romy.weinhold[at]uni-weimar.de.