Publishing
Every Skira book is a unique artefact, through which artists and cultures find new audiences and spaces for their work. Each piece exhibits tailor-made design, impeccable production, superb quality in both content and imagery and is distributed internationally.
The entire Skira catalogue is testament to these values.
BESPOKE ProjectS
Skira is always expanding, from contemporary and past visual arts to lifestyle, photography, design and architecture. This eclectic range of interests underpins the publication of more than 300 titles every year and ensures the uniqueness of each work is highlighted.
An art and culture publisher for almost a hundred years, with offices and projects in every corner of the world, Skira has, over time, built a network of collaborators and experts of the highest calibre. This includes art historians, curators, artists, museum directors, institutions and cultural foundations that work together to enhance the narrative of every project. Whether it’s a museum or exhibition catalogue, an artist’s monograph, a limited-edition piece for collectors or a publication for a company, the design is always bespoke. In-depth collaboration between the editorial team, graphic design and production staff gives each book its own unique voice.
Every single book is designed to leave a timeless trace, to continue to tell its story to generations of readers.
GLOBAL AND TARGETED DISTRIBUTION
Planning a new project also means accompanying it step-by-step towards its target audience across cities, countries and continents. Skira’s distribution is international yet at the same time targeted, depending on the type of book, the languages it is published in and the themes it discusses.
Distribution channels vary from bookstores to concept stores and boutiques within museums. Skira carefully selects the most strategic local distributors in each territory, preparing the sales network at all levels with the presentation of new titles in a concentrated programme of annual meetings.
English-language books are distributed in the United States, Canada and Latin America by Distributed Art Publishers (DAP) while Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia are handled by Thames & Hudson. For books in Italian, Skira works with PDE Messaggerie, the leader in Italy with 25 active agents throughout the territory. French-language publications are distributed in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada by the Flammarion network.
Limited editions and art books are also distributed in a network of selected hotels, clubs and boutiques. This is a privileged channel aimed directly at collectors and connoisseurs.
AD HOC COMMUNICATION PLANS
Every artist, cultural institution and company has its own language and reference points. Together with Skira, each client can expand their reach and give resonance to their own story with an ad hoc communication plan, a unique means of reaching customers, which combines digital and in-person activities for the book launch and subsequent phases.
Together with its press offices – CLP in Milan, Fouchard Filippi Communications in Paris, and Sam Morris in New York – Skira can also develop a targeted public relations strategy, with the use of press kits, conferences and interviews.
Social communication on Skira Arte’s Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles is integrated, where appropriate, with campaigns, collaborative posts and the contribution of cultural influencers. On the skira-arte.com site, each project is showcased in various spaces, such as the news section, slide shows and Skira papers.
The dedicated newsletter is an essential tool. Each newsletter is sent to 200,000 users according to an editorial plan informed by interactive in-depth content and special releases in conjunction with events and anniversaries.
From one side of the world to the other, Skira can organise events and initiatives from presentations and book signings in bookshops, a launch cocktail in one of the company’s partner hotels and a temporary exhibition in a museum.
AT THE HEART OF AN EXPERIENCE
Being published by Skira means feeling welcomed into a place of art and culture and being accompanied on the journey of collaboratively creating a book. It means becoming part of a community of excellence and gaining new visibility through Skira media, which is followed by a large international audience of arts and culture professionals, experts and art lovers.
EXPERTS IN THE ARTS
Skira’s art books open new perspectives, foster connections and contribute to the creation of cultural heritage. They are produced and conceived in close conjunction with the artist to facilitate the dissemination of each project to an audience of enthusiasts and experts. They are born out of constant dialogue with the photographer, the painter and the artist to ensure Skira can grasp their talents and translate them into an engaging and new narrative. Each piece is a work animated by Skira’s love for art in its infinite expressions, from ancient and modern figurative arts to the many forms of contemporary art and the numerous idioms of photography, drawing and illustration.
When it comes to designing a book, Skira selects the ideal team to suit the artist’s personality and ways of working. Each project is the result of careful planning to ensure the content is accessible to readers, while at the same time balancing with the artist’s aesthetic voice and iconographic style.
This is the unmistakable mark of Skira publications.Every project finds its audience thanks to a distribution and communication strategy that, alongside the classic channels, focuses on festivals, events and fairs inspired by the identity and body of work of the artist, with the possibility of creating a personal exhibition and promoting it internationally.
CuLTURAL PUBLISHERS
Through its publications, Skira engages with a constantly expanding variety of different cultures. It tells stories through the expert gaze of its international network of curators, historians, researchers, foundations and museum directors. It explores and enhances, at all levels, their historical, geographical and artistic peculiarities, identifying thematic departures and original strands of thought.
A new title is always the result of multifaceted and meticulous work. From the conception and development of the book to its editorial curation, to the proofreading stage and final revisions, Skira affords painstaking attention to iconographic research and photoengraving. It is this aesthetic excellence that makes Skira’s books recognisable at first glance.
It is a carefully calibrated balance between the visual identity that distinguishes the publishing house and the graphic and visual language that Skira employs to best respond to the type of book and its content. This approach has long ensured a broad stream of different projects for architecture and design books, archaeology, fashion and for corporate publications of prestigious brands.
Skira necessarily has a global approach, thanks to its international presence. The headquarters in Milan and the three branches in Paris, Geneva and New York are supported by the offices of the parent company in London, Amsterdam, New York, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City.
PRODUCTION OF THE FINEST QUALITY
The charm of Skira’s books is palpable. They are immediately recognisable due to the power and fidelity of the images, the precision and impeccable layout of the texts and the selection of the most suitable paper for each title.
Every project is studied in detail and entrusted to a dedicated team of internal and external collaborators. Skira selects editors and proofreaders specialised in the book’s geographical and linguistic area of reference and in the themes discussed. The texts are corrected, laid out and subjected to a second revision before final approval for printing.
A key element is photoengraving. To obtain a quality as close as possible to the original works, Skira follows the standard of two-colour proofs, specifying for each printing system the parameters that guarantee the control of colorimetry. A Skira team manager is always present during the printing phase to verify that the process is consistent with the project and intervene if necessary.
The selection of printers is highly specific and strictly FSC (ForestStewardship Council)-certified, guaranteeing the use of raw materials from responsibly managed forests. The printer must also be able to carry out all the specific processes and finishes of the volumes, integrating its internal equipment if necessary and ensuring the adequate availability of papers and inks to respect the times and deadlines of production. Above all, each printer shares with Skira a commitment to the absolute quality and fidelity of colours and reproductions.
