Two weeks after the opening of our new bookstore, we invited Isabel Maciel and Fher Mendiola to speak about their new project: Intermission Books. More than a library, archive, and publishing initiative, Intermission Books is a personal anthology that holds the life stories of its founders. We discussed what it means to collect, the relationship between collecting and autobiography, and the philosophy behind curation.

Intermission Books began with the personal collections of its founders, Isabel and Fher. Each had been building archives in their homes, gathering rare book editions: first editions, special editions, out-of-print titles, and publications focused on photography, music, art, and fashion. This shared passion, along with a highly defined visual sensibility, helped nurture and strengthen their relationship. They began exchanging references, authors, photographers, and books. Over time, their exchanges evolved into a shared library. As it grew, they recognized the need to make this archive accessible to others. Thus, Intermission Books was born: an independent curatorial initiative operating at the intersection of publishing and cultural investment.

A collection of books creates an archive through which a world, a dialogue, and a narrative emerge.

For Isabel and Fher, collecting goes beyond the accumulation of objects and becomes an autobiographical act. A collection of books creates an archive through which a world, a dialogue, and a narrative emerge. When titles are viewed together rather than as isolated objects, they become a reflection of the person who carefully researches, selects, and preserves them. Moreover, each title preserves a particular gaze from the past: a former version of oneself who felt drawn to the object, recognized something of themselves in it, and chose to bring it home.

Yet an archive does not speak only about the person who assembles it. Collections that have been rigorously curated also have the power to reveal hidden aspects of the historical record. For Intermission Books, curation, a word that has become largely emptied of meaning today, encompasses context, research criteria, visual sensitivity, intuition, and historical rigor. Curation is the thread that creates cohesion and coherence, fills the gaps in history, and connects historical movements, iconic figures, and memorable eras. Ultimately, the archive becomes a library committed to remembering and tracing what has slipped through the cracks of history. At the same time, it is a museum of everything its curator has ever loved.

Ultimately, the archive becomes a library committed to remembering and tracing what has slipped through the cracks of history. 

The mission of Intermission Books is to create a space where these objects can be exhibited and placed in dialogue with contemporary publishing production, which is increasingly shaped by a fierce market and driven by success metrics and algorithms. Recovering, preserving, and exhibiting out-of-print books therefore becomes a way of appreciating material forms that do not conform to economic standards, visual references that are nourishing and rich in content, editions unique in their originality, and publications that leave room for experimentation.

Today, Intermission Books is focused on activating and expanding access to its archive by facilitating exhibitions in a variety of cultural spaces. With a particular focus on Mexico and Latin America, the project seeks to strengthen and broaden the cultural ecosystem connected to its aesthetic vision, supporting like-minded initiatives and projects through its platform. In parallel, Intermission Books is developing a digital library in which every item in the archive will be digitized in high resolution. Researchers, artists, and the general public will be able to access and explore the collection through an open-access platform.