Benjamin Peterson’s idea came to life in just over a month. A serial entrepreneur and founder of Black Beach coffee company, Ben had the opportunity to collaborate with the artist Jackson Schwartz who runs Glasshouse, a flexible event space adjacent. What began as a casual thought—maybe a pop-up café, maybe a screening for a friend—became the first Black Beach Art Book Fair held from February 28 to March 2, 2025. With no institutional backers, no vendor fees, and just a few key collaborators, the event quickly established itself as a new cultural landmark for the city.
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- What began as a casual thought—maybe a pop-up café, maybe a screening for a friend—became the first Black Beach Art Book Fair.
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- With no institutional backers, no vendor fees, and just a few key collaborators, the event quickly established itself as a new cultural landmark for the city.
“I said, ‘We got this place, let’s just do it,'” recalled writer and co-organizer Brad Zellar. “We made it happen.”
Brad, a longtime journalist and photobook collaborator, partnered with Ben and photographer Erinn Springer to produce the fair. Together they drew in over two dozen publishers, artists, and booksellers, many of whom typically circulate in bigger markets like New York, Paris, and Los Angeles. “I go to all these photo book fairs all over the country and the world,” Brad said. “I’d come back here and be like, ‘why doesn’t anything like this exist here in the Midwest?’”
“It kind of was like a seed of an idea that grew and grew,” said Ben. “All the pieces were already here. Coffee, books, community…that’s the whole backbone.”
The Black Beach Art Book Fair answered that question with a lineup that included Deadbeat Club, Mack Books, TBW, and Stanley Barker, alongside local fixtures such as Birchwood Palace Industries, Nocturno Books, and photographer Paul Shambroom. The event also premiered “The Ice House,” a new video installation by Erinn and included conversations with names like photographer Alec Soth, Bobby Carter of NPR’s Tiny Desk, Amanda Hunt of the Walker Art Center, and curator AJ Girard.
“It kind of was like a seed of an idea that grew and grew,” said Ben. “All the pieces were already here. Coffee, books, community…that’s the whole backbone.”
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- The Black Beach Art Book Fair’s lineup included Deadbeat Club, Mack Books, TBW, and Stanley Barker, alongside local fixtures such as Birchwood Palace Industries, Nocturno Books, and photographer Paul Shambroom.
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- The event also premiered “The Ice House,” a new video installation by Erinn and included conversations with names like photographer Alec Soth, Bobby Carter of NPR’s Tiny Desk, Amanda Hunt of the Walker Art Center, and curator AJ Girard.
Ben, who returned to Minneapolis after time spent working globally—on projects for Pharrell, Adidas, and Virgil Abloh—launched Black Beach Coffee in 2023. Without a storefront, Black Beach operates as a mobile platform focused on specialty roasting and collaborative events. “It’s been the best tool to reconnect with my old city,” Ben said. “This feels like a fantastic exchange of hospitality and creativity and ideas.”
Alec Soth pointed out the significance of hosting such an event in the Midwest. “Those of us in the Midwest would go out to the coast, but it never came to us,” he said. “It’s crazy that Chicago doesn’t have this. And now it’s here.”
Despite the ad hoc production, nothing about the weekend felt unfinished. Programming was tight. The crowd was steady. Coffee flowed. Every exhibitor had a well-designed placard, courtesy of Ben. “He’s very organized,” Brad said. “He’s a guy with a lot of spreadsheets.”
The fair was assembled with an almost punk-like efficiency—Erinn’s installation was built off-site and trucked in the morning of opening day. “It’s basically the three of us with our partners,” Brad said. “My nephew and stepson built this today,” he added pointing the temporary structure that housed Erin’s screening of “The Ice House.”
Despite the ad hoc production, nothing about the weekend felt unfinished. Programming was tight. The crowd was steady. Coffee flowed. Every exhibitor had a well-designed placard, courtesy of Ben. “He’s very organized,” Brad said. “He’s a guy with a lot of spreadsheets.”
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- Even as book publishing contracts and traditional retail spaces disappear, the art book—tactile, limited, intentional—has found a second life. “There’s no infrastructure for any of this anymore,” Ben noted.
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- Ben sees the fair not as a one-off but the beginning of something more lasting. “I like to bring people together. Coffee and books do that.”
Even as book publishing contracts and traditional retail spaces disappear, the art book—tactile, limited, intentional—has found a second life. “There’s no infrastructure for any of this anymore,” Ben noted. “Kids don’t give a fuck about sneakers anymore. Coming out of the pandemic everyone’s just concerned about their space—making it theirs, making it meaningful.”
Ben sees the fair not as a one-off but the beginning of something more lasting. “I like to bring people together. Coffee and books do that.”
