99 Books About Love is a project about shelving, sharing and second-hands, collecting 99 books from people all over North Carolina that explore love in its many forms. The project was an Elsewhere collaborative commission for the Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill, NC during the exhibition More Love: Art, Politics and Sharing since the 1990s. The project asked readers from the across the state to select a book about “love” in their personal collection, and inscribe each book with a personal message, poem or note. A sculptural shelving unit was designed by Elsewhere’s building curator Paul Howe to house the books which were on sale during the exhibition at the Ackland Museum Store. Proceeds from 99 Books supported Elsewhere’s QueerLab, a youth-led media project that brought together queer identifying youth to produce I Don’t Do Boxes, a publication exploring LGBTQ experiences in the South.
