Katherine Oktober Matthews (b. 1980, USA) is an artist, author, editor and publisher based in The Netherlands. She is the author of Unique: Making Photographs in the Age of Ubiquity (2018), I Love Animals (2017), and a forthcoming book of essays, Elsewhere. She has edited numerous periodicals, including her creation of limited series Milk art journal and in her former role as Chief Editor of GUP Magazine. She is the founder of indie publisher House of Oktober, as well as the online platforms Riding the Dragon and Useful. She aims to leave the world more beautiful, intelligent, and compassionate than how she found it.
Additionally, her text and images have been published in numerous books (including Toy Tokyo, Amsterdam… The Essence, NEW Dutch Photography), journals (Mensa World Journal, Contact Sheet, VLAK, Analog Journal, KNiK), print magazines/newspapers (AmsterDO, TimeOut Amsterdam) and online media (Libération, Slate, John Adams Institute, New Dawn, TEDxAmsterdam, Versal Blog).
Resources about Katherine Oktober Matthews
Interview with Juno Magazine
“Motherhood in art is often otherised – somebody else speaking to a perception of motherhood – and because of that, it’s often about expectations rather than experience.”—Katherine Oktober Matthews (Juno Magazine, issue #90, 2024)
Interview with MaMagazine (Spanish language)
"Art may not be as important as food or rent-money at some points in our lives, but if the only people making art are the people who can afford to spend time and money on it, we will have a very limited and warped view of the world."—Katherine Oktober Matthews (MaMagazine, 2023)
Interview on the Wise Fool Podcast
“People really love it when you make the same compromises that they do, because it justifies them.” —Katherine Oktober Matthews (The Wise Fool Podcast, 2022)
Between Realities: A Lecture at the Fachhochschule Dortmund
I gave a lecture at the Fochhochschule Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts…
Interview with Katherine Oktober Matthews on Life Framer (Open Call)
“In the end, I think we’re all looking for ways to mainline existence, to achieve a more direct way of tapping into ourselves, other people and our environments. That desire is replete with risks, but let’s not kid ourselves, life is a bloodsport.”
—Katherine Oktober Matthews (Life Framer, 2016)
Interview with Katherine Oktober Matthews in XOXO Magazine
"When something interests me, I follow it for a while to see where it leads."
—Katherine Oktober Matthews (XOXO The Mag, 2015)
Interview with Katherine Oktober Matthews on Life Framer (Urban Life)
“And I’ve been frustrated sometimes for want of a role model that simply isn’t there, but a big part of coming-of-age as an artist is realizing that very terrifying thing: you cannot follow anybody else anymore.”
—Katherine Oktober Matthews (Life Framer, 2014)
Interview with Katherine Oktober Matthews on TEDxAmsterdam
“It’s good to have critics, because they force you to work harder and make your case.”
—Katherine Oktober Matthews (TEDxAmsterdam)
Interview for Toy Tokyo
"Sometimes my friends tell me stories of things that I know never happened – but how can you prove whose memory is correct? Photographs don’t prove anything because they’re not facts, they’re narratives."
—Katherine Oktober Matthews (Toy Tokyo, 2014)
Interview with Firestarters (Dutch language)
Firestarters has posted a short interview with me, about the upcoming portfolio review GUP has…