I love zines. They are rooted in accessibility in creation and distribution. From their punk roots to riot grrls in the 90s, zines have made it possible for artists to release work within an affordable format that has led to a growing community of showcase, exchanges and connections.
As a huge fan of print, I do my best to support the independent artists and publishers out there. I attended events in my hometown such as the Royal Bison Craft Fair and Anarchist Bookfair, which are both great and always exhibited some zines, but it was not until Toronto’s TCAF and Zine Dream that I really caught the scope of the culture with table after table of original work cramped into little spaces or very large spaces (still cramped!) The volume and quality really blew me away but the lack of diversity was really deflating; lots and lots of white dudes. The experience did motivate me to finally get to it and make my own zines and comics though! I’ve managed to do two so far and was lucky enough to get my start at Hardcopy, the first official zine fair in Edmonton back in June. Then in August I joined a couple of fine ladies at their Queer Trans* People of Color Distro table in Montreal for Queer Between the Covers, the queer zine fair. Some pictures below and info on my zines.
PSA: Check of the POC Zine Project for an online archive of artists and distributors of colour
Montreal:
This was the sign at the table.
These were the patterns.
These sweet ladies.
Thank you to Sasha and Lindsay for letting me tag along! They were up for 24 hrs staplin and cuttin to make some really important work available. Plus, Sasha sewed that rad sign! Check them out at the Toronto Queer Zine Fair on October 19, 2013.
If you are interested in my zine work, you can now find them on Etsy.
Basically I compiled a zine asking my friends about the moment they may have realized they were queer and general moments of sexual confusion. I called it “That’s Gay” and I illustrated every page. The other is a compilation of diary entries, photos and my very first comic(!) documenting my trip to El Salvador last year. I call that one “Tonight was living” because the trip made me feel, well, alive.
