Sat 22 May - 15:50-17:00 - Zines and Activism

Zines as a Tool for Activism

To take part in this event, please follow this link to our LIVE page.  The event will start automatically at the scheduled time.

Throughout history, zines have been used as a tool for sharing information, stories from voices who have been marginalised. Now, in the age of insurmountable access to information, the realms we live in online have been increasingly censored, ignored by the algorithm, or flagged as too political. A medium formerly built with democracy in mind is influenced by social media companies, news media conglomerates and legislation, mixing narratives, truth and fiction. 

Now, an interest in zines has returned. There is a need for printed matter we can hold in our hands; to hold the stories of people like us and to have access to strategies and tools for organising in an age of intense policing, racial bias and surveillance. The power of print is highlighted in political zines, group organising, anonymity, self publication, print dissemination, direct action, knowledge sharing and nonhierarchical ways of working. This discussion will explore ways in which contemporary zine makers use the medium for activism - a medium everyone can access, enjoy, feel empowered by and importantly, create themselves.

Curator Lu Williams will bring together an international group of zine makers from around the world including:  Sheila Coates, Hamja Ahsan (Founder of DIY Cultures and author of Shy Radicals / UK and Netherlands), Rhona Ezuma (Editor of Thiiird Magazine, UK), Brown Recluse Zine Distro, USA and Jonathan Valelly (Editor of Broken Pencil Magazine, Canada).