Learn How to Make Your Own Zine at This Weekend's A to Zine Indie Publishers Fair
As a medium for expression, there are fewer that are as versatile, fun, and downright DIY as zines. Literally anyone can make small-batch, self-published mini magazines, and if you ever folded a piece of paper in half and drew on it in school, you arguably already have.
Zines are incredibly easy to make, needing little more than something to draw on, something to draw with, and perhaps some scissors (if you're into straight lines and all that jazz). Some ideas and a photocopier help, too. That's not to say, however, that zines are child's play. The punk ethos that they embody means that they can be used to express grand and romantic riffs on how to change the world through simple thoughts and images.
Shuilam Wong, one half of the Hole in the Wall zine, has herself done a fair amount to bring Beijing's local zine culture to the forefront. This Sunday, she goes one step further, organizing the inaugural A to Z Indie Publishers Fair at El Nido this Sunday, 1-7pm.
There'll be zine making workshops, screen printing tutorials, zines to buy, and an entire courtyard brimming with some of the city's most notable zinesters to provide all the inspiration and know-how to put you well on your way to becoming a self-publisher yourself.
Here we speak to Wong about what else you can expect this Sunday as well as how she got her start in the world of zines.
You’ve been in the zine biz for a little while now. How would you say the scene has changed in Beijing over the past few years compared to before?
For me personally, the zine scene has changed quite a bit since we entered it in early 2017. Over the past few years, I’ve met various kinds of zine makers, and just like Beijing, they are transient.
Most of the significant zinesters I know from a few years ago have either expanded and moved on to bigger things or just left the city/country altogether. Just scan through the zines and Fruityspace or Wujin and you’ll realize that many of them have not been updated in a year or two.
But admittedly, my insight into the zine world can be slightly confined within the Gulou hutong world. At bigger zine fairs like abC Art Book Fair and Unfold Shanghai Art Book Fair, you’ll discover so many more people making zines. We’ve attended three of these fairs, including one in Beijing this year, and a lot of the old Beijing zine makers I know were there.
I think the zine scene is becoming bigger because more and more people are aware of this medium. Just like cassettes and vinyl, zines have made a comeback among the creatives because there's a growing affection for tactile and tangible items in this Internet age. So even though some zinesters eventually leave, there’ll always be new folks joining the scene and the real passionate ones who keep it going.
What would you say to someone thinking to make a zine but haven’t yet jumped into the deep end? Are there any materials that you’d particularly recommend?
I’d say just go for it. There are no rules to zine making.
Zines are supposed to be unpolished and DIY. It is a tactile, open medium for you to freely express yourself, and a great way to get your work out there. Be it ideas, art, photography, poetry, literature, fan fiction, or even just about your love for cats.
You can collaborate with other people or just do it yourself. You can make one just for yourself, as a gift for a loved one, or make copies to distribute to the community. Basically, you can do whatever you want to do with your zine.
I would also definitely recommend coming to A to Zine and meeting some of the local zine makers. I’m sure they’ll give you tips on print, binding, and distribution.
Can you tell us a little more about the zine making workshops that will take place at A to Zine? Should people bring along their own materials?
We will provide paper and art materials but feel free to bring your own! It will be an open workshop where you’ll learn how to make an eight-page mini-zine from one piece of A4 paper. If you have any cool flyers, postcards, train tickets or unloved art you want to revive, you can also collage onto the zine.
There’ll also be a free for all live sketching section where you’d be able to draw and add onto other people’s drawings. Really looking forward to seeing the outcome of it all!
Name three of your favorite zines. Who do you think is doing some of the most creative work in the medium?
Picking three favorites is so hard! I’ll name three zines that made an immediate impression on me that I had to buy on the spot:
- The Dancer by Hank Liu
- Cry by Yan Cong
- Miracle Baby by Kati Rapia
The Dancer and Cry have emotional stories that hit me straight away. Miracle Baby is just cute, simple and funny. I might bring these three zines along with the rest of my collection to the fair and have a mini-zine library section for everyone to check out.
As for zine makers, there’s a few worth mentioning:
- HOMEMADE is run by a local tattooist and features works from different local Chinese artists in every issue. They have a very DIY and punk style in their approach.
- drift & dune has a mini-zine called Thinking of You, filled with tiny illustrations of small items you might find in your pocket. Even the zine fits perfectly in your pocket.
- Krish Raghav makes comic zines about China’s underground music scene and recently illustrated the history of Hang on the Box, Beijing’s early female punk band.
- FAN字 has a very frantic but wonderful approach to their zine making. They collect visual pieces from friends and through call for submissions, and collate them into a zine within 48 hours in a random city.
- The Sponge Gourd Collective were the first zinesters who inspired us to create our own collective. They made collage zines about Beijing’s ever-changing cityscape and were pretty active in the scene two years ago. Though all four members have sadly left the city, their zines can still be found around town.
There’s also Chandoso, Maoyi, Anna Gale, Brendan Mccumstie, Draftpop, and so many more people making cool stuff!
Finally (get your dictionary ready), if you had to select four words that start with Z, I, N, and E, and best represent the artistic movement, what would they be?
Zesty, Indie, Nutritious, Elmo.
The A to Z Indie Publishers Fair takes place at El Nido this Sunday, 1-7pm. Admission is free.
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Images courtesy by Shuilam Wong