A table display at the 2018 Feminist Zine Fest
New York City’s annual feminist zine fest was held Sunday, 25 March at Barnard College. Featuring female and LGBTI artists from the United States and Canada, the yearly event draws in people from all across the New York Metro area.
A poster for the 2018 NYC Feminist Zine Fest
Zines, an abbreviation of magazines, is a counterculture publishing form that has been used since the 1930s. Mainly self-published works, many zines tend to be political in nature. They were very popular during the Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s.
The Zine Fest began six years ago in a different, smaller venue. Because of such strong interest that first year, the event was able to be moved to Barnard for more space.
Barnard College is well-known for their Zine Library. It’s with the help of librarian Jenna Freedman that the event takes place.
Though Barnard College has historically been a women’s school, the organizers of the zine fest find it imperative to emphasize that the event is trans-inclusive.
‘When we talk about feminism, we’re talking about intersectionality always,’ says Jordan Alam, one of the event’s organizers, adding the organizers’ feel a ‘commitment to make it possible for all communities to feel safe here.’
‘We don’t see zines as a white space. We don’t see feminism as a white space,’ Alam says, adding to the idea of intersectionality.
Alam is a graduate of Barnard and started creating zines in 2008. Suze Myers, another Barnard alum and event organizer, runs a zine of the month club.
Both Alam and Myers still see zines as a necessary media form, even in this digital age.
NYC Zine Fest organizers Suze Myers (left) and Jordan Alam
‘I got into zines the way most people get into things that are important to them: through an ex I don’t talk to anymore,’ Oz, one of the merchants at this year’s fest, tells GSN.
Oz’s ex was a visual artist, and it took Oz a long time to realize that they, too, could make zines despite not having an art background. Now, they’re a passionate believer that zines are for everyone and anyone can make them. In fact, they even run Toronto-based zine making workshops.
Oz, a nonbinary zine maker from Toronto
Check out some pictures from the 2018 NYC Feminist Zine Fest below:
At #fzfnyc @BarnardZineClub pic.twitter.com/f25q2hMpYE
— soph (@solidaritysoph) March 25, 2018
