On Sept. 12, a new exhibition, “Zine Culture: Communities & Continuance,” opened in the art gallery located in the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts. The exhibition showcases more than 35 zine publications and will be open until Oct. 28.
Visitors are encouraged not only to observe but to engage with the zines, browsing through the varying genres and connecting with the authors’ personal messages. The zines range in content and include works such as comics, think pieces, short stories, collections of drawings and political activism.
Professor Nathan Lewis, Chair of Art and Design and gallery director, was motivated to produce this exhibition for more than academic purposes. For him, the art of zine-making ties back to his experience growing up in California’s skate and BMX scene.
“Before I became a painter or an artist, one of my first creative acts was making a zine,” said Lewis. “I grew up in the BMX and skating scene in California, and some of my friends knew what a zine was. So, I sort of learned from a friend, who was really into metal and thrash, what a zine was, and we started making them.”
Zines, short for magazine, are a self-published medium popularly used within subcultures for decades. Written by one person or a small group, zines allow people in smaller circles to express and share their work as well as build community.
Source: Camryn McCutcheon, Staff Photographer.
Prof. Luciana McClure, an adjunct professor in the Art and Design department, contributed a feminist newspring publication to the exhibition. Students from a Feminism & the Arts course she teaches at the University of Connecticut aided the piece. Over the course of a semester, McClure had her students investigate the history of decentralized publishing, which zines are a part of.
Throughout history, zines have been tied to the political landscape. Zine-making provides a level of agency to the creator due to its self-published process.
“This is a way of voicing their frustration, creating visibility and asking for change,” said McClure.
Sacred Heart University (SHU) art student and senior Shea Sin drew inspiration for her publication from the social experiment Happy Valley Dream Survey. The survey refers to an incident which occurred in Portland, Oregon between 2015 and 2019 in which posters began appearing on telephone poles throughout the city. According to Oregon Live, these posters stated there was a “spike in bizarre, unexplained dreams” and that the “Willamette Valley Dream Survey” was investigating.
“The zine is meant to be humorous, eerie, and slightly ominous,” said Sin. “The inspiration for most of my art is horror movies.”
Sin’s zine is just one example of the freedom enjoyed by artists who choose zines as their medium.
“I think zines are a great way to get your artwork out in the world. I also think it’s a great way to get your stories read and your voice heard,” said Sin.
Currently, the gallery mainly showcases pre-existing zines by activists, comic artists, zine-makers and a few SHU students. However, Lewis is working on another event to specifically showcase zines made by the SHU community.
“Neerzine” is the name of the next open call for students, artists, and anyone at the university interested in trying their hand at making a zine.
Neer, short for pioneer, and zine, short for magazine, is Lewis’s next attempt at spreading his passion for zine-making to students. The open call will include prompts for the artists, and submissions in the form of poetry, essays, music reviews, photos and drawings will be accepted until Oct. 1.
“So much can come from being willing to share ideas, thoughts, or opinions and being willing to put it out there,” said Lewis. “Everything I have comes from that.”
