Brum Zine Fest took place on Sunday 1st July 2018. We set out to celebrate independent publishing and DIY making in the city of Birmingham, bringing people together using zine approaches, methodologies & formats. We had some specific aims to help us work towards that, which we would like to explore with you in these pages.
(Re)ignite a city-wide zine conversation, bringing creatives together from across the city as well as encouraging those from elsewhere to visit Birmingham. “One of my favourite parts of the project has been observing and listening to the quirks of Birmingham’s zine community.” - Daniel Blyden, Brum Zine Fest team
What do zines represent to you? Expressive form of inner thinking The joy of making, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends Creating my own space and giving it to people Meeting creative new friends (if I’m not too shy) Creative electricity running through Birmingham! What would you like to see more of in Birmingham? More small scale events e.g. zines fairs, pop up exhibitions More friendly and inclusive maker events - zines, artist books, textile, craft etc. Crossovers of cultures and tribes in the arts More investment in creative industries (Not ad/PR etc) but art / craft / DIY from bigger organisations How can we retain our talented artists here? Less focus on consumerism More visibility of the creativity we have so that more people can access it Perceptions of Birmingham’s zine culture I was always surprised there wasn’t a yearly zine festival in Birmingham. So pleased to hear it’s making a comeback! Attended the last zine festival in 2012 and loved it. I visit Birmingham with my daughter to see the comic shops and other arts venues, but I didn’t know the city had a zine culture. No experiences yet but I’m curious :)
“Had a great time chatting about zines at the @BrumZineFest event last night! Met many like minded people and felt really inspired for the first time in a while!” - Zoom Illustration
“I’m surprised by how many people are here. I thought it was just me and my friends who were interested in this stuff because zines are pretty niche. I guess everyone has a niche, then everyone has an investment in zines.” - ‘Let’s Talk About Zines’ attendee
Throughout the month of June we hosted activation events in Birmingham, with our overall aim of (re) igniting conversation firmly in mind. We wanted to get people in the city talking, and people elsewhere talking about the city, and began poring energy and curiosity into an open exploration process contributed to by many different voices. Taking place on Tuesday 5th June, Let’s Talk About Zines was an open invitation that brought together 50 keen souls from across the midlands, which was first and foremost for people to connect around an interest in zines and DIY making, but also a way to begin exploring why zines bring people together, what they represent, what people were working on around the city and what they needed / wanted to see more of.
The physical space was accompanied by an online questionnaire of the same name that yielded responses nationally and internationally around what role zines played in people’s places, how it connected them to others, as well as their perception (if any) of Birmingham’s zine culture. This gave us a good grounding of understanding upon which to build from, highlighting that midlands makers were excited to have a place to convene and that there was plenty of activity to join up with and celebrate.
Overall the mood was one of generosity, excitement and creative energy, which was a joy to witness and create space for.
Bring people together around important topics that matter to them using artistic values, beyond those who already consider themselves to be producers of artistic content. “I like how zines can combine activism, alternative media, and participatory art. They can be highly personal in content and individually-made, but also part of something collective and collaborative.” - Nina, makes zines (her zine project is called ECHO), is in a feminist group called FEL and a band called Lavender Witch and is from Ghent, Belgium.
“Zines play a role in inspiring adults, students; anyone to explore their creativity, as well as address contemporary issues and spread the word to others.” - Amy Sterly, artist / printmaker / zine maker from Llanfair Caereinion, Wales.
“Zines could be a way to inspire others to display their own art.” - Larissa Oliveira Cardoso, writes a zine called ‘’I Wanna Be Yr Grrrl’’ and works as a bilingual teacher in Aracaju, Brazil.
Highlight Birmingham as a destination for makers. “There was a mix of people from different cities, a welcoming atmosphere and I loved that there were children around. Food by aunty outside was delicious and it was clear a lot of effort and love had gone into organising the day and taking care of everyone.” - Brum Zine Fest speaker
“This support and love goes some way to explaining why Brum is such an amazing city.” - @SirFletchPhelps
Encourage independent creative making. “I leant how to fold a piece of paper to make it a booklet - felt like alchemy!” - Brum Zine Fest attendee
“Found myself drawing for the first time in a long while.” - Anneka Deva, Brum Zine Fest attendee
“Such an amazing campaign around Brum Zine Fest with everyone getting involved in making the event what it is even before it’s started. The quality of the illustrations & doodles people have been making in the run up to the day. THIS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT! #DIYCulture #Brumtown” - @boxwarsbrum
Give artists a space to share their work and receive feedback “Birmingham!! You stole a bit of my heart today... Thank you so much to everyone who came to say hello, said the kindest words about my work and bought my work. I feel so seen and heard.” - olgawritesthings, stallholder
“Wow. Brum Zine Fest over at @Impact Hub Brum is looking incredible. So many people (me included) leaving to go hit up a cash machine and heading back because they’ve underestimated the amount of zinealicious excellence available to purchase.” - Thom Bartley, event photographer
Allow visitors to learn more about zine culture and develop the tools to create their own outcomes. “I attended the last Birmingham zine festival. I was almost inspired to create my own zine but didn’t have enough confidence or know how to start.” - Anon
“Experimented making zines today for the first time. Celebrating colour, womanhood, Blackness & iconography. Thank you for the space to play. Looking forward to exploring this form of storytelling / creating more.” - @amahra_
140
attendees to Brum Zine Fest
350
total attendees across all project activity
55
poster designs submitted
28
artists paid
£6,707.00
total funding received
£1,124.92
invested into independent local suppliers
£ 202.42
used to support stallholders with access costs such as accomodation and travel
£ 2.59
average ticket price paid by attendees (on a pay-as-you-feel basis)
Exciting, welcoming, collaborative. Inspiring, inclusive, fun. A new world. Beautiful. For introverts. Life-affirming, community-driven, passionate. Slick friendly operation! Fun, unique, lighthearted. Fucking necessary mate! It’s a zingting.
Featuring artwork by Sammy Borras {BZF stallholder}, Louise Byng {BZF curator}, Mary Baskerville {poster design by open submission} & Shaheen Kasmani {BZF team}. Photography by Thom Bartley & Alex Ramsell.