How can a zine, a small booklet of mixed media art, represent one's identity?

History & Distinction

Historically, underrepresented groups in the media have utilized zines as an outlet for political and social expression in addition to a portrayal of their identity. Although zines originated with science fiction fanzines in the 1930s, they have transformed to political zines serving underrepresented groups’ activism efforts (Coletta, 2012). For example, feminist zines within the punk and alternative American music scene provided a voice for women to question common media displays of gender and sexuality (Zobl, 2004). When planning my workshop, I wanted to apply zines’ historical ability to depict one’s identity and self-expression through the exploration of a common zine theme each week, such as fan, personal, political/educational, and travel zines. The aforementioned zine themes allow students to create a unique mixed-media piece that relates to their identity. 

Methods

While conducting background research for my capstone, I focused on the various themes of zines, reflecting upon peer-reviewed articles, journals, and images. These researched zine themes inspired me to structure my workshop with weekly lessons and activities relating to a zine theme. For example, one week we learned, by viewing zine examples, about how travel journals inform an audience about a place while encouraging self-reflection of a trip. Then, students applied this knowledge to their own travel zine on a past or desired trip, including landmarks, itineraries, and overall experiences from the trip. Each lesson plan was similar, including a lesson on the zine theme with real examples, an activity in which students apply the lesson to a zine, and a learning assessment to learn from peers’ work and reflect on the significance of each zine topic. To create engaging and interactive lessons, I chose to incorporate group discussions, warmups, and alter the order of lesson plans. For example, one week, students worked in groups to create a zine with a random prompt using a prompt generator. This allowed students to collaborate with their peers to create a unique zine, changing the typical structure of individual zine creation. Varying lesson plans allowed students to remain engaged within the workshop.

Audience & Impact

A to Zine’s intended audience was students interested in mixed media and exploring new art mediums and techniques. As a result of my workshop, I hope audience members feel a greater connection with their peers after observing one another’s passions and identity within their zines. In addition, I intended for audience members to utilize A to Zine as a creative outlet, representing issues important to them as well as personal interests while practicing a new art form. 

Planning and teaching this workshop has been an impactful experience in many ways. I have grown as a person by enhancing my public speaking and time management skills. Whether it was through teaching workshop participants and organizing lesson plans, assignments, and projects, or simply connecting with students through their art, I have grown as an artist and scholar. I have loved creating an interactive and engaging space for students to explore art amid their busy course loads.

References

Zobl, Elke. "Persephone is pissed! Grrrl zine reading, making, and distributing across the globe." Hecate, vol. 30, no. 2, Oct. 2004, pp. 156+. Gale Academic OneFile Select, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A126684581/EAIM?u=baltctycpl&sid=bookmark-EAIM&xid=d11b1527. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

Coletta, Charles, et al. "1980s: Print Culture." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th- and 21st-Century America, edited by Cynthia Johnson and Lawrence W. Baker, 2nd ed., vol. 5: 1980s-1990s, UXL, 2012, pp. 1259-1269. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1303400093/GVRL?u=epfl&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=18b4b0d3. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the students of my workshop for their engagement and contributions to A to Zine. I’d also like to thank A to Zine’s TA, Elena, and faculty Harold, Heather, and Irene for their constant support. I’d also like to express my gratitude to my amazing peers for their assistance throughout the workshop.