Zinefest makes long awaited return to Meteor Theatre
Dozens of poets, comic creators, fringe politicos, illustrators, writers and artists will bring their self-made wares to the Meteor Theatre today for the seventh Hamilton Zinefest.
It marks a long-awaited return for the event, which had to be cancelled last year due to the Covid19 lockdown.
Zinefests are held in cities around New Zealand and while such events are a relatively recent phenomena, zines themselves are not.
A zine (pronounced ‘‘zeen’’) is any labour-of-love act of short-run publishing, so any amateur poetry journal, fringe political pamphlet, or photocopied comic book qualifies as an example of zine-making. The word zine is a shortening of fanzine, a term invented in the 1940s to describe the amateur science fiction fan magazines that began appearing at that time.
‘‘One of the great things about zines is that their short-run amateur status allows their creators to explore the weird, the unusual, the idiosyncratic, without having to worry that the oddity will be too much for advertisers or a broad market of paying customers,’’ coorganiser Bryce Galloway said.
‘‘Zines cover all manner of topics and minor obsessions.’’
It’s a good place to pick up some cheap, fun reading material.
‘‘At the pricier end of the market some things might cost $10 to $20, but it is still possible to arrive at the Zinefest with just $5 in loose change and walk away with several wellturned papery gems.’’
Among the stallholders will be Waikato creators Aveia Ratima, Brenna Forsythe, Ella Denis, Chris Dimery, Olivia-Leigh Mehrtens, Emily Brook-Watt, Kendall Mary Ure Miles, Robyn Mary Hancock,
Essa May Ranapiri, Jim Higgs and Craig McClure.
Away from the market day, the Zinefest will also feature screenings and presentations. They include a mini-documentary on Wellington Zinefest organisers Caitlin Lynch and Milly Hampton, who reveal how they bring together a disparate collection of angry anarchists, nerdy comic makers, kooky kids, closet poets and witchy feminists each year for that event.
There will also be a presentation by one of Hamilton’s best-known arts advocates Eliza Webster, who runs the artist-run exhibition, creation and performance venue Never Project Space in Frankton.
A former director of the Wallace Gallery in Morrinsville, Webster will talk about the place of DIY within artist-run spaces, and their role within the wider community of arts institutions.
Finally, there will also be a presentation on the history of DIY punk in the Philippines by local artist Noah Romero.
The free festival will run from 10am to 3pm, and will be followed by an after-party at 8pm at Project Never Space, with entertainment provided by Hamilton bands Limn and Pillcutter and Auckland band Pumice.