WNY Art and Literature: Free online fest and workshops continue through the month

By Lee Ames 

Zines have been a way for people to share their art for decades. From local news to backyard style bands trying to make headlines, zines have been a crucial part of many people’s lives in many ways.

Telling stories through art and forming a sense of community is exactly what drives creatives to create in the face of artistic nonconformity. In our contemporary world, it is more important than ever to mold a sense of community to counter the hate people might receive in their lives – especially those within the LGBTQIA+ community.

That’s why events such as this year’s third annual Queer Zest Zine Fest are so important.

Through this online based zine group, queer zine makers can find a culmination of like minded creatives that you can’t find in most smaller communities. With countless online opportunities and Discord connections, participants can take part in creating a beautiful tapestry of what queer joy is through the art of zine making during the entire month of September. 

This year’s Queer Zest Zine Fest is 100% online, and accessible for all individuals (queer or not). Participants can join online to meet different artists during the entire month of September in free online classes hosted by zinesters far and wide.

“The whole point is to have a space where people from around the world can get together and find that community that sometimes they can’t find, you know, locally … it’s really exciting to see,” says Laura Chenault, an artist and long-time volunteer. She also owns Laurel Tree Bindery, a Niagara Falls business specializing in custom and artistic bookbinding.

WORKSHOPS FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH

This month, every weekend of September, a different class is being held: on single sheet book making, pamphlet bookbinding, stab binding, the copier and beyond, and more. Chenault is teaching stab binding on Sunday (Sept. 21) and on “The Copier and Beyond” next week (Sept. 28).

The entire schedule for the rest of the month is HERE.

Within these classes participants get the chance to meet fellow zinesters and learn from them, get to hear about what they are up to and how they do it, learn about the physical nature of book binding itself, explore different art mediums such as printing and transfering, work on a digital zine together, learn how to give short and sweet elevator pitches, and meet some unique zine librarians, all while making new friends from around the world.

Not only is this an environment of acceptance of all sexualities and pronouns, it is a place of creativity where artists can collable and discuss zine making, prints, bookbinding and much more. This year is even a first of its kind. Where before there was a one week speed-run zine fest, there is now an entire month completely dedicated to online zine collaboration with the help of some volunteers, such as Leif Bennett, Olivia Montoya, Julie Setele, Chenault, Tosin Jerugba and Rachelle Meyer. 

THE FESTIVAL AND COMMUNITY

Chenault described the nature of this queer zine festival and the importance of community: “Queer Zest is a celebration of queer voices. We encourage allies to join us and participate and support queer artists around the world. … but to me, really, the most powerful thing is gathering all of us from so many places into one space … To me, the whole approach is what makes it positive. And you know, one of the reasons I continue to dedicate my time and volunteer for this.

“And one of the things that I think is best about just the whole queer zest and the young queer community is how accepting everybody is of each other.” It doesn’t matter who you are, many people today can feel isolated and alone without a strong sense of community around them.”

This is exactly why so many turn to online chats, just as Chenault did back in 2020 during the pandemic: it can help people find a community that they couldn’t have found previously in smaller areas or in times of uncertainty. The zine fest is all about finding this sense of community, while gathering people from all around the world, to bring them together to share their stories, artwork and information with likeminded creatives. As many of the artists might say: that is the thing that makes it all worthwhile. 

Here are the links for the Queer Zest Zine Fest and its workshops:

Queer Zest Zine Fest

Workshops – Queer Zest Zine Fest