UNDERGROUND EXPLAINS - Zines

So you find yourself here because you don’t know what a zine is, don’t worry, I didn’t know either, until I spoke with some local creators and ended up crafting some.

Similar to a print magazine, a zine holds photography, articles, collages, and interviews, however, unlike magazines, zine prioritise art over advertisement.

Articles and photography is not all a zine can be. A zine can include anything! From doodles to full projects, zines are about art and expression. Making a DIY booklet of anything you can imagine!

The most popular kind of zine is a fanzine, starting in the 1980’s, punks would use the DIY booklets to talk about their favourite bands and artists in the scene.

This introduced the strong DIY ethos behind zines, making raw, rough-edged art with a strong message. The zines were easy to produce and distribute, usually made with old magazine cutouts, hand drawn, and printed in local libraries.

Overtime, zines have branched to different genres, you can find one on anything! The zine scene prides itself on community spirit, often offering to buy, swap, and trade, zines at events.

I recommend checking out the Glasgow Zine Library to find some local vendors.

The most important aspect of making zines is having fun, making it yourself, and not caring about the result, as long as you like it.