Paper Plains Zine Fest returns to Lawrence this Labor Day weekend
Courtesy Paper Planes Zine Fest
After a successful festival last year, the Paper Plains Zine Fest is making a return to Lawrence this Saturday and Sunday.
For those who are unfamiliar, a zine, short for a fanzine or magazine, is a self-published pamphlet that serves as a form of self-expression and identity. The creation and portrayal of zine culture is a way for those involved to practice individuality and form community.
Since emerging in the 1930’s, zines took off during the golden era of punk rock. Due to digital media, zine culture has dwindled over the years, but that is not halting zine fanatics from their eccentric creations. One of those being Megan Williams.
“Because they [zines] are a ‘do it yourself’ type of medium that allow for a lot of individuals to express their creativity and their personal interest and share those with others, they kind of end up being the perfect medium for creating community,” Williams, planning committee member and Assistant Director of The University of Kansas’ Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity, says.
As a grad student at KU, Williams was introduced to zines by Ailecia Ruscin, a fellow student involved in zine culture. Ruscin was a part of the Riot Grrrl Feminist Movement and a founding member of Solidarity! Revolutionary Center and Radical Library. Her and Lyss Bezner, volunteer librarian at the Ecumenical Campus Ministries, have created a zine that portrays the history of Solidarity! Radical Library, which will be released on Saturday.
As a professor at Skidmore College in upstate New York, Williams met a colleague who was also a part of the Riot Grrrl Movement. Williams attended her workshop where she made her first original zine in 2015.
Immediately, Williams began incorporating zine creation into her curriculum. Soon after, Williams returned to Lawrence to work at the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity in 2016.
Right away, she knew that she wanted to find a way to uplift zine culture in the college town. “Since 2016, I’ve been really trying to build a community around zines,” she says.
Seven years later, Williams has stuck to her vocation and is looking forward to the second annual Paper Plains Zine Fest.
Courtesy of Paper Plains Zine Fest 2022
Day One
Day one’s full day of zine culture will begin at 8:45 a.m. where information can be found at KU’s Memorial Union with the first programs beginning at 10 a.m. Activities include workshops, panels, zine releases, as well as a documentary screening and free lunch at Ecumenical Campus Ministries adjacent from the campus.
Camp Zine, hosted by Zach Frazier, art director and assistant director of graphic design at UMKC, highlights day one as attendees will be guided through the process of creating their own mini zines.
Following Camp Zine, Imani Wadud, educator and artist, will also hold a keynote address to examine zine creation as a means of solidarity practice, focusing on decolonial and Black feminist thought at 4:00 p.m. at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Day one of the festival will conclude with the screening of Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution (2017). Tracing back to the roots of its 80’s punk subculture, Queercore portrays the journey of how this microcosm has shifted to a global activist movement of today.
The screening is held in collaboration with Lawrence Arts Center Microcinema, KU Libraries, and Trans Lawrence Coalition, and is recommended for those 18 and older. Following the screening, Zine Fest co-organizer Monty Protest will moderate a panel of queer and trans zine creators.
Courtesy of Paper Plains Zine Fest 2022
Day Two
Kicking off day two, last year’s hit Vendor Fair at Van Go runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., showcasing a diverse array of over 100 regional artists. Included amongst the artists are BIPOC, woman/femme, LGBTQIA+, along with youth ‘zinesters’, and zine creators with disabilities.
The Midwest creatives will feature zines, comics, pamphlets, chapbooks, and more for purchase and trade. Most products range from $1-15, encouraging attendees to carry cash, while some artists will accept credit card as well as other forms of payment.
Aimed at ages 6-12, day two also presents a youth zine-making workshop, hosted by Williams and Jenny Cook, the Lawrence Public Library’s children’s librarian, between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m at Van Go.
Food and drink will be available for purchase from local food trucks, JB’s Tacos, Repetition Coffee and Hazel’s Hawaiian Shave Ice.
This event was created to bring individuals of all ages together to take part in a unique subculture of community and creativity. “It is basically a blank page for you. Nobody is telling you what to do or how to do it. Zines are for everybody and anything goes,” Williams says.
All activities at the festival are free of charge, yet some programs require advanced registration on the Paper Plains Zine Fest website.
Wonder Fair, the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity, and Van Go are the sponsors that are making the event possible, along with a grant from the City of Lawrence.
After a solid turn out of approximately 300 people in the community at last year’s festival, those involved in planning the event are hopeful for an increase in attendance.
“I hope that people will, number one, be inspired to make zines first and foremost. And to find other people who share their interests who also make zines. One of the things about zine culture that’s so great is that it’s really based in an economy of sharing,” Williams says.
More information regarding the Paper Plains Zine Festival can be found on their website, as well as their Instagram. Contact Megan Williams with any questions or personal accommodation requests surrounding the event.
Courtesy of Paper Plains Zine Fest 2022
