Date Wednesday 01 January 2025
Overview
Firstly, what is a zine?
Zine (pronounced 'zeeen', like the end of magazine) or Fanzines are self-published magazine-style publications. Due to their DIY and punk roots, they are often handmade. However, the magic is that zines can come in many different forms. There is no right or wrong way - they can be handmade, made digitally, a few pages or a series.
We like Grrrl Zine Fair's definition -
"They often are made by one person, or a small group of people coming together for a cause or a special interest. Therefore the content varies widely, one zine could be sharing ways in which we can help save the planet from environmental breakdown, and another could be a breakdown of the best outfits across the Star Trek franchise.
Some are very personal, others, irreverent. Some are glossy, almost indistinguishable from mainstream magazines, others are sewn together by hand in a small run of 5.
The wide variety of zines is what makes them exciting, incredibly varied and importantly- accessible. No other art form is more inviting - you can make one in 5 minutes, with no artistic skill, or you can spend a year developing one."
Key Dates
Application Deadline: Sunday 26th January 2025, midnight.
The applications will then be looked over by a panel made up of Sabbatical Officers and SU staff.
Responses Sent: Week commencing Monday, 3rd February (3 weeks before the fair)
Event Date: LGBTQAI+ Zine Fair, Wednesday 26th February - Setup: 11am, Open: 12pm - 5pm
What is the opportunity?
Be a trader at our LGBTQAI+ Zine Fair and sell your zines and/or comics to fellow students and UAL staff. The fair will be an internal event, not open to the general public and will be located at London College of Communication (LCC) in Arts SU's Darkroom Bar. Please note all UAL students are invited to apply or attend and you do not need to study at LCC student to be part of this event.
We currently have 14 places available. Those selected will share a table with a fellow student and receive 1 free hot drink from the SU bar. You will need to be responsible for taking your own sales. However, a small amount of equipment, including Zettle payment machines, will be available to borrow on a first-come, first-served basis. We want all our opportunities to be free to take part in and will not be charging for the stall space or taking a commission on any sales. Those selected for this event will have the opportunity to apply to the Professional Development Fund for support, for example, this could cover the cost of travel to and from the event or cover the cost of printing a completed zine design for the event.
Criteria for applying:
- We request that only individuals and collectives who identify as part of the LGBTQAI+ community apply for this opportunity
- This opportunity is open to current UAL students only
- We are asking that only finished zines and/or comics to be submitted. We would also like zines and/or comics that have multiple copies available and a run of at least 5-10. If you are selected for this opportunity and want support in printing copies of your items you can apply to our Professional Development Fund.
- We will have a sale price cap of £20 max. This means we are looking for Zines and/or comics for sale at £20 or under. We hope that this will make the event more affordable to those attending.
- We ask that the zines and/or comics for sale encapsulate LGBTQIA+ themes
This is a selling event and, therefore, is not open to international students due to the restrictions of the Student Route Visa (T4 Visa) set by the UK government. Unfortunately, we don't have the power to change this. However, International students can join in with our Swap Stall—see below for details. Want to expand international students’ working rights in the UK? Check out Inter.work by UAL alumni Brenda Hernandez.
Swap Stall
At the fair, we will also have a SU run Swap Stall, where you can swap a zine or comic for another of a similar value. This is open to both international and UK based students, bring your zine along on the day ready to swap! We'll also have some external zines available to swap by the creative LGBTQAI+ Community.
How to apply:
Want to be a trader at our fair and sell your zines and/or comics - fill in an application form here before Sunday 26th January 2025, midnight : https://forms.office.com/e/XtxPdbSnBE
Don't want to sell but want to swap instead? There is no need to apply, bring your zine or comic to our SU Swap Stall and trade! We'll also have some external zines available to swap by the creative LGBTQAI+ Community.
Resources:
The internet has loads of ideas but here are a few we picked out...
If you have any questions or would like to have a chat about the application process, please email, Lotte Dawson, Arts Programmer at artsprogramme@su.arts.ac.uk