Kirkland Zine Fest

Upstate New York’s first ever week-long zine fest will bring together the greater Kirkland community to create zines through five hands-on workshops led by zine practitioners and cartoon artists: Kori Michele Handwerker, Ira Marcks, and Colleen AF Venable. Taking their name from “fanzine,” an abbreviated name for a fan magazine that was popular in the 1930s, a zine is a small, self-made/published, cheap, and easy to read magazine meant to convey personal and political views of the day. In this digital age, zines continue to be the medium par excellence for self-expression and the mode for self-publishing across socio-economic backgrounds, identities, and communities. This public humanities zine fest will be an opportunity to bring together K–12 students and teachers, families, college students and faculty, and the greater local public community to learn side-by-side about zines and how to make them. This Zine Fest is part of the inaugural Being Human Festival, sponsored by the National Humanities Center, with additional support provided by Kirkland Endowment, Hamilton College; Humanities Center, Hamilton College; Library & IT Services, Hamilton College; and the Kirkland Town Library.