July is International Zine Month, where the world’s zine-makers celebrate these handmade, independently-published magazines. We’ve curated a list of some of Mumbai’s most talented zine-makers and tell you how to make your own zine
The zine collection at Fluxus Chapel in Bandra
Pearl D’Souza: D’SOUZA is an illustrator whose work reflects themes of gender, mental health, and inclusivity. The natural world inspires her work too. Apart from working on creative projects as a professional, D’Souza indulges in making journals, flipbooks, and zines. She’s organised workshops in Goa and Mumbai, where she speaks about the history of zines and the DIY-culture, and guides participants on how they can make their own zines.
LOG ON TO @pearl.dsouza on Instagram
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Hansika Jethnani: Poet and visual artist Jethnani’s zines explore ideas of migration, shame, ancestry, queerness, legacies of colonialism, and love. In 2018, at the University College of London, Jethnani co-founded Decolonising the Arts Curriculum zine which contains essays, poems, and artwork to open conversations on the way we approach creative and pedagogic practices. She conducts workshops on zine-making online and offline. “I enjoy making zines because there are no rules. Any theme, topic or medium can be [used] — I love the freedom and liberation in that,” she tells us.
LOG ON TO: @hansika-jethnani on bazinega.in
Himanshu S: Five years ago, Himanshu, along with Aqui Thami, founder of The Sister Library, had organised the first Bombay Zine fest. Himanshu has been making zines for over two decades now. When he began, he used to sell the zines at traffic signals or set up pop-ups on sidewalks. He has created reading spaces in chawls as well as had his work with Thami displayed at the Chemould Prescott Road Art Gallery. His leaflets and zines often contain typewritten pithy statements or tender instructions that read like manifestos. His store of zines on Chapel Road stocks works by artists from all over India.
LOG ON TO @reluctantsuperhero on Instagram
Kartika Bagodi: One of the most fascinating things about Bagodi’s portfolio is the experimentation with patterns. It’s noticeable in the colourful Very Indian Picnic as well as the intricate Book of Ladakh. Bagodi’s animated zine made during the pandemic is about the experience of the lockdown. It contains poetic lines accompanied with illustrations of the surroundings (trees and homes from the windows, clocks inside houses) as well as all things that gave the artist company.
LOG ON TO lockdown-zine on crisprocks.com
Riya Behl: Behl’s work is powerful as well as playful. Along with Devashree Somani, this multimedia journalist, runs Zinedabaad Collective to celebrate the culture of zines. Through the collective, she worked on a project which understands how zines can be used for participatory research, advocacy, and community building. As a journalist, she has worked towards amplifying marginalised voices, while as a zine-maker and as a marathon runner, has raised funds to support grassroots organisations doing impactful work.
LOG ON TO @riyalising on Instagram
Quick guide to make a zine
. Fold your paper
Step 1: Fold an A4 paper in half lengthwise. Then fold twice again, such that when you open it you have eight equal rectangular boxes made by the paper creases.
Step 2: Once you’ve opened the paper, cut a slit in the centre (see the image).
Step 3: Fold the paper into half now.
Step 4: Pop up the centre and push the end pages towards each other (see the image). Voila! That’s an eight-page mini booklet!
References to make a zine. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
. Choose a theme/topic for the zine
. Gather your stationery and resource material (old newspapers, old picture books, print-outs of favourite quotes, etc.)
. Let your creativity flow (write poems, draw sketch-figures, frame your creative manifesto)
Check out these zines
1 Bazinega
Log on to bazinega.in/product-category/zines
2 Gaysi Family Zine
Log on to gaysifamily.com/zine
3 Printed Matter
Log on to printedmatter.org/catalog/tables/14688
4 Keke Magazine’s Zine Library
LOG ON TO kekemagazine.com/zine-library/
5 Zines on Archive
LOG ON TO archive.org/details/zines
6 Papercut Zine Library:
LOG ON TO papercutzinelibrary.com/virtual-library
(Free membership)
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. Making Zines and Making Friends by Zinedabaad Collective and Agatsu Foundation
AGE GROUP 12 years and above
ON July 7; 2 pm to 4:30pm
AT Agatsu Foundation, Pali Hill, Bandra West.
REGISTER Agatsu Foundation| agatsufoundation.org/event-details/making-zines-making-friends-with-zinedabaad
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