The Learning Zone

Leading up to the OCADU Zine Fair on March 22 and 23, the OCAD Zine Library is celebrating the origins of zines through Fanzines.

Fanzines originated in the 1930s as tributes to science fiction writing, often including letters from multiple sci-fi fans commenting on the work they were reading in more established science fiction magazines. Throughout the history of zine making we’ve seen fanzines in tribute to different celebrities, lesser-known artists, fictional characters and anything in culture that zine creators have felt compelled to make a zine about.

Next Monday (March 20), student and zine maker Francis Tomkins will be running a zine making workshop focussed on fandom, in which they will provide prompts to help attendees approach the subject. The OCADU Zine Collective is accepting submissions for their fandom-themed collaborative zine until the end of March, so this workshop is not only an opportunity to explore fandom through art, but also to create a submission for a zine that will be published on the Risograph later this semester.

Finally, the OCAD Zine Library is currently displaying fanzines from the zine collection as inspiration. Stop by and check out zines on an array of subjects from Kanye West to Idris Elba to Queer Sailor Moon fan-fiction.