#IZM2020 „Who’s that Zinester?“

Seit einigen Jahren beteiligen wir uns am International Zine Month, so auch in diesem Jahr. Die Beiträge bündeln wir unter dem Hashtag #IZM2020. Bisher haben wir als Mitarbeiter*innen hauptsächlich Zines vorgestellt, die uns wichtig sind oder die wir neu in der Sammlung haben. Für dieses Jahr haben wir uns eine neue Rubrik überlegt: „Who’s that Zinester?“

Heute ist der letzte Tag des International Zine Month und wir haben noch noch ein Zinester-Feature für euch im Rahmen unserer neu initiierten #IZM-Rubrik „Who’s that Zinester?“

Diesmal geht es um Fußballfankultur. Auch dazu haben wir eine nicht unerhebliche Menge an Fanzines. Jan/LeToMaGiC-Zine hat vor einigen Jahren im Rahmen unseres Forschungsprojektes JuBri- Techniken jugendlicher Bricolage glücklicherweise dazu beigetragen, unsere Sammlung dahingehend zu erweitern.

Der Kontakt wurde nun vor gut einem Jahr lustigerweise via Twitter zwischen Jan und unserer Kollegin Giuseppina, ohne dass es um Zines oder Fußballfankultur ging, wieder aufgenommen. Beide waren ohne Kenntnis voneinander 2019 auf dem großartigen Big Joanie Konzert in Hamburg und haben sich darüber ausgetauscht. Und da lag die Idee nahe, Jan zu bitten, Teil unserer neuen Rubrik „Who’s that Zinester?“ zu werden. Hier nun Jans (LeToMaGic-Zine) Antworten. Viel Spaß!

Tell us about your zine/project!

Letters To Marina Ginesta Coloma is a handcut and handsewn mini artzine about politics, beer, zine libraries and football. It is inspired by Subbuteo, record cover art, Pixi Books and Slinkachu. I visit different places and leave a small, individual painted figure – with an upraised fist to greet Marina Ginesta – on a bottle cap there. The zine itself is a letter to Marina Ginesta i Coloma where I report on these trips. The last but second page always holds a DIY sticker that can be coloured and finished by the readers. I’m always looking forward to receiving stickers from nice spots around the world. If you’re interested in checking it out, you can find it as @LeToMaGiC on Twitter and Issu.

What was the reason to start your own zine? Did someone or something inspire you?

I started to publish a football fanzine for my local non league club around 15 years ago. The first one ran for ten years and was inspired by the ‚Weltbühne‘ magazine from the 1920s. I’ve experimented with a lot of different subjects and sizes since – I’ve published perzines, art zines, a poetry zine, political/historical zines and a photo zine.

What is the first zine you ever fell in love with?

I’m not sure if they would call their publication a zine, but I was fascinated by ‚Der Tödliche Pass‘ very early on. The first zine where I couldn’t wait for the next issue to be published was ‚The Moral Victory‘ by Josie and Louis.

A zine you would recommend because it deals with issues you care about

My favourite zines are those with a political motivation. I like to read zines with a special kind of humour as well as ‚zine zines‘, too. And I love zines that show a special enthusiasm for a thing or person and explore these from new perspectives again and again. That’s why I’m a big fan of ‚Dishwasher Pete‘, the ‚Wes Anderzine‘ or the various zines about Taylor Swift and Patti Smith. Though ‚Butt Springsteen‘ is a good title, too.

Zine related places you visited or want to visit in the future? Tell us why!

I’m always looking for cities, towns and villages where you can find a zine library or collection, a brewery and a local football club. I love to visit these places for my LeToMaGiC zine. I’ve been to Barcelona, London, Altona, Istanbul, Brussels, Manchester, Forlí, Berlin, Athens, Sydney, Melbourne, Vienna, Salzburg, Arnhem, Toronto, Reykjavik, Riga, Bergen, Oslo, York, Plymouth and Falmouth so far. But I’m always up for hints and suggestions!

What projects are you involved in besides publishing zines?

I like any kind of arts and crafts. I was very happy that the wonderful ‚Illustrated Women In History‘ project accepted my first ever silhouette cut-out, for example. I always try to donate any profits of my zines to good causes. So we were the first German football supporters who followed the very important initiative ‚On The Ball‘ (@OnTheBaw) and made period products available at our stadiums for free.

A collaboration you are dreaming about?

One of the best things about the zine community is swapping zines and contributions. I’ve done a few over the last years, but some of the contacts faded away over time as I’m bad at staying in contact with people. I would love to do another zine with Nikos, who I first met at the Athens Zinefest. And I’m always inspired by the work of Nyx from Sea Green Zines.

What would you be more interested in? A zine about cats or dogs?

I have to admit, it should be about Alpacas for me. As there have been football zines like ‚Can I Bring My Dog‘ (Dundee Utd) and ‚Gone To The Dogs‘ (Canterbury) I would go with the dogs here. Perhaps Ruth (@nonleaguedogs) may compile one some day?

A zine about your teen crush would be about?

I would love to say it would have been about Sara Gilbert or Alyssa Milano, but in fact it would have been about Tipp-Kick figures or collecting cards.

Which fellow zinester would you rob a bank with and why?

Mika and Chriz who were brave enough to share a table with me at the Berlin Zinefest in 2014 without ever meeting me in person before. And I’m pretty sure they will get away with the money and donate it to a good cause while I’m getting arrested.

Your life motto or a message you want to share

If the kids are united, they will never be divided.

Danke Jan für deine Antworten, sowie Danke an alle weiteren Zinesters (Evelyn/Vinyldyke-Zine, Nina/SameHeartbeats-Zine, Lilli/Diverse Comics und Fanzines), die mitgemacht haben. Damit verabschieden wir uns aus dem diesjährigen International Zine Month. See you next year.

Das Archiv kooperiert mit Sick Time Press- Workshopreihe 2020

Wir freuen uns sehr über eine großartige Kooperation mit Sick Time Press bzw. der Sickness Affinity Group, die für ihre tolle Workshopreihe dieses Jahr eine Förderung von Durchstarten -dem Förderprogramm für neue Expert*innen der Kulturellen Bildung Berlin- erhalten hat.

„Sickness Affinity Group (SAG) (Krankheitsbezugsgruppe) ist eine Gruppe von Kulturarbeiter*innen und Aktivist*innen, die zu Krankheit/Behinderung arbeiten und/oder von Krankheit/Behinderung betroffen sind. Sickness Affinity Group funktioniert als unterstützende Gruppe, die den wettbewerbsorientierten und behinderten-feindlichen Arbeitsbedingungen in der Kunst entgegenwirken will. In SAG teilen Gruppenmitglieder Erfahrungen und Informationen, wobei für uns Wohlbefinden und die Zugangsbedürfnisse der Teilnehmer*innen besonders wichtig sind“

Der 1. Workshop FemmeFitness x Sickness Affinity Group findet online statt am 30.August. Der Workshop ist kostenlos.

FEMMEFITNESS X SICKNESS AFFINITY GROUPBewegung teilen durch Collage und Printmedien: Laura Lulika & Anisha Müller

In einer Zeit des anstrengenden performativen Aktivismus veranstalten Laura Lulika und Anisha Müller einen kreativen Empowerment Workshop…

Wir werden unsere Praktiken mit Ihnen zusammenbringen; tanzen, uns bewegen und kreativ sein auf eine Art und Weise, die sich um Femme, Queer, Trans, Behinderte und/oder BIPoC-Leute kümmert. Als Künstler*innen und Aktivist*innen haben wir uns in die Praxis der Zugänglichkeit in den Künsten investiert und einen zweistündigen Workshop entwickelt, an dem Menschen je nach ihren eigenen Kapazitäten teilnehmen können.

Der Workshop wird (unsere eigenen) Körper thematisieren und Bewegung durch verschiedene künstlerische Formen wie Collage, Illustration und Text vermitteln. Die Idee besteht darin, körperliche Ausdrucksformen von Tanz und Bewegung auf Druckmaterial zu übertragen. Wir wollen Möglichkeiten suchen, persönliche Bewegungs- oder Tanzsequenzen, die wir hilfreich finden, aufzuzeichnen und weiterzugeben.

Im Bewusstsein, wie schwer es für die Menschen in unseren Communities sein kann, sich auf bestimmte Zeiten festzulegen oder sogar die Energie für kreative Ruhezeiten zu haben, werden wir verschiedene Optionen für die Teilnahme anbieten. Wir werden den Teilnehmer*innen per Post oder E-Mail* Collage-Materialien schicken, die dann dem aufgezeichneten Tanzmaterial folgen oder am Online-Workshop teilnehmen können. Am Ende werden alle Werke, die die Teilnehmer*innen teilen möchten, in ein gemeinsames Zine gestellt. Alle Werke, die während des Workshops an verschiedenen Orten von Teilnehmer*innen entstanden sind, werden dabei zusammengestellt. Wir werden dieses endgültige Zine an alle Teilnehmer*innen schicken, um es anschließend aufzubewahren!

Es gibt keinen Druck, im Workshop produktiv oder überhaupt sichtbar zu sein (Video aus ist immer eine Option), da wir wissen, wie einschüchternd und nervenaufreibend Tanz und bildende Kunst sein können! Wir hoffen, den Workshop mit der Fürsorge anzugehen, die in künstlerischen Institutionen allzu oft fehlt, und einen sichereren Raum für den Ausdruck zu schaffen. Zur Teilnahme ist keine vorherige Erfahrung in Tanz oder Kunst erforderlich.

*Wenn Sie außerhalb Großbritanniens oder Deutschlands leben, senden wir Ihnen die Materialien per E-Mail und nicht per Post, damit Sie sie rechtzeitig vor dem Workshop erhalten.

Priorität haben Femme, Trans, Queer, Be*hinderte und BIPoCs, aber es ist für alle offen.

Melden Sie sich mit Ihren Daten vor dem 9. August an
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkc-ytqjstHtIyWzXKTVimtHBZM4kcVak-
um Collagenmaterial zu erhalten und an den Aktivitäten in dem von Ihnen bevorzugten Format teilzunehmen.

https://www.facebook.com/events/314851702980255

Gefördert von Durchstarten
www.durchstarten.berlin

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BESONDERHEITEN

Informationen zur Barrierefreiheit:
Sie benötigen einen Computer oder ein Gerät mit Internetzugang. Wenn die Live-Teilnahme für Sie nicht klappt oder Sie sich nicht wohl fühlen, können Sie sich ein aufgezeichnetes Video der Gastgeber ansehen, das wir nach dem Workshop senden können (nur die Gastgeber*innen werden aufgezeichnet, keine Teilnehmer*innen werden während dieses Workshops aufgenommen). Wir werden den Workshop auf Zoom auf Englisch durchführen, aber wir sind offen für andere Sprachen und Kommunikationsformen. Sie müssen Ihr Video oder Ihren Ton nicht eingeschaltet haben, und es gibt eine Funktion zur Freigabe von Namen und Pronomen. Der Workshop kann live transkribiert werden, und wir senden die Videos mit Untertiteln und separaten Transkriptionen, falls benötigt. Bei den Tanz- und Bewegungsteilen können Sie so viel oder so wenig mitmachen, wie es Ihnen passt; es wird Steh-, Stuhl- und Bodenchoreographien geben. Für den Collage-/Aufnahmeteil können Sie Schere, Kleber und Stifte verwenden, was immer Sie an kreativen Materialien haben! Bitte teilen Sie uns Ihre Bedürfnisse bezüglich der vollständigen Zugänglichkeit mit, damit wir unser Bestes tun können, um uns entsprechend vorzubereiten.

Bitte teilen Sie uns Ihre vollständigen Zugänglichkeitsinformationen mit, damit wir unser Bestes tun können, um uns angemessen vorzubereiten. Wir haben Geld und Zeit zur Verfügung gestellt, um den Zugangsanforderungen zu entsprechen. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, uns um Folgendes zu bitten: Übersetzung, Transkription, Gebärdensprache, Anpassungen an Zeit und Format, Kinderbetreuung und alles andere!

#IZM2020 „Who’s that Zinester?“

Seit einigen Jahren beteiligen wir uns am International Zine Month, so auch in diesem Jahr. Die Beiträge bündeln wir unter dem Hashtag #IZM2020. Bisher haben wir als Mitarbeiter*innen hauptsächlich Zines vorgestellt, die uns wichtig sind oder die wir neu in der Sammlung haben. Für dieses Jahr haben wir uns eine neue Rubrik überlegt: „Who’s that Zinester?“

Wir stellen euch in den kommenden Wochen Zinemacher*innen vor, deren Zines wir toll finden und in der Sammlung haben, mit denen wir arbeiten oder einfach so in einem engen Austausch sind. Wir haben eine kleine Auswahl an Menschen unsere Fragen geschickt und hier sind ihre Antworten.

Heute stellen wir euch die Künstlerin Lilli Loge vor.

Lilli kennen wir schon sehr lange, da sie neben ihrer großartigen Kunst auch in der politischen Vermittlungsarbeit für uns tätig ist. Neben dem Weitergeben von Zeichenskills ist Lilli auch als politische Bildnerin zu queeren und genderrelevanten Themen für unser Projekt Diversity Box aktiv gewesen und leitet auch aktuell npch Comicworkshops für Culture on the Road.

Tell us about your zine/project!

I’m doing  art- and comic-zines – technically since 2003, but more serious since 2008. I like to use zines to try out different things. For example I did several modern queer versions of  “Tijuana Bibles” ( a mixture of satire and sex,  popular in 1920’s – 40’s  USA). I also did a zine about menstrual cups, one about trauma and one about perfectionism.

What was the reason to start your own zine? Did someone or something inspire you?

I could say that I like to experiment with printing and binding-techniques, that I love crafting and that the zine-szene is lovely. I really feel that way, but to be honest, the main reason I started self-publishing was, because I was too shy to take the steps that are needed to get a publisher.

A zine you would recommend because it deals with issues you care about

“These things might help, a self-care-zine” by Lois de Silva.

Zine related places  you visited or want to visit in the future? Tell us why!

I would love to visit all the stores and Distros that sell or sold my zines, that I haven’t visited yet: Microcosm Publishing (Portand), Quimbys Bookstore (Chicago), Disparate (Bordeaux), Fatbottombooks (Barcelona), Taco Che (Tokyo), Boismu (Bejing)

What projects are you involved in besides publishing zines?

I just published the mini-zine  “Aubrey Beardsley on Emotional Violence” with “2Bongoût“.
During the Corona-crisis  I did several  funny instructional comics ( “Motto-days”) on instagram. If we experience a second wave , there might be new “episodes”.
Since 2016 I  am working on a graphic novel which will be published by Avant Verlag. Looks like it might be finished next year..
And I just started a new comic on instagram together with Stef (@underwaterowl).  So, stay tuned!

A collaboration you are dreaming about?

I would like  to work with publishers  from around the world.

What would you be more interested in? A zine about cats or dogs?

I had a cat, so I’m more interested in the weird behaviors of cats.

Which fellow zinester would you rob a bank with and why?

Karla Paloma, because I hope that she would transform into one of the fierce bitches from her zines  when we are in  trouble.

Your life motto or a message you want to share:

All these tacky inspirational quotes spreading over instagram and Facebook are actually  true!

#IZM2020 „Who’s that Zinester?“

Seit einigen Jahren beteiligen wir uns am International Zine Month, so auch in diesem Jahr. Die Beiträge bündeln wir unter dem Hashtag #IZM2020. Bisher haben wir als Mitarbeiter*innen hauptsächlich Zines vorgestellt, die uns wichtig sind oder die wir neu in der Sammlung haben. Für dieses Jahr haben wir uns eine neue Rubrik überlegt: „Who’s that Zinester?“

Wir stellen euch in den kommenden Wochen Zinemacher*innen vor, deren Zines wir toll finden und in der Sammlung haben, mit denen wir arbeiten oder einfach so in einem engen Austausch sind. Wir haben eine kleine Auswahl an Menschen unsere Fragen geschickt und hier sind ihre Antworten.

Heute stellen wir euch Evelyn vor. Kennengelernt haben wir Evelyn und ihr Zine Vinyldyke 2019 über Twitter, woraus dann ein IRL Besuch im Archiv folgte und wow, das Zine ist seitdem ganz schön durch die die Decke gegangen. Evelyn scheint da wohl einen Nerv getroffen zu haben. Wir finden es jedenfalls ziemlich super.

Tell us about your zine/ project

I make a zine called ‚Vinyldyke‘. It is an old-school looking music fanzine, all cut and paste with scissors and gluestick, and type-written. I call my writing style diy rock journalism, to move away from classic music journalism, always adding personal comments and stories.

What was the reason to start your own zine? Did someone or something inspire you?

My friend Nina from Gent, Belgium, produces the zine ‚Same Heartbeats‘. She writes about her travels, feminist events and (her own) music, from a very personal perpective. You can find such an enthusiastic attitude and so much encouragement in her zines, you’ll have to make your own zine after reading them. 

What is the first zine you ever fell in love with?

I remember the first zines I came across in the early 2000, punk and riot grrrl zines, had letters so tiny, I wasn’t able to read them. Only a few years ago, I’ve found zines that were using bigger fonts… 

A zine you would recommend because it deals with issues you care about

All issues of ‚Same Heartbeats‘ that I mentioned earlier. You can learn a lot about making zines from those. I recommend doing a lot of zine trades with various people, so you’ll get a lot of new ideas and inspiration.

Evelyn//Vinyldyke//passionless=pointless visiting us at the archive to bring us the newest issue of the zine ❤

Zine related places you visited or want to visit in the future? Tell us why!

I have done so many zine trades with people in so many different countries. A number of small stores in the US and  the UK even sell my zines. One day, when I was preparing a lot of US orders, I decided, why not travel where my zine are going? So I started planning a trip across the USA for summer 2020. It has fallen through now during the pandemic, but I hope I’ll be able visit all those places and fellow zinesters as soon as possible.

What projects are you involved in besides publishing zines?

I play in a Berlin-based grunge band called Passionless Pointless. Jyoti, Kate and I have released our demo tape as a real cassette in March and we’re going to record our first album in August. Playing in a band is very similar to making zines, I think. You’ve got the writing, the creativity, the creative output and the best thing – meeting other people who are into the same kind of stuff. Also, I can write about our music in my fanzine, just the way I like it.

A collaboration you are dreaming about?

More comics, drawings and illustrations, that’s what I’d like for the next issue of Vinyldyke. I’m so bad at drawing, there surely need to be collaborations. 

What would you be more interested in? A zine about cats or dogs?

I once did a zine trade and the mini zine I got was called ‚Do You Have a Male Cat?‘. I’m allergic to both cats and dogs, so it didn’t sound that interesting to me. But it turned out it was a zine about language

learing! if you’re hung over, you have a ‚male cat‘ in German! And if you worked out too hard, you’ll have a ‚muscle cat‘ the next day. I loved it. The zine was written by stolzlippen.

A zine about your teen crush would be about?

I don’t think I had a teen crush. Maybe I’ll do a zine about my teenage role models one day – Axl Rose, Jon Bon Jovi, Kurt Cobain and Nick Cave, just to see if other queer people experienced the same. 

Which fellow zinester would you rob a bank with and why?

There are so many! 

Your life motto or a message you want to share

Passionless=pointless. I love nerdiness in people and seeing how much they’re into what they’re doing. Put your time and energy into what you love and what’s important to you.

#IZM2020//Zine of the day: WEIRDO (2019,First Issue/UK)

During International Zine Month (#IZM2020) we will highlight zines that we like and that show how diverse, political and complex zine and subcultural communities are and always have been.

We start with the WEIRDO Zine from UK. 

The pictures are high quality but even more impressive are the honest interviews adressing many relatable questions about identity and the feeling of not fitting in #culturallimbo

#IZM2020 „Who’s that Zinester?“

Seit einigen Jahren beteiligen wir uns am International Zine Month, so auch in diesem Jahr. Die Beiträge bündeln wir unter dem Hashtag #IZM2020. Bisher haben wir als Mitarbeiter*innen hauptsächlich Zines vorgestellt, die uns wichtig sind oder die wir neu in der Sammlung haben. Für dieses Jahr haben wir uns eine neue Rubrik überlegt: „Who‚s that Zinester?“

Wir stellen euch in den kommenden Wochen Zinemacher*innen vor, deren Zines wir toll finden und in der Sammlung haben, mit denen wir arbeiten oder einfach so in einem engen Austausch sind. Wir haben eine kleine Auswahl an Menschen unsere Fragen geschickt und hier sind ihre Antworten.

Den Anfang machen wir mit Nina aus Belgien. Nina hat uns in den vergangenen Jahren schon mehrmals im Archiv der Jugendkulturen besucht und immer die neueste Ausgabe ihres Zines „Same Heartbeats“ mitgebracht. Los geht‚s….

Zinester Nina //Echo Zines// Same Heartbeats// Lavender Witch

Tell us about your zine/ project

Hi, I’m Nina and I make a lot of zines under the name “Echo” or “Echo Zines” and have been doing that since 2001. Currently “Same Heartbeats” is my main zine series (a DIY feminist perzine in which I write about gender, body image, activism, craft projects, travelling, zine fests, and other things that interest me) and I make a lot of mini-zines as well, for example about how to play guitar, how to make your own zine, and self-care. I’ve also made some 24 hour zines (zines made in 24 hours as the name suggests), such as “From Spice Girls to Riot Grrrls”, “Space Invasion”, and “CuNt & Paste”. At the moment I’m working on a lockdown diary comic in two parts which should come out soon. As you can tell I really enjoy writing and drawing about music, personal stories, and political stuff. I love the oldschool cut & paste photocopied zine style most as it looks so punk and is very accessible. You can find my zines and more info at https://echopublishing.wordpress.com.

What was the reason to start your own zine? Did someone or something inspire you?

As a teenager I read about zines in biographies about Courtney Love and in zine anthologies like “A Girl’s Guide to Taking Over the World”. But it was hard to actually find or order zines because it was the end of the 90s and I lived in a small isolated town. A few years later I discovered the Dutch riot grrrl zine “Bunnies On Strike” at a Sleater-Kinney concert in Amsterdam and I became friends with them and with other international feminist zinesters soon after that. Of course I immediately wanted to make my own zine. I used to love creating booklets and comics as a child and the combination of text, collage, and drawing really appeals to me. I also like that zines can feature very radical and free content. From the beginning I felt a part of an encouraging DIY / riot grrrl / zinester subculture which was very motivating.

What is the first zine you ever fell in love with?

Definitely “Bunnies On Strike”. It was full of support for feminist struggles, animal rights, DIY subculture, and riot not diet messages so of course I immediately connected to it. And what a great title! Bunnies On Strike was also the name they used for their radical cheerleading team, punk band, DIY events, and the collective behind all of this. Wow, I miss those days…

A zine you would recommend because it deals with issues you care about

There are too many zines I could list here but I’ll choose “Scorpio Moon” because every single issue always amazes me. The topics the author Jade writes about range from autism to anarchism, witchcraft to self-care, and relationships to finding a home. I can relate a lot to what they write about, have learned from their beautiful writings, and have found inspiration and affirmation in them.

Zine related places you visited or want to visit in the future? Tell us why!

Firstly: the Archiv of course! And also Housmans, a radical bookshop in London, the anarchist infoshop at 56a in London, and Fort Van Sjakoo, an anarchist bookshop in Amsterdam. I’ve also enjoyed spending time at the Salford Zine Library and the Manchester Queer Zine Library. The anarchist centre in Ghent where I live has a library with a great selection of zines too and I should really go check it again soon because it’s been a while since I was last there. One day I’d love to visit the distro shop of Portland Button Works but I’m so sad I missed the chance to see their former place before hey moved out because it included an amazing indoors tree house/reading nook. I’m also curious to see the Schikkimikki zine distro and library in Berlin!

What projects are you involved in besides publishing zines?

I’m in a feminist band called Lavender Witch. We’re releasing our first album called “Awakening” in July which I find super exciting. I make music on my own too as Lost Luna, do some (home-recording) music projects with friends (one started during the lockdown), and have recently started recording songs with my former band mates of Vangina Dentata again.I’m also a member of the feminist collective FEL in Ghent but at the moment we’re taking a break. Get in touch though if you’re interested. The Tweede Sekse Voorbij blog by FEL is still active and I use it to post about zines and other feminist stuff. Related to zine-making… I draw a lot and make illustrations as a freelancer, often for feminist or queer projects.

A collaboration you are dreaming about?

I hope Fliss of the zine “Athemaura” (which I also recommend to check out, it’s a beautiful perzine) and I can one day do a split zine. We have been brainstorming about writing about being librarians and about the importance of libraries in these times of horrible austerity measures. She also suggested organising a zine reading some day which sounds very exciting (though I’ll be sooooo nervous). I’d love to do more panel discussions with other zinesters in the future because I love sharing ideas about the politics of self-publishing and DIY media and I also hope to do some more research on these same topics, maybe for a feminist archive or in collaboration with other autonomous media activists.

What would you be more interested in? A zine about cats or dogs?

Cats!!!! I’m a total cat lover but am unfortunately also allergic (to cats and dogs and bunnies as well). So I stick to stuffed animals at the moment… and to zines about cats. Did you know this wonderful website? https://zinecats.tumblr.com

A zine about your teen crush would be about?

A little while ago I wrote a fanzine about guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen in which I wrote about the complexity of queer crushes. Is it a crush or just admiration? Do I want to be with them, be friends with them, or BE them? These questions remain…

I didn’t have many fan crushes before my mid/late teens (except maybe football player Josip Weber) but once I got into music that changed a bit. I think I’d choose Donna Dresch who just seems like an overall cool person as she played bass and guitar in Team Dresch, ran her own record label Chainsaw Records, and used to write a zine called Chainsaw. Team Dresch was also the perfect lesbian band for me with their romantic dyke love songs, queer politics, and their cool butch/androgynous/sporty looks. They even started a self-defense project called Free to Fight that put out a CD with self-defense tips and queer music and spoken word and Team Dresch included self-defense lessons at their concerts too. So yeah, very crush-worthy for teenage me as well as current me!

Which fellow zinester would you rob a bank with and why?

Haha, this is a great question. 😀 But I think I should keep this a secret! 🙂

Your life motto or a message you want to share

I’ve had this quote by Simone de Beauvoir as my email signature for years now: „Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.“ Still very relevant today and it’s not only about making the most of my day for my own wellbeing but also about trying to make some change happen in the world around me. Not easy but so very necessary. It can also be applied to DIY media: go make a zine now, don’t wait for others to do it for you!

Thank you Nina for taking the time and all the great answers!