A sources list of our named donators, supporters, interested parties, collaborations across professions, fellow collectors and collections, related research, significant exhibitions, events and talks, reading lists and more. It is not an exhaustive list and we are happy to add more, let us know.
Recommended reading about the collection: Gathering the margins: the London College of Communication Library Zine Collection by Ruth Collingwood, Leila Kassir and Collecting the Pieces by Leila Kassir in Art libraries journal 2018
National institution
British Library We often refer to the British Library’s Football Fanzine collection during our sessions. The Library holds c.500 music zines and over 250 football fanzines. In addition to these, there are zines around a wide range of other subjects including women, LGBT+, veganism, mental health, and anti-racism and environmental concerns, and zines produced by artists. They range from the earliest zines produced to the present, and although most are from the UK, there are also many from the US and other countries. The Library tries to collect zines produced in the UK as comprehensively as possible, to form part of the national published archive, and is keen to receive a single copy of any UK-based zine not currently held, regardless of subject matter or style.
Academic and research Institutions
Asian Art Archive : In 2017 on a visit to London the Archive and the Collection met. ‘With one of the most valuable growing collections of material on the recent history of art from Asia, freely available from our website and onsite library, AAA builds tools and communities to collectively expand knowledge through research, residency, and educational programmes’
Shades of Noir: We often reference SoN in our workshops. SoN presents as an independent program and is accompanied by a series of projects that are aligned with the stipulated 4 phases of the program. Coverage includes: Curriculum design — Pedagogies of social justice through representation — Cultural currency — Accessible knowledge. SoN works with a range of HE institutions within the UK and has a scholarly output within the sector.
Commercial Printers: Presses: Publishers: Studio
Editoral Fascimale The collection was cited as an inspiration for its London and Paris activities during the year July 2017 – August 2018. Editorial Facsimile was established in 2014 and has been crossing borders ever since, facilitating international exposure as a Latin American Publishing House focused on contemporary artists and designers. We moved from Mexico City to London in 2017 to foster community, diversity and equality through collaboration, education and distribution.
Smallfury : Art direction and design responsibility for Artefact magazine, the collection has valuable links with the studio (Oswin). We work with universities, publishers and brands to deliver creative solutions across design, education and strategy.
Community Providers [meeting place where people with similar interest can communicate and find useful information]
56a Infoshop: Founder of the collection (Leila) spend many afternoons volunteering at 56a. ‘ [A] long-term volunteer-run, 100% unfunded, DIY social centre in Walworth, South London. We share a collectively run building with Fareshares food co-op and 56a Bikespace. we have a massive open-access archive so you can read and research about all sorts of radical politics (both local and international). We sell radical books, zines, magazines, pamphlets and other printed matter.’
Communication Forums
UK-ZINE-LIBS: A JISCmail email discussion list for the UK education and research communities. A group for all who work with zine collections or in zine libraries in the UK and Ireland. Sharing resources, information, and support across the field from institutional libraries to diy grassroots community libraries. Open to all regardless of professional status.
Donators
Edinbourgh Zine Archive
Helen Ison
Nick Mann Archive
Lord Hurk comic zine collection
Jennifer Denitto (Riot Girrrl collection)
Paul Problem Child
Tom Vague
Catherine Laz
Social media sites/ platforms
@LCC_Library – Zine list (2020) [Twitter]
DARH blog (2020) [Wordpress]: Our interests include contemporary practices related to the use of new technologies and modes of communication as well as more traditional forms of protest and street graphics, banners, posters, pamphlets and flyers. We aim to encourage wider interest and debate about the subject within and beyond the University, and organise various events in order to do this. Between us we are involved in research, ‘knowledge exchange’ and teaching on the subject. Underlying this is a commitment to support movements for progressive social change
Research Projects
Design Activism Research Hub (DARH): DARH is a research hub based at LCC concerned with the visual and material culture practices and artefacts of social movements and other formations of resistance and agitation.
Graphic Subcultures Network – Russell Bestley : The Graphic Subcultures Network holds cross-UAL meetings with interested staff in the field of graphic identity and subcultures. The subject focus is deliberately broad, but centres on the ways in which subcultural groups (youth, music, participatory, oppositional, political or social) use visual design strategies to communicate and promote their philosophical and ideological positions.
Gender and Sexuality Research Forum – Sara Davidmann UAL Gender and Sexuality Research Forum is open to all UAL research students and staff. Members are from a range of fields and are representative of the diversity of UAL creative practice and research. The Forum was started by Dr Sara Davidmann in February 2013.
Exhibition catalogues
Latin American Feminist Zine Collection – Catalogue 2018 : In 2017, Editorial Facsimile had an open call and received 3 copies of 35 publishing projects for the Latin American Feminist Zine Collection, which was donated to LCC Library, Horst Hartung Franz Library and EF Library for research and teaching purposes after the exhibition.
Journals
Broken Pencil Magazine: “a mega-zine dedicated exclusively to exploring independent creative action. Published four times a year, each issue of Broken Pencil features reviews of hundreds of zines and small press books, plus comics, excerpts from the best of the underground press, interviews, original fiction and commentary on all aspects of the indie arts. From the hilarious to the perverse, Broken Pencil challenges conformity and demands attention”.
Shades of Noir: Terms of Reference Journals [Zines] SoN has a prolific publishing output as a digital publishing platform as well as having a print output consisting of the peer-reviewed ToR zines (also available on issu). Articles are regularly published on the platform via a contribution submission process – an editorial panel is not specifically stated – or by current members of SoN admin team.
Magazine articles available to the UAL staff and students
Bell, B.L., 2002. Riding the third wave: women-produced zines and feminisms. Resources for Feminist Research, 29 (3), pp. 187-198.
Short (a page long) look at the scholarly definitions of zines Third wave feminist zines
Buchanan, R. and Fink , L.S., R.W.T., 2012. Zines in the Classroom: Reading Culture. English Journal, 102(2), pp. 71-77.
Concise history of the zines: from the early 20th century up to the punk era. Explanation on why zines are a great tool in teaching and learning.
Ferris, M.A., 2001. Resisting mainstream media: girls and the act of making zines. Canadian Woman Studies, , pp. 51-55
Short definition and history of zines Emphasis on 1990s feminist zine culture, especially in the North America
Mega Zines (2007) Border Crossings, 26(4), p. 22
Brooklyn-based artist Shawn Kuruneru explains how he has been making “zines” since his high school years.
Poletti, A., 2008. Auto/assemblage: reading the zine. Biography, 31(1), pp. 85-88,90-91,93,95-102,221.
Zine as a compelling example of autographics. Reading the intersection of text, layout, and production as a complex site of self-representation, the materiality of the zine form is examined as a meta-critical reflection on the form of the book and the potential of the photocopier as a means of production.
Thomas, Susan E., 2009. Value and Validity of Art Zines as an Art Form. Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 27-36.
This article documents the contemporary art zine milieu and attempts to define art zines in comparison with zines, artists’ books, and artists’ magazines and to situate them in the world of contemporary art—and in the library.
Monographs: e-books available to the UAL staff and students
Biel, J. Make a zine: When words and graphics collide.
Darms, L., Fateman, J., Hanna, K. The Riot Grrrl collection.
Coyer, Kate; Dowmunt, Tony and Fountain, Alan, The Alternative Media Handbook.
Duncombe, S. Notes from underground: Zines and the politics of alternative culture.
Spencer, A. DIY: The Rise of Lo Fi Culture.
Triggs, T. Fanzines – available as PDF to all users
Film and video Podcasts
Artsnight: Series 2, episode 27, 2016. Thurston Moore talks about punk’s 40th anniversary and visits LCC (from minute 17:22) to see a selection of punk fanzines and talk to Tony Drayton about how Mark Perry’s Sniffin’ glue and a gig by The Damned provided the inspiration and impetus to set up his own zine, Ripped and torn in 1976.
Driven Thing / Jen Denitto : 1993 Linus, composed by Jennifer Denitto
Expanded Research / Dr. Russ Bestley a reader in Graphic Design and subcultures at London College of Communication
Audio
A Short Exhibition about Music Zine playlist. The accompanying soundtrack to the exhibition July 2017 at LCC Lower Gallery
Collections
LCF Zine Collection
ASCC Her-Story Zine Collection
CSM Zine Collection
Exhibitions
Barbican exhibition ‘A Cut and Paste Revolution (1-30 August 2016) LCC Zine Collection loan of 250 zines
‘Transformations’ LGBT+ zine exhibition and talks. With Sara Davidmann & Val Williams for ‘Moose on the Loose’/Research fortnight
Museum of Transology and LGBTQ+ zine exhibition LCC Zine Collection co-curated with E-J Scott and Sina Shamsavari (17 February – 31 March 2017) including two supporting workshops on Trans and Queer zines.
A Short Exhibition about Music Zines July 2017
The Gaze: A short exhibition about feminist zines – Latin American Feminist Zine Collection – LCC SU Gallery – 6 – 16 February 2018