A Word From Wellington Zine Fest & An Ex-Salient Comic Artist

Gus Mitchell (@gusmitchellcomics)

In 2015, my time at Salient as a writer-columnist-comic artist was drawing to a close, and I was searching for a new creative outlet. It was around then that I discovered Wellington Zinefest, hosted that year in the underground carpark next to Ivy. I hadn’t  been that aware of zines prior, but it was an easy pitch: they have the lowest barrier to entry for any mass-produced artform. 

Zines can be about anything, for anyone, yet also uniquely you, a distillation of your niche interest or skill into a printed, proletariat objet d’art. I went all in, not only producing my own zines, but also joining the organising committee from 2017 to early 2020. As a dedicated community has established itself around it, Wellington Zinefest has only grown in esteem, moving from the (quite literal) underground to a respected regular arts fair, for budding and established creatives alike.

Wellington Zine Fest (@wellingtonzinefest)

Wellington Zinefest is a community organisation that runs an annual festival, market days, workshops, publishing projects, and more! Wellington Zinefest markets are designed to show off the thriving self-publishing and zinemaking scene in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Our markets (like zine culture more generally) are focused on fostering creativity, self- expression and community building, rather than straightforward sales and profit. This year, alongside these markets we’ll be running a series of workshops on a range of creative topics across a variety of themes, mediums, and tones. To keep up to date with everything we’re up to and get the details so you can get amongst, find us on Instagram and Facebook as Wellington Zinefest, or head to wellingtonzinefest.com