Browse 100 free digital art and writing books in Love Your Rebellion’s new Zine Archive. The collection, featuring works from around the world, can be viewed at www.loveyourrebellion.org/zine-archive/.
Zines, short for DIY magazines, are art and writing books that skip the publisher and go right to distribution. Prior to 2020, Love Your Rebellion (LYR) frequently participated in zine fests around the Southeast that celebrate zines and zine making culture. “Being zine makers ourselves, we really felt the loss of zine fests,” LYR founder Angela Page explains. “We really wanted to create a digital space for zines instead. Plus our brick and mortar facility in Fort Myers had to close for a period, so it was the right time to begin the Zine Archive.”
Beginning in July 2020, Page and web developer Shea Elmore went to work contacting zine makers for Creative Commons licensing, scanning physical zine copies that became digital booklets, and developing the webpage. “There are other zine archives out there on the web, but none that look and feel like the LYR Zine Archive,” states Elmore. “It was important that LYR’s archive showcase the unique shapes, sizes, and contents of each zine. Designing and building something with those qualities meant we had to be very intentional when creating user experience.”
LYR launched the Zine Archive in May 2021. Page and Elmore built a responsive online catalog that allows readers to select a title by clicking on it, and then flip through it like it’s the real thing. The ongoing project will feature regular additions to the catalog, as well as updates to the staff picks. The project’s goals are to create a living document of zine making culture, and provide digital access to zines, particularly for people with disabilities that limit mobility.
“We see the Zine Archive becoming one of our most eclectic ongoing projects. This is only the beginning,” says Page.
The Zine Library and Coffee Shop is located at Neenie’s House, 481 Marsh Ave. in Fort Myers. It is open Wednesday – Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. Visit www.neenieshouse.com
Love Your Rebellion launches Zine Archive
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